Although the snow days still seem far away, we at Okto want to give you a few tips on how to protect yourself from injury while you have to deal with the tedious task of shoveling snow.
So here are a few tips to help you reduce the risk of injury, and especially lower back pain, while you're braving the white, cold, pesky snow.
1. Keep warm to protect yourself
- Обличайте се подходящо, за да запазите топлината си и в частност топлината на мускулите. Ако мускулатурата не е добре загрята и е стегната вследствие на студа, рискът да получите някаква травма е по-голям.
- It's also a good idea to do a little warm-up to increase blood circulation and warm up the muscles. You can try some light jumping jacks and running in place, it's also good to warm up your wrists and arms in general. Of course, let's not forget the lower back - it's also good to incorporate slight forward-backward, side-to-side bends.
- Wear suitable shoes with a stable grip on the sole to protect yourself from possible slips and falls.
2. Как да боравите безопасно с лопатата за сняг.
- The right kind of shovel will help reduce stress on your lower back and back.
- Shovels that have adjustable handle lengths as well as those that have curved handles will reduce the amount of movement in the waist when bending over and therefore reduce tension in this area.
- It is also important to say that the lighter the shovel, the better. This contributes to the fact that when you're kicking up the snow and performing a repetitive load, it will be of less weight.
3. Considerations with body biomechanics
- Не загребвайте голямо количество сняг, тъй като по-голямата тежест ще ви накара да се наведете повече, което ще увеличи стреса в областта на кръста.
- Hold the weight as much as you can. Closer to the body when lifting the shovel full of snow. This means trying to scoop the snow by keeping one hand as close to the shovel's rake as possible.
- It is better to bend from the hip joints and knees than from the waist when lifting snow.
- Try not to arch your body and spine while shoveling snow. Use your hips and abdominals to guide the movement.
And as a final two tips from us:
- If the space you need to clean is large, it's a good idea to take breaks every 10-15 minutes and you can try leaning backwards, this will reduce the strain on your lower back.
- Always push snow to the side if you can instead of picking it up and dumping it. Repeatedly lifting a full shovel is quite an ordeal for even the strongest of backs, so you can help yourself and make the job easier if you just push the snowpack out of your way.
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