What are the main muscle systems used while shoveling snow?

There are three main muscle systems that we use. You're definitely, hopefully, using your legs. I combine the core muscles and the lower back as number two, and you're definitely using your arms and upper shoulders, too.

If the muscles in your core, arms, and legs as well as your back are used, why is the back most likely to be injured when shoveling?

The main thing is that when you shovel, you get tired if you use proper form, which means using your legs. So you stop using your legs and start using your back, meaning bending through your back instead of bending through your knees. The other thing that causes a strain on your back is throwing the snow. We call that the twisting or torquing of your back.

Are there things to do before heading out to shovel snow to prevent injuries? Is there a proper technique to follow when lifting snow, especially heavy/wet snow?

There are three things I would like people to do before they go out.

• Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is still an issue, even in the cold weather, just as it is in the summer, so drink some water.
• Dress in layers. As your bodies warm up, you're going to want to remove some layers.
• Warm up and prepare your body for doing what you're going to be doing.

Shoveling snow is repetitively lifting for the 20 to 30 minutes. By warming up, I'm talking about stretching your muscles, marching in place, doing jumping jacks. Loosen up your back and your muscles and your legs before you go out to shovel.

If it is light snow, the best technique to use is push it rather than lift it. That way you don't involve as much of your back. The snow we had this week was a big, heavy, wet snow which is certainly harder because you have to pick it up to move it. The main thing is, when you bend, you want to have a good base—a wide base of support. Set your legs apart. You're going to bend through your legs, bend through your hips. As you're picking up snow, ready to put it on top of a pile, you want to decrease the amount of twisting you're doing through your back. Your shoulders and hips should go in the same direction as you're putting it on top of a pile.

How important is resting when shoveling? How long and often is resting recommended?

When doing repetitive activities, rest every 15 minutes. Stretch your muscles, get a drink of water. Do something other than what you've been doing and give your muscles a chance to recover.

What if you already sustained a suffer a back injury, now what? Are there some things that can help you recover more quickly? 

If you have any type of a back injury, you want to put some ice on it. If the pain lasts longer than you think it should, then seek help. But icing is number one. The worst thing you can do is lie around in bed. Actively moving—getting up and changing position—is probably the best thing you can do if you've had a back injury.

When should someone with a back injury or back pain be seen by their physician or consider rehab therapies?

If the injury lasts more than a day or so, come in and talk to one of the physical therapists or see your UI Family Care physician and get a referral to Physical Therapy.

When someone is referred to the UI Spine Center, what should they expect for a treatment plan?

When people come to see us, we'll going to examine them to make sure there's no major damage to the spine or the disc. For the most part, 90 percent of the people we see are going to have some kind of a strain injury so we're working with muscle strain-type injuries.

When we treat that, we're looking at icing that area and making sure we have a proper stretching routine to loosen up the back. Then we talk about functional things—how you can bend and lift properly in everyday activities, like getting the laundry out of the laundry basket, carrying things up and down the stairs, setting your work chair so that you're sitting with good form, and changing positions.  These are going to be a key thing in the initial phase of the injury. 

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Pam Lee, MPT, MA

UI Spine Center

UI Family Care