- Drink lots of water (a gallon) Before AND After Shoveling Snow
- Vitamin C, E and antioxidants
- Warm Up At Least 15 Minutes Before Shoveling Snow – Mimic Shoveling Movement
- Stretch Slowly – Hold for 30 Seconds Before Releasing Before & After Shoveling
- Breathe Deeply
- Avoid Any Vigorous Action That Increases Pain While Applying Ice to Area
- Perform 10 to 15-Minutes of Slow Exercise Like Cycling Legs to Get Blood Flowing
- After Shoveling If You Have A Steam Room Use It Followed By A Cold Shower
- Otherwise, Take A HotCold Shower: Hot 2 Min. – Cold 30 Sec. – Repeat 5 x’s
- Massage Sore Muscles
- Consume 20g of Whey Protein and Increase Carbs and Don’t Forget Water
- Get 8 Hours of Sleep
- Advil – Rest the Area in Pain
- Read Proper Shoveling Technique Below
If any pain or soreness persists more than a week, see your physician.
MARIA DORFNER is the founder of NewsMD Communications, LLC and Healthy Within Network (HWN). This is her blog. She can be reached at maria.dorfner@yahoo.com
One of her series, “Heart Smart” airing on CNBC won an Outstanding Media Recognition Award from the American Heart Association.