Snow Shoveling 101: Safeguard Your Spine with Expert Techniques for a Pain-Free Winter!
As the winter wonderland unfolds outside, it's time to equip yourself with the knowledge and techniques to tackle snow shoveling like a pro. Here's a video of Ishitani Health Center's Dr. Hoon Choi, PT, DPT, demonstrating the correct position and movement of the body when shoveling:
Alright, when you're shoveling, how to use your low back, that means don't bend forward to scoop things up. And when you end up bending forward and twisting, that's how you're going to get hurt. So what you want to do instead is use your legs and then get low, take up the snow, and then don't rotate from the spine. You want to turn and then just throw the snow away. So once again, use your leg. Scoop it up, rotate, and then throw it away. So the biggest thing, basically, is don't bend from the low back. Use your legs to go down. And then when you turn, don't twist. You want to just use your legs and rotate.
