We've had a slow start to snow this winter, but from what I hear there's some snow looming around the corner. For those of you who prefer (read "have to") move your snow the old fashioned way, here are a few tips to minimize the stress on your back shoveling this winter

1) Hip Hinge

What's the advice everyone has heard a million times about lifting? "Lift with your legs, not with your back." Well, you might be wondering, how do I do that? What does that even mean? It means using the big, powerful muscles in your glutes and thighs to move your hips to bend forward and lift instead of bending over from your back. And how do you do that? By learning how to hip hinge. When you bend forward, your butt should move back and your back should stay straight. Put your hands in your hip creases in the front and make sure you can feel your hips bending when you bend forward, rather than rounding from your low back. Practicing this movement will improve your ability to use your glute and thigh muscles while lifting, and it will decrease the stress to the joints of your back.

2) Don't Be A Hero

You're not going to save any time by picking up the biggest scoops of snow you can possibly fit on your giant Snow Mover 8000 shovel and throwing it with all your might. You may get done 45 seconds faster but you'll also be spending 4-6 weeks hanging out with us at Newton Center Chiropractic to fix that new disc injury you picked up. Take your time, enjoy the fresh air, and pace yourself. You'll thank yourself tomorrow.

3) Warm Up First

It might sound like overkill, but if you've got a lot of heavy, wet snow to move around, treat it like you would any other workout. Don't go out into the cold with cold muscles and joints and start weight lifting (because that's really what you're doing, lifting a bunch of weight). A short, 5 minute dynamic warm up in your cold weather gear will get you plenty warm and ready to shovel. A few arm circles, leg swings, or even better, some squats and shovel deadlifts  to practice your hip hinging.


So get out there, enjoy the winter, and don't be afraid of the cold or the snow. You got this!

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