back pain

Guidelines to Prevent Injury While Shoveling Snow

It’s that time of year again when you may have to deal with the snow.  Many people injure themselves when shoveling snow.  Therefore,  here are some tips you can use to avoid a shoveling injury this year.

Guidelines to Prevent Injury While Shoveling Snow

  1. Prior to shoveling, you should warm your body up.  This can be done by taking a 5 minute walk and moving your arms in a circular motion.  This causes increase blood flow to the areas of your body you will be using to shovel snow to prevent injury.
  2. Use an ergonomic snow shovel. One with a curved handle to keep your back straight while shoveling.
  3. Push the snow if possible. Pushing the snow away is better than lifting the snow. It you have to lift it, make sure to squat with feet shoulder width apart, and bend your knees and tighten your abdominals. Don’t bend over at the waist rounding your back. You want your legs to do the work, not your back.
  4. Scoop small amounts of snow at a time.
  5. Use a shovel with a plastic blade rather than metal because it is lighter.
  6. Keep the shovel close to your body and dump the snow in front of you or pivot your feet to turn and dump the snow to the side (never twist your body).  The worst position you can be in while shoveling snow is bent over at the waist, scooping and then twisting to throw the snow.  That position puts a great deal of pressure on the discs in your spine.
  7. Use boots with good traction and once you have cleared an area, put sand or salt down to help with your traction, while continuing to shovel.
  8. Also, make sure you take breaks. Drink lots of water and avoid caffeine or smoking before you shovel.  Caffeine can cause an increase in your heart rate and constrict your blood vessels. If you experience any chest pain, make sure you call for help.

Shoveling with Good Biomechanics

How to Prevent Back Injury with Lifting and Household Chores

Many of us have gone to pick something up from the floor or move a piece of furniture and felt some type of back discomfort.  Good body mechanics during lifting or moving objects can prevent back injury by putting less strain on your back muscles.  Listed below are guidelines to prevent back injury with lifting and household chores.

Guidelines to prevent back injury with lifting

  1. When lifting an object, stand with your feet shoulder width apart or 1 foot in front of the other.
  2. When picking something up off the ground, bend with your knees and hinge at your hips keeping the normal curves in your back.  Do not slouch forward.
  3. Also, tighten your lower abdominal muscles (refer to blog topic- Can back pain be prevented?) and maintain the contraction throughout the lift. Your abdominal muscles and your back muscles work together to give support to your spine.
  4. When lifting, keep the object close to your body.
  5. Use your legs and buttocks to straighten back up, not your back.
  6. Carry things at waist level.
  7. If you must reach for the object, stand on a chair or stool.  Do not arch your back.
  8. PUSH, do not pull when you are moving an object.

Guidelines to prevent back injury with household chores.

  1. Washing dishes– to decrease back strain at the sink, open the base cabinet and put your foot up on the ledge to become closer to the sink.
  2. Vacuuming– Walk with the vacuum or lunge forward onto one foot keeping your back straight, rather than bending forward with each push of the vacuum.
  3. Making the bed– Put one knee down on the bed when fastening a sheet to the corner of the mattress or squat to fasten it.
  4. Grooming– Put one hand down on the counter in the bathroom while using the other to brush your teeth or shave. Also, you can put a foot up onto the ledge of the base cabinet as in the kitchen.

Bending at knees for objectLifting objectLifting object

Sitting Posture at the Computer

How to Maintain Good Sitting Posture at the Computer

We spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer. Sitting at the computer improperly can lead to injuries at the neck, back, wrist and elbow.  Below are guidelines to help maintain good posture while sitting in front of your computer.

  • To support the low back while sitting, make sure to sit with your back touching the back of the chair and use a lumbar support.  The lumbar support should fill the space in the curve of the low back to avoid pressure on your spine and reduce muscle fatigue in the low back muscles.
  • Your feet should sit comfortably, flat on the floor.  If they don’t reach the floor, use a footstool. Your hips should be slightly higher that your knees.
  • Do not twist or reach while you are using the computer and make sure your work is in front of your body.  Your wrists should be straight and avoid using a wrist rest.  A wrist rest tends to put a strain on the neck and shoulders because it elevates the height of your wrist from the table surface.  Your keyboard should be at elbow level and you want your elbows and upper arms resting close to your body.
  • The computer monitor should be an arms length distance away from you (about 20 inches). Your eyes should be in line with a point on the screen 2-3 inches below the top of the monitor.  Research suggests that having the center of the screen 17.5 degrees below eye level is optimal for neck alignment and for reducing glare.
  • Try to take breaks from sitting because being in one position for too long can stiffen muscles.  A couple of exercises you can do during the day to prevent neck stiffness includes: rolling the shoulders forward and backward, gently rotating your head, and side bending your head to stretch the neck muscles.

Clinical Question- Ultrasound

What is Ultrasound?

Ultrasound is used during physical therapy when a patient presents with pain, soreness, or tightness of a specific body part.  It uses high frequency sound waves that travel to muscle and tissue and warm up the targeted areas by increasing blood flow.  The majority of the time, ultrasound is used in conjunction with massage techniques to further decrease muscle tightness and pain in the treated area.

Can back pain be prevented?

There are several measures you can take throughout your day to reduce the likelihood of lower back pain.

1. Maintain correct posture in sitting and standing positions.

  • Be sure to sit in a chair with lumbar support (lower back support).
  • Always have your computer monitor at eye level and keyboard in front of your body.

2. Lift heavy objects with proper body mechanics.

  • Avoid bending down with twisting motions.
  • Always bend through your knees and slightly hinge at the waist.

3. Avoid repetitive lifting of weights and take breaks as needed.

  • Overtime, repetitive lifting of weights will cause a stress injury to the spine. This could lead to a disc bulge (herniated disc) and spinal degeneration.

4. Perform core strengthening exercises regularly.

  • Avoid excessive sit-ups because it puts heavy strain on the lumbar spine.
  • Avoid back extension exercises.

Example of a Basic Core Strengthening Exercise

  1. Lay on your back with your spine flat on the surface.
  2. Squeeze your stomach muscles down toward the surface to flatten your back (Note: Try not to hold your breath during this part).
  3. Hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat.
  • To help achieve the correct contraction, pretend you are putting on a tight pair of jeans and squeezing your stomach muscles to fasten the zipper.
  • This exercise is strengthening the Transversus Abdominus muscle.

Transversus Abdominus Contraction