House Call: Taking care of your back in the snowy months ahead

As we head into winter, the chance of snow in the forecast is going to increase, and many of us will be getting packages in the mail. Shoveling snow, lifting heavy packages, decorating your home and other strenuous activities can be difficult on our backs.

The best way to take care of back pain is to prevent it in the first place, and a great place to start is posture. Good posture keeps your bones and joints in balance and distributes your weight evenly over your feet (or hips if you are sitting).

When your weight is evenly distributed, there is less stress on muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments – no matter what you are doing. This is especially important as you age because tendons and ligaments take longer to go back to normal after being stretched.

Your muscles must work to take up the slack and keep things in place in the meantime. You might suffer pain while the ligament or tendon repairs itself and your muscles try to compensate and keep your back properly aligned.

Another way to prevent back pain is to strengthen your core muscles (the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen) so that when they need to work harder than usual, they are strong enough for the task.

Strengthening your leg muscles, which are some of the largest muscles in your body, can help, too, because strong legs make it easier to lift with your legs rather than your back. I’m a big fan of walking, running, planks and pushups. For the legs, try standing at the kitchen sink, holding onto the edge, and doing deep knee bends.

Warming up before heading out to shovel snow or another strenuous activity can reduce the chance of experiencing pain later. Walking and stretching before the big task will make you less likely to hurt yourself.

Making note of particular motions or positions that make your back hurt so that you can be extra careful when doing them helps, as well. A physical therapist can help you customize an exercise and stretching routine to decrease your back pain.

If the motion or position causing the problem is work-related, talk with your supervisor about an ergonomic assessment to determine what is needed to avoid that motion or position. It could be as simple as a back bolster for your chair, a wrist brace or something more complex like a standing desk.

Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their workers, and that includes providing the tools needed to prevent injuries from physical overexertion.

Sometimes the motion or position responsible for your pain might not be obvious because the pain might not be immediate. If you do disturb your back – keep moving. Most back pain will resolve on its own over a few days to weeks.

If you get pain that goes into your leg or legs, and especially if it’s accompanied by numbness and weakness, see your medical provider. It still might get better on its own, but it could be something more serious.