With Halloween receding into the background, people around the country can turn their focus onto something much spookier: the holidays. As people get ready for the upcoming festivities, much time will be taken up with shopping, decorating, and keeping a yard tidy as snow and leaves fall. However, these things can also leave people open to spinal injuries and various other joint issues, and a new report aims to help citizens avoid those types of injuries.
Let’s start with keeping your yard and driveway clear, something that can put excessive strain on your back. Whether dealing with snow or leaves, you’ll first want to get your body ready for the task like you would any other type of physical activity. Make sure to stretch your body, particularly your lower back and your arms. You could also take a short walk so that you quickly grow accustomed to the upcoming physical stress.
You also want to make sure that your tools are of the appropriate size. Any rake or shovel you use should be tall enough to enable you to conduct work without bending over excessively. With a shovel, you might think about a plastic product that doesn’t weigh as much as a metal unit. And if you’re really worried about hurting your back, you might even invest in a leaf blower or a snow blower to get the job done.
When either shoveling or raking, keep your back straight and leave the bending to your knees. And rather than turning your torso in order to carry out the activity, make sure to pivot your whole body; otherwise, that twisting can wreak havoc on your health.
Many people have a tendency to pick the shovel up off the ground to throw the snow either to the side or behind them. What you want to do instead is simply walk forward as you shovel, pushing the snow as you go. In this way, you minimize the types of lifting motions that can lead to an injury. When raking, you want to pull directly toward you, rather than reaching awkwardly to the side.
The same kind of attentiveness to safety should apply to decorating as well. Instead of doing everything yourself, enlist the aid of someone you trust to help you. That way, multiple people can deal with the weight of a Christmas tree or any other bulky apparatus. Be careful on slick surfaces so that you don’t throw out your back.
Finally, be safe while shopping. Rather than focus on getting through things as quickly as possible, take your time. If you’re bringing in bags of gifts or groceries, make multiple trips rather than try to carry everything at once and put your back at risk. Although the weight may not seem like much, you should still be using your legs instead of your back to lift.
By approaching matters with care, the threat of a herniated disc can be drastically reduced and you don't have to let a microdiscectomy surgery cost you quality holiday time with your family.
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