By Corey Kim, MPT | Registered Physiotherapist | Published February 5, 2025
Hey Break Free Community,
It's been a while since I've written a blog about snow shoveling. Since then, my thoughts have changed with a recent snow storm in London, Ontario. At the beginning of December 2024, the northeast end of London had upwards of 30cms of snow. After some reflection and a recent review of my previous blog here - I felt that my ideas shared previously needed to be elaborated on. Ironically, I've learned some practical things through my own experience with back pain and having to shovel a large amount of snow this winter. Here are some tips to help prevent old injuries from flaring up or creating new ones.
The most common injuries we see during winter are shoulder and back injuries from shoveling, or a slip and fall. Here's what I've learned about preventing both.
Warm Up and Strengthening as Protection Against Future Injuries
Yes, you read the subtitle right – a warm up before shoveling the snow. It's an odd concept to some because you'd think for a chore like snow shoveling it wouldn't matter. We often see warm up as something that needs to be done before sport. The idea stems from the theory known as post-activation potentiation. This theory states that by priming your muscles with a strong muscular contraction can make the following muscular contractions stronger.¹ There is research showing that athletes will use dynamic exercises to "warm up" their body to enhance their performance.² This would include body weight exercises, free-weights, resistive tubing and plyometrics before they compete or exercise.
If you've been at our clinic for treatment, we always try and provide you with exercises that will maintain your progress and provide extra layers of protection. When we treat clients at Break Free, our first goal is to reduce pain. Once this is achieved, strengthening follows. This allows you to return to the activities you were involved in, whether it was playing hockey with your kids, lifting weights or running. The stronger the muscles are around the area you previously injured, the less likely you are to hurt yourself again. But the best part is, the exercises your physiotherapist gave you can still help! If you continue to do them before you shovel, it could prevent reinjury. Like we mentioned above, when we dynamically warm up, your muscles have the ability to contract with greater force if you complete these exercises right before shoveling.
What if you've not been to physiotherapy before? This is a tough question to answer, but it all depends on where you may have muscular weakness or range of motion loss. Without a proper assessment, it would be tough to provide a blanket answer. There are a lot of resources online like Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube which will show you exercises of the most commonly underutilized muscles. But the results may vary and are hit or miss. Generally, many clients come to Break Free Physiotherapy confused because they cannot find out why they hurt. Our bodies and injuries are unique and they vary person to person. No injury is ever exactly the same, which is why getting professional help is important. If you'd like to book an assessment with one of our physiotherapists, you can visit our booking page. Physiotherapists are trained to find muscular imbalances and the appropriate exercises so that you aren't trying to second guess which ones will work for you. You can have more confidence that you aren't spending time doing several different exercises that may have no benefit to you.
It's important to find a tailored maintenance program to ensure that certain areas of previous weakness remain strong. One example is trunk weakness (or as it's coined – core strength) for a lower back injury. If you were prescribed a core strengthening program by your physiotherapist, maintaining this by doing it regularly, or even doing it right before snow shoveling, could help. Another great example is a rotator cuff tear that requires a regular strengthening program to strengthen the rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers. You may complete these exercises prior to ensure that your muscles are primed and ready to go before you lift a shovel full of wet snow. Or perhaps your upper back is tight from working remotely from home. Completing stretches to improve upper back mobility may help prevent a painful night of painkillers, topical pain-relieving creams and heat pads.
Resistance training and regular healthy movement is the key to maintaining good long-term health. So being consistent with strengthening and mobility on a consistent basis will be beneficial, especially when it comes to shoveling snow.
The Equipment, Previous Injuries, Technique
When I wrote this blog before, I emphasized the importance of a good shovel. What I later learned is that it all depends on what injuries you've had in the past and the technique you are using. If the shovel you're using is too long for you, it can put considerable strain on your back. If it's too short, you may find yourself bending forward too far to get a good scoop of snow.
A lightweight shovel that is ergonomically friendly will always be a benefit. Many shovels now are made of plastic which allows a wide range of people with varying levels of strength to lift the shovel. A recent trend in shovel ergonomics are shovels with an additional handle to reduce stress on the body
2 handled snow shovel which may reduce stress on your body.
Interestingly enough, this type of shovel may not be for everyone. The right type of shovel depends on a lot of factors: your height, the length of your arms and where you are shoveling snow. For example, sometimes the width of the blade can inadvertently put more pressure on the body because of the amount of snow the shovel can carry. A larger width blade can pick up more snow. But for someone with a back or shoulder injury, this may not be ideal because there is more weight at the tip of the shovel, leading to more stress at the shoulder or lower back. A shovel with a smaller blade will decrease the load-bearing risk of injury by decreasing the total amount of weight lifted with each scoop.
During the big snow storm at the beginning of December last year, I learned a simple way of saving my back from getting sore. We have two shovels, one with a wider blade and another with a smaller one. I would use the wider snow shovel to push the snow to the sides of my driveway. Then, using the smaller shovel, I would use this to lift the snow over the bank that was being created. It did take a little more time, but my back was happy afterwards.
Another consideration is your anatomy. If you are taller, a shorter shovel will make you bend over more, causing more back pain. If you are shorter, a longer shovel will make it harder to lift the snow itself. Being aware of whether the shovel is the right size for you will depend on your mechanics and whether or not you can lift by bending your hips and knees.
