Add THIS to the things you never think about when you are middle-aged…

Time to take the bike rack off of the Jeep! That “one more ride” isn’t going to happen at this point.

With our first snow of the season here and gone and the holidays quickly approaching, Pennsylvania has been forecast a rough winter! If you are not in the habit of regular exercise, you are setting yourself up for potential injury. Shoveling snow can be a workout for sure. This is where sedentary folks get into trouble. Heart attack, stroke, risk of falling, and low back or shoulder injuries are common.  Even using a snow blower can be tough if you are sedentary!   So what’s a middle-aged person to do?

One of the worst movements for your low back is leaning forward and then twisting to one side, which is how many people get injured daily.   It can happen while vacuuming, it can happen pulling something out of the stove, it can happen while coughing or sneezing, it can happen when reaching for your mascara.  Lifting heavy snow on a shovel whilst moving improperly is a recipe for disaster!

As we age the discs between each of our vertebra become less pliable and for lack of better words kinda dry out; therefore we are at higher risk for injury. To avoid a painful back injury, either hire a neighborhood kid to shovel or do a little prep work before you head out.

Yup, it really has come to this people!  So how do you prepare?

1. Don’t go out first thing in the morning without having moved around a bit. Heading out completely “cold” into the cold to lift heavy snow is not a good idea!
2. Dress appropriately!  Wear layers you can peel off as you begin to overheat.  Wear boots or shoes with traction for less risk of falling.
3. Lift with your legs. If you are used to doing deadlifts at the gym, think about hinging from the hips with a straight spine.
4. Avoid lifting with your back! Remember that lift-twist-and-chuck-it-over-the-shoulder-move like when you were a kid(or as in the pic above)? Don’t do it.
5. If we are expecting a big storm, go out every so often instead of waiting until it’s over. Fresh powdery snow is way easier to lift then packed down snow.
6. If you can, push the snow instead of lifting it!  Easier to do when there is less on the ground.
7. If you are not a regular exerciser, take frequent breaks while shoveling. As mentioned earlier, many folks suffer heart attacks or strokes during or after shoveling. Just like heavy yard work, shoveling will increase your heart rate, so consider this exercise and listen to your body!

The moral of the story…on the inside we may still feel 30, but the truth may reveal itself while performing tasks out of the ordinary, such as shoveling. Avoid becoming a winter injury statistic and be aware of your shoveling technique!