01/28/2026
Yalich Clinic’s Safe Snow Shoveling Top Ten List
1. Dress warmly, but don’t bundle. You want to move naturally and not make movements difficult or awkward.
2. Warm up before you start shoveling. Walk around with large arm movements to get the blood flowing and your body temperature up before you start.
3. When possible, use a lightweight push shovel if possible. Also, spray your shovel with Teflon so the snow does not cling.
4. Keep one hand close to the base of the shovel to balance the weight of the lift and lessen the lower back strain.
5. Push snow when possible. Avoid lifting and throwing snow any distance. Push or walk the snow to a pile.
6. Avoid sudden twists with your body. Try to move the entire body together as a unit.
7. Use your legs and bend your knees to help with leverage.
8. Work slowly, pace yourself. Shovel for 5-7 minutes then rest for 2 or 3 minutes. Don’t wait until you’re tired or short of breath. If you start to become fatigued, stop.
9. If you experience pain, stop immediately. Rest for 5 to 10 minutes. For any new injury, use ice and not heat. Apply ice packs ten minute on, ten minutes off and 10 minutes on again will help start reduce inflammation.
10. If you have a health problem or are not in good shape, do not even consider snow shoveling. Find someone ahead of time to help. Don’t wait until there is a lot of snow on the ground before you figure out how to remove it.
For more information like this on preventing back injuries, you can contact us at 410-766-4878.
Be Safe!!!
