At least that’s what happening in Toronto, Canada right now. Car crashes, subway delays, gusting snow and treacherous conditions: these are the norm for today.

So what does that leave you with?

Piles and piles of snow to shovel. Usually quite wet and quite heavy.

I used to practice as a Physical Therapist in Victoria BC, out on the West coast of Canada. Each year we’d have only a couple snow days and in the two days following those two days of heavy snow, I’d see a significant spike in clients coming in to the clinic with fairly significant low back pain.

Sure enough, this phenomenon, which I’ll dub “shovel-back syndrome”, has everything to do with economy of motion.

The WRONG way of shoveling snow:

POP go the discs

• Lifting with the back
• Flexing through the back
• Twisting through the back
• Or any other method of using the back

Coupled with:

• Lifting large loads of snow with the shovel
• Throwing the snow from the end of the shovel

Do your shoulders feel tight and stiff? Does your back ache on a regular basis?

Are you always sore?

The culprit to all that ails you may be your posture!

Instead of telling you all the things that may be wrong with your posture at this point, I’ll tell you what should be happening with it.

The best posture is the one that keeps changing.

So make sure you change your position often and avoid prolonged postures. These include long periods of driving, sitting on a couch, or working at a desk.

If you have to sit, make sure your chair or workstation is adjusted for your body to minimize strain.

Neutral posture starts with your hips and pelvis. From there, your head should be held tall with your chin tucked in. Keep your shoulder blades back and down and your chest up. Basically, think long and tall when sitting or standing.

This will help you avoid slouching.

Hmm…isn’t that just like your mother used to say?

To your posture.

Dev Chengkalath