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Snow Season is here & so comes the episodes of Back Pain & Sciatica after shoveling snow. If you are someone who already has some back aches & pains occasionally, then your spine is even more sensitive to an injury from too much or incorrect way of shoveling.
So WHY does too much or Incorrect Shoveling cause Back Problems?
It is all about positioning of your spine. When most people shovel, they tend to flex or bend forward from their back (as you can see in the Incorrect part of the picture) causing their spinal joints to stay in that stressful forward bent position for too long coupled with the weight of heavy snow & twisting motions at the spine. Let me tell you, these things combined together are a sure shot recipe for a Back problem.
So Here are some of Our Tips to help you keep your Back Safe this Snow Season…
The picture here shows the difference between Incorrect vs Correct Shoveling mechanics for your back. The key difference in the typical (Incorrect) Shoveling position is our natural tendency to round the lower back or lumbar spine as seen in the image thereby putting a lot of stress on our spinal ligaments & disks. This “rounding” of the back, if performed repeatedly, combined with the weight of the shovel & snow and rotational movements inevitably leads to low back pain & in some cases leg pain or sciatica. So, let’s take a look at some tips that might help you keep your spine healthy this snow season.
Here are the 7 Essential Tips:
✔️ Maintain your Lumbar lordosis or arch in the Spine as you Shovel
✔️Bend from your knees
✔️ Use your Leg muscles instead of your Back to do the Heavy Lifting
✔️Adopt a Wide stance to Leverage your Leg muscle power to do the lifting
✔️Minimize Rotational/turning movements in your spine with the heavy shovel in your hand
✔️ Perform 5-6 standing Backward Bends to move your lumbar spine in the opposite direction before, during and after shoveling
✔️ Take Breaks as necessary!
Now you can go ahead & watch Our Video On Recommended Shoveling Technique to see it live in action!
While these are some great helpful tips to get you moving, but if you suffer from back pain or sciatica & you are ready to get to the source of the problem & not just manage the symptoms, you could come in for a Free Discovery Session at Our practice in Reston, VA! All you have to do is fill out a short form here & we will get in touch with you. Discovery Sessions are great for people who want to talk with a specialist about what might be causing their problem, and we’ll help you figure out what the next best steps are. Our goal is to give you all the information you need so that you can make the best decision for your health – without any obligation or commitment.
We also know not everyone is ready to commit to regular physical therapy appointments, and that’s why we offer our Free Information Guide! This Guide is for people in our community who want really valuable, expert information about their Back Pain or Sciatica problems. We know it’s confusing out there with all of the information floating around on Google and Facebook, and this is a valuable first step towards getting some real answers for your problem.
PS – If you found this information helpful, please share this with a friend or on your Facebook feed.