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As snow falls, many of us look out and only see beauty. Others see a giant pain in the back. One that could land them in the emergency room.
Did you know there is a right and wrong way to shovel snow? That is what Dr. Colin Haines from the Virginia Spine Institute told WTOP.
“One of the problems with typical shoveling is people think you shovel something, you lift it, you turn it,” Haines said. “Actually, that lifting at an angle hunched forward with rotation is probably single-handedly, the thing that puts the most force through the back — through the discs.”
He described the discs as the spine’s dynamic shock absorbers and said people should think of shoveling as a pushing activity.
“Push, try to avoid lifting and twisting,” Haines said. “The more you can push the safer it is for your body, almost like you’re doing a plow.”
When the snow piles up, Haines said it’s better to take multiple small scoops rather than one big lift with a twist.
He also offered other tips, such as using an electric shovel or letting your kids do the job for you.
Before heading out, Haines said people should not only dress warmly but warm up first: “What I like to do is about two and a half minutes of actually stretching.”
Warming up matters, he said, because cold weather causes muscles to contract.
“The blood doesn’t get to them. What that can do is that can actually unmask some spine conditions, since the muscles are the protector for the spine,” Haines said.
He added that it’s important to listen to your body while working in the cold, because that might be your back talking to you.
“If you injure your back, stop, get inside, get warm, and take an anti-inflammatory medication,” Haines said. “Most of the time, acute injuries in the back get better without having to undergo really high-level medical treatment.”
