How to Shovel Snow and Prevent Low Back Pain
I often see patients in my practice who developed low back pain or other issues during the winter from shoveling. Like any injury that results from repetition or a general lack of variability, this may be prevented with some easy steps.
Steps to Prevent Low Back Pain While Shoveling
1) maintain an upright posture
2) brace your belly while lifting (think someone is going to hit you in the stomach) and exhale
3) lunge into the snow, letting your front leg accept the weight of your body/snow
4) use a long lever arm holding the shovel high and low with both hands to maximize leverage
5) use your legs to lift the snow
6) pivot on your outside leg and lunge into the forward leg again to throw
7) switch sides/legs/throwing arm every 5 throws
8) break up the repetition with some press ups, or quadruped hip drops as in the video
9) take a break every 10 minutes
Via Erson Religioso at The PhysioAnswers Blog
I have used the Majic Lift. It is a universal attachment with angle and leverage changing capacity. Simply attach to a shovel, snow shovel or pitchfork set the angle and save your back. After insertion into the soil, sod or snow simply press down on the garden tool handle to loosen the resistance of sod, roots, rocks etc. This eliminates the need to use force to break the resistance with lifting. The Majic Lift prevents the straining and injury to the lower back, shoulders, neck and cardiovascular system. It reduces the amount of energy and time needed to do a task!
Inventor: Frank Amato Jr., frnkamato@aol.com