COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — As a winter storm wraps up, a Colorado chiropractor warns that the simple task of shoveling could result in an injury.
A study found more than 11,000 people are hurt annually in incidents tied to snow shoveling, including slips and falls, overexertion, and back injuries. Dr. Max Pohl with Balance Chiropractic said many patients seek treatment for back pain without realizing what triggered it.
“More often than you probably want to know,” Pohl said of folks coming in with injuries not realizing how they were hurt. “Usually, it’s injuries that have happened many years ago, and then the problem’s not fixed. They feel better, but then there’s a small straw that breaks the camel’s back, whether it’s shoveling snow or, you know, flipping over the pillow at night.”
He said pain should not be ignored, especially when it appears suddenly.
“Pain is your brain’s way of saying, ‘Hey, don’t do that anymore,’” Pohl added. “So any sort of discomfort, especially sharp shooting pains … is a big indicator to maybe take a break.”
More serious warning signs can include symptoms associated with sciatica.
“It can be shooting pains, numbness, tingling in the back of the legs, into the feet, and it’s usually associated with some sort of back pain,” he said.
To reduce the risk of injury, he recommends preparing the body before heading outside:
1. Warm up your body. If you're cold and stiff, you're going to want to get everything moving first.
2. If you are able to push the snow to the side, do that instead of lifting. If you do have to lift snow, proper form is crucial.
3. Avoid a twisting motion in your body when shoveling. Pohl explained that twisting can increase pressure on spinal discs.
“You want to always lift in a straight up and down motion and use your upper body to throw the snow … instead of your whole body and your whole back,” he explained.
Pohl encouraged people to seek help if pain persists rather than waiting for it to worsen.
“So many times people have an injury or an accident and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’ll go away in a couple of days,’” he said. “But by not addressing it sooner rather than later, it just snowballs... no pun intended."
When it comes to treatment, Dr. Pohl explained he isn't your standard chiropractor.
“Most people think of chiropractors that twist and crack and pop the spine based on the area that hurts, and that’s completely fine,” he said. “Our goal is different, so we only do two things because we want to do them at the best possible level that we can.”
Those treatments include a form of non-surgical spinal decompression designed to target specific problem areas.
“It basically creates a very subtle pumping effect at the level where the problem is, and then with that pumping effect can pull fluid back towards where it’s supposed to be, pull disc material back towards where it’s supposed to be,” Pohl said.
He said the clinic also focuses on correcting overall body alignment using objective measurements rather than traditional adjustments.
“What we do is figure out how to realign the whole structure without ever twisting, popping, or cracking,” he said.
Click here for more on what Balance Chiropractor offers.
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