The snow is back and with it comes the aches and pains that come from endlessly shovelling your driveway or sidewalks 

One aspect of shovelling many seem to forget about until it is too late is taking the proper measures to protect your spine. After these large dumps of snow that the foothills experience, those without the luxury of a snowblower will take to their shovels to remove the mountains of snow. 

Local Chiropractor with Thrive Family Chiropractics, Dr. Daxon Jones saw an increase in spine adjustments following the dump of snow late last year as foothills residents found themselves in a bit of pain. 

"Shoveling snow is something that can be really hard in the body if done improperly, or if we already have underlying dysfunction in our body, and then we add all that stress of lifting all the snow. So we did have a few people for sure coming in and working with them to get their bodies working well again after that."

Dr. Jones explains the best way to avoid an unexpected trip to the doctor or Chiropractor is to stretch those cold muscles by warming up for five to ten minutes before shovelling. 

"Our lower back muscles, specifically our QL muscles, attach from the upper part of our pelvis up to the lowest part of our ribs in our low back. Those ones get really activated when we are doing that lifting and twisting motion, so doing a couple of gentle stretches before we do that exercise, and again after, is really effective at making sure the body is prepared and ready to work and do some healing afterwards."

Another tip is to simply swap sides.

"When we're shovelling snow we get in the habit of one side feels more confident 'cause we have, you know, a more dominant arm. So we end up doing the same repetitive motion over and over and over again of lifting and twisting on the same side. And that puts our low back in a lot of stress."

You can also rely on different types of ergonomic snow shovels that can help take some of the effort out of snow removal chores. A shovel with a curved handle or an adjustable handle length will minimize painful bending or pick up a small, lightweight, plastic blade to help reduce the amount of weight that you are moving.

If all else fails, Dr. Jones recommends grabbing a hand from a family member to lighten the load. 

"It's great physical exercise if done properly. Making sure that we are protecting our spine and engaging our core and all that good stuff. And of course, I wouldn't be a Chiropractor if I didn't say getting adjusted would be a great thing, especially before."

 

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