At a physical therapy clinic, we can count on new referrals after significant snowfalls. Snow shoveling can be a strenuous physical endeavor, especially with those wet snowfalls.
Want to improve your snow shoveling ability and reduce the aches and pains that might come along with it? Here are a few tips:
1. Be a dinosaur. really. When shoveling snow, focus on keeping your arms close to your body and moving your feet more. This will reduce the demand you’re putting on your back and core.
2. Get strong. Speaking of demand on your core and back, it’s perfectly healthy to challenge those muscles. However, it helps if we train them in advance to prepare them for the demands of snow shoveling. How do we do that? I recommend deadlifts and planks for starters, but there are so many wonderful options.
3. Have adequate traction. You’ll want good traction so that you can stay on your feet and out of our clinic! Some great products can go on over your shoes and are pretty affordable. There are both coil versions and micro spike versions that can be chosen based on the surface you’ll be walking on. Often, a pair of boots with good traction will also work.
Whitney Weborg, PT, DPT is a physical therapist at Sheridan Memorial Hospital’s Wyoming Rehab.
