Wow, the snow has arrived!  Looking out my front window this morning in my warm jammies, having my hot chocolate, I was reminded that it’s that time of year again when we tend to get out into the winter weather and have tons of fun building snowmen, skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and unfortunately shovelling.  While most of these things are a lot of fun they can also lead to strain or overdoing something.

We tackle shovelling the sidewalk like it’s an Olympic sport with little or no warm up time or proper technique.  We insist that, “It can’t be that cold!” and not dress quite warmly enough to stand at the bus stop with our children.  We either vigorously hack away at our iced up cars with our snow brushes or not bother to clear the snow at all and end up backing into a hydro pole because we can’t see out the back window.  Of course, you and I have never done that, but we all know someone who has.

Oh and my personal favourite, the weekend warrior.  The person who moves very little all week and then blasts their way around the hockey rink for 2 hours solid on Saturday night.

If any of this is sounding familiar, if your back is sore from shovelling and hacking or your neck is tight from shivering, give us a call at (705) 746-4660, or email us at julie@parrysoundmassagetherapy.com!

A soothing therapeutic massage can help you keep those muscles loose and limber so no matter what activities you are doing this winter, you’ll be comfortable.

DID YOU KNOW?

There is an art form in shovelling snow.  I have heard of an old guy that shovelled coal for hours on end and he never injured his back. Be sure to bend your knees, stay low, don’t twist, take smaller, lighter shovelfuls and have your toes and your nose aligned before throwing the snow that is in your shovel!

Check out this video clip to show you more great tips on shovelling snow http://youtu.be/lp_Rwbp8S1k

Stay warm and safe and protect your muscles over this winter season and don’t forget that we are always here if you do get your muscles into trouble.

Julie Torrance, RMT,CMRP & Kelly Wilson, RMT