Thursday 29 December 2011

Shovel Snow Like a Pro

Summary: spelling and punctuation


[[Image:ShovelSnow0.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Some work is best done with a little help from the family. Photo by Brad Moon, Wired.com]]

Snow. The frozen precipitation that's anxiously anticipated by "White Christmas" fans, plow operators, winter tire dealers, skiers and snowboarders. It's great for building forts, rolling snowmen and covering up those leaves you didn't get around to raking, but all that white stuff has a dark side: Shoveling.

Sure, it can be great exercise, and when it's a light fall of fluffy flakes it can actually be pleasant to be up early in the morning, giving the driveway a quick once over. But when the snow keeps falling, it morphs from light to heavy wet stuff, or the snow plow leaves a salt- and sand-encrusted deposit that blocks in your car, all semblance of pleasant outdoor activity is thrown out the window and shoveling assumes its true identity as a labor-intensive chore; a task that can cause injury or even death. That's right, it's not just back pain and sore arms you risk suffering when you pick up a shovel. A Canadian cardiologist (and who knows shoveling better than Canucks?) has established a connection between snow shoveling and heart attacks, after studying data from an Ontario hospital and determining that [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/cardiologist-finds-link-between-shoveling-snow-and-heart-attacks/article2249114/ 7 percent of heart attacks during the winter season were attributable to shoveling snow]. According to stats published by the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, 118,000 people received treatment for [http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00060 injuries incurred during snow shoveling] in 2007. It's carnage on American driveways come winter?.

All is not lost once the temperature drops. There's a right way and a wrong way to shovel snow, and if you avoid the most common mistakes you can greatly reduce your chance of injury and avoid becoming one of those AAOS statistics. Ultimately, it comes down to common sense and avoiding the urge to get the job done as quickly as humanly possible.

==Avoidance==

This is the list of strategies for those looking for the easy way out.

# Do Nothing. Drive over it. You may need a 4x4 and studded tires to avoid getting stuck at times, and you do know how a glacier forms, right? From snow accumulation that gets packed down and compressed into ice over time? Yeah, you'll end up with a small glacier-like formation that raises the level of your driveway by a foot and makes you "that guy" ? the one with a steady stream of meltwater long after the snow has disappeared from neighborhood lawns and a driveway that remains a slipping hazard to letter carriers into May. But for some people it works.
# Buy a snowblower. Noