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As we head deeper into winter and snow becomes more prevalent, it’s important to remember to not injure yourself while attempting to clear it.

With that in mind, Clint Lutterman, Rehabilitation Director for 21st Century Rehab at Dallas County Hospital, offers some safety tips for shovelling. “It’s a pretty hard workout! You know, you get done shovelling your driveway and you could be pretty tired. So what would you do before your workout? Sometimes you need to stretch, you need to warm up, you need to loosen up the muscles a little bit. Those are things that can help. (Also) just being aware then or body mechanics. A lot of times, you just want to get the snow off your driveway so you can get to work and move on with the day. And good body mechanics aren’t always the most efficient, but I tell people, ‘Even though it might take you a little bit longer then, you won’t be laid up for two weeks afterwards.’ So it’s worth the extra ten minutes of doing it.”

Lutterman says the most important aspect of proper body mechanics is to keep things in a straight line. That means to throw in front of you or directly to the side, and avoid twisting your torso. To learn more about proper shovelling safety and other winter exercise tips, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.