Shoveling 101: Don't lift snow. Push it off pavement
With Snowmageddon-like warnings of a major storm heading our way, I'm thinking about how to avoid shoveling it.
My personal belief is that paying a neighborhood kid to shovel is some of the best money I will ever spend, but it can be hard to find kids interested in that business opportunity.
So, with that in mind, I want to share with you again my 10 tips for safe snow shoveling. With any luck, we won't need it much.
1. Pay someone to shovel your driveway/sidewalk. I am not kidding. You don’t need to be doing this chore. You can have a heart attack, or hurt yourself. I know that would be good for my business, but not you.
If you do not follow rule number 1, here is the rest of the list:
2. Warm up. Don't stretch. Save that. You can warm up by taking a short walk around the neighborhood, looking for someone who has a snow blower. If that doesn't work, go on to No. 3.
3. Start early, start often. Do not let the snow get ahead of you. My personal research over the last few years indicates scientifically that more than two inches of snow becomes a giant pain in the neck to shovel. Remember, we want to do this the easy, safe way. Snow of less than two inches can easily be pushed not shoveled. If the snow falls all night, it would be better to go out every couple of hours and shovel off what's there than wait until morning. I have been known to go start over every 30 minutes in a bad snowfall.
4. Push, don’t shovel. Take a tip from those DelDOT snow plows: they push the snow out of the way, they don’t lift it. Try to lift the snow with the shovel as little as possible.
A look back: 2010 President's Day Storm
5. When you have to lift, try not to twist your body. Try to throw the snow directly in front of you, not to the side.
6. If you have to twist when lifting, do 10 times twisting left, then 10 times twisting right. Count the repetitions. It will give you distraction from cursing yourself from not following rule No. 1.
7. After 20 shovelfuls, stand up. You want to reverse all that forward bending that you just did. Catch your breath. Stretch backward a little. Contemplate Rule No. 1 again. Smile.
8. Use the correct shovel. Those funny looking, ergonomically designed shovels really are better for you than those short, straight handled shovels. The object is to get you to shovel in a more upright position.
9. Shovel the driveway using the correct pattern. Let’s say that your driveway is 11 feet wide. Your first pass should be directly down the middle, leaving a 5 foot section on either side of you. Once this is done, face one of the 5 foot sections and PUSH the snow forward toward the side of the driveway. At the end, lift the snow forward in front of you. Continue down the driveway, always keeping your work in front of you.
10. Stretch out afterward. Note I didn't recommend stretching to start with. The time to stretch your muscles is after they are warmed up, which they will be after shoveling.
Stephen V. Rapposelli is a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedics and co-owner of Performance Physical Therapy and Fitness in Hockessin and Brandywine Hundred.