A couple of small hacks worth knowing: spraying your shovel blade with cooking oil or applying wax to it can prevent snow from sticking, making each scoop easier and lighter.
A shovel designed for pushing snow
Shoveling Form and Respecting Pain
Shoveling requires the ability to push, scoop and throw snow either forward, to the side or behind. We will use our dominant hand on the handle and our non-dominant hand lower on the shaft. This allows us to scoop underneath the snow to move it off the area we're clearing. Shoveling is a complex movement that requires the use of our lower legs, lower back, trunk and shoulders in a coordinated fashion. However, pain usually develops when you are using only certain parts of your body. Shoveling is a lower-leg-dominated movement, but the most common way people lift is using mostly their lower back. This often happens if you're not bending your hips and knees during the scooping motion. You've probably heard "use your legs" when it comes to lifting anything heavy – the same idea applies here. If you're using just your back muscles, you'll see an increase in use of those muscles, leading to overuse.
A great way to decrease the stress on one side of the body is to switch sides. Alternating sides allows you to use muscles equally on both areas of the body. I often run into people with injuries from doing the same motion repeatedly the exact same way. Sometimes variety can allow the muscles to recover. It's the same concept as lifting weights and taking breaks in between. Rest allows us to lift more weight in a session without overtaxing the muscles into failure.
Respect pain! If you have pain with a certain movement, it's best to avoid the movement that reproduces discomfort. A common example is rotation of the trunk during shoveling. This seems to be a common weak area across my clients with back pain. Ideally, we would want to train into rotation to address that weakness before you repeatedly lift snow. However, we often find ourselves at a juncture where our body isn't ready to lift and there's a big pile of snow that needs to be shoveled so you can get out of the driveway. Try to find a way to shovel snow that doesn't hurt. Ask yourself if there's a way to move the snow without increasing your pain.
Pain is never really the enemy, but in fact a good teacher. The pain itself is signaling that we're putting stress on a particular area of the body, causing irritation. Pain is a protective mechanism. A common example is the reflex from touching a hot stove. Our brain immediately senses that your body is in danger by signaling a pain response, leading you to instinctively pull your hand away from the heat source to protect yourself from injury.
The Type of Snow Matters
Depending on the conditions, there can be light wispy snow and heavy wet and sticky snow. Generally light snow is a breeze to clear as it's easy to push and lift. I've seen some online videos of people using snowblowers to push light snow instead of using a shovel. If you have one handy, you can save your body the trouble of using a shovel.
If you have heavy snow, this can often be the more likely culprit of injuries. Snow can stick to the shovel or become heavier if it's wet from fluctuating temperatures. If the snow is heavy, try taking smaller scoops rather than trying to move as much at once – it's a small adjustment that meaningfully reduces the load on your back with every lift. Snowblowers are a great tool for this type of snow, as many newer snow blowers are self-propelled and can throw snow pretty far, saving your body from lifting wet, soppy snow. You could also pay someone to remove snow for you, whether your neighbour's kid or a professional snow removal service.
If you're pushing rather than lifting, there are specialty shovels with wider blades designed to curl the snow onto itself as you push, instead of scooping and lifting – often gentler on your back than repeated lifting. That said, be mindful of ice underfoot if you're pushing. Good footwear with proper traction matters here, and snow spikes are worth the investment if you plan to be active outdoors through the winter months. Pushing tends to work best on flat, even surfaces, since an uneven surface underneath can catch the shovel blade and throw off your balance or form.
It's All About Pacing
Pacing is a tricky topic, as our society values time. I would say that a rushed shoveling job can lead to more injuries, so affording more time to remove snow would definitely be helpful.
If you're not on a time crunch, starting with half the driveway before taking a break to stretch can help prevent injuries. It also helps to place the snow you've shoveled somewhere you won't need to clear again – a small thing, but it saves you from doing the same work twice.
Ask for Help
Got a good neighbour who has a snow blower? Or a relative or friend nearby to come over? The more the merrier – you can get some exercise in and make it a group effort!
Still In Pain?
Physiotherapists are best suited for this type of injury. Our knowledge of exercise physiology and of tools like dry needling makes us an asset to your recovery. Sometimes general stretching may not be enough, and you need help to get rid of your pain. If you need a second opinion and resources online aren't cutting it, it's probably time to seek help.
Click here to book an appointment today!
P.S. If you see an idea or tip that isn't in this blog, you can contact us using our contact form on the website and let us know!
References
Lorenz D. Postactivation potentiation: an introduction. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2011 Sep;6(3):234-40. PMID: 21904700; PMCID: PMC3164001.
McCrary JM, Ackermann BJ, Halaki M. A systematic review of the effects of upper body warm-up on performance and injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:935-942.
Corey Kim
Physiotherapist
Written by Corey Kim, MPT, Registered Physiotherapist & Co-owner of Break Free Physiotherapy and Wellness in London, Ontario. With over 10 years of clinical experience, Corey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and a Master of Physical Therapy from Western University. He is passionate about helping patients find pain relief through movement and believes in empowering people with knowledge of how the body heals. Read Corey's full bio →
