It’s official. Now that we have had our first snow storm we can truly say that winter is here. Winter weather brings injuries from shoveling snow or slipping on the sidewalk. Ice, snow and freezing rain can all wreak havoc on our backs, muscles and joints.
How many times have you walked outside not realizing that the night before a passing ice storm or snow shower covered everything? We often get caught off guard with these types of sudden storms that our weatherman can never seem to predict - although he tries.
Snow removal has been thought of as an unwanted chore, not exercise. The squatting and lifting movements are both physically demanding and require a certain amount of balance, stability and strength. Pulled, strained and even torn muscles resulting from the lifting and twisting your body does when lifting heavy snow are all too common during the winter.
Without even thinking about it we all toss on our hats, coats and gloves and head outside to shovel snow from our driveways and walkways. Not only is it cold outside but chances are your muscles are cold as well, making them even more susceptible to injury.
To protect yourself from possible injury, be sure to warm up your muscles for a few minutes before going outside to shovel. You can warm up your whole body with a few jumping jacks or a few simple stretches. While shoveling, be sure to bend your knees as you lift to reduce strain on your back. Also be sure to shovel from both sides of your body. This may seem tricky at first, but what a great way to work on equalizing your strength.
The chance of injury increases if your body is not physically prepared for the unstable environment of snow and ice. Making a habit of training your body in an unstable environment becomes imperative both to avoid possible winter slips and falls and turning your ankle over a curb on a sunny day. When you train your body in unstable environments you are teaching your brain, muscles, nerves and joints how to work together to react to changes in footing. You are also strengthening the supporting structures of your joints, which will help to protect them in the event of a slip or fall.
Blue Star Fitness focuses on joint stabilization in the first phase of training for all clients from the couch potato to the elite athlete. We feel that stabilizing the joints through working out muscle imbalances and proper balance training is the most important step in avoiding injury and improving daily function.
©February 2005 Blue Star Fitness