Snow shoveling techniques

CHICOPEE, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - Shoveling snow can be dangerous. In fact snow removal is one of the more common causes of injury during the winter months. Using the wrong body mechanics when shoveling snow can put undue stress on the lower back and lead to a painful muscle strain, or possibly more serious back injury. To discuss the proper snow shoveling techniques is chiropractor Ron Laprise.

The first thing I like to think about, snow shoveling is like an exercise. You can't treat it like some chore that you do around the house. You have to take it seriously. Think about it like a workout.

• Hydrate before you workout or snow shovel
• Don't do it after a heavy meal.
• Consider cancelling your workout.

The actual technique, you want to keep your feet shoulder width apart and bend at the knees. You can stick your butt out a bit. It helps lower pack.

Scoop the snow. Then, you can even displace some of the weight of that heavy snow on your legs. So that you only pick up so much weight on the lower back. Think about it as a dead lift like those olympic dead lift guys that really use proper technique much when you are about to lift the snow, you want to look up and lift up.

When you look up, there is less of a chance for you to use your back muscles and injure yourself.

If it is over a foot or more than that, you may want to consider taking two scoops, scoop off the top and then another scoop down below or even consider shoveling more than once. It is less physically demanding to go out and do everything at 6 inches and then go back and do another 6 inches later rather than waiting for the storm to finish.

If you get a smaller shovel and pick up less snow, that is probably a good idea.

You can strain your back muscles, that is the most common. A lot of people, when they throw the snow, they twist their bodies like over their shoulder to throw and that is a big mistake because you create torque in your spine and that can compress your disks and you can herniate a disk that is a big problem.

You want to point your toes the way that you want to throw the snow. When you throw your snow have your toes with the nose when you throw the snow.

After you lift up, twist your whole body and toss the snow in the same direction that you are facing rather than torquing your body.

You could slip on the snow and ice and get a contusion or dislocation or fracture. We get a lot of strains and even some disk problems from too much shoveling and improper shoveling.

It is a good workout because you are using all those back muscles, weak back muscles, you have to make sure get those in shape before you shovel. You are more at risk if you are not strong. If you are, your core muscles are weak, more at risk for injury. A younger person with a weak core is more at risk than an older person with a strong core. It is entirely based on your core strength not your age.