Clearing snow from the path in front of the house: For many people, this is currently the first to-do of the day. But your back and heart can groan quite a bit when shoveling snow. The most important tips.
For many people, time is short in the morning anyway. If shoveling snow is added to the mix, it becomes stressful. So save yourself the hassle of throwing on a winter jacket and scarf and rush outside in a thin shirt? Not a good idea.
When shoveling snow, the back muscles should be warmly wrapped up and completely covered, advises the German Society for Orthopedics and Accident Surgery (DGOU). Equally important: Anyone who swings the shovel should have warmed up beforehand, i.e. get their back, shoulders and arms moving a little.
Because shoveling puts a lot of strain on your back. A “cold start” can injure untrained muscles – for example if we move jerkily, turn incorrectly or lift particularly heavy snow loads. If you’re unlucky, you’ll get the reward in the form of a strain, blocked vertebrae or even lumbago.
Shoveling snow: Pushing is easy on your back
In general, anyone who follows the motto “pushing instead of lifting” when shoveling is doing a lot of things right. And what if the snow ends up having to be pushed onto the pile? Then it’s all about the right posture: The upper body remains straight when lifting, the knees are slightly bent, advises the DGOU.
It also makes sense to change the active arm every now and then. The Healthy Back Campaign (AGR) offers this tip to avoid one-sided strain on the intervertebral discs and muscles.
It’s also good if you have an ergonomic shovel at hand. According to AGR, when buying, you should make sure that the device is light and allows you to work in an upright position. The side walls of the shovel are best angled so that the snow cannot slide down the sides.
Heart patients delegate better
However, some people can leave the snow shoveling to others in good conscience. For example, everyone who has had spinal surgery in the past three months, according to the DGOU.
The advice of the German Heart Foundation is that heart patients should ideally not resort to violence themselves. Because when it’s cold, the blood vessels contract. Blood pressure rises and the heart muscle has to work harder. If physical exertion is added to this, things can become critical if you have previous illnesses and, in extreme cases, there is a risk of a heart attack.
No one there who can shovel the snow? Then heart patients should take breaks and be careful not to overload the body. General and emergency medicine specialist Thomas Carl Stiller advises you to stop immediately if you see these warning signs:
- Shortness of breath or unusual shortness of breath
- fast or irregular pulse rate
- Pressure, tightness or pain in the chest
- Dizziness, weakness or cold sweats
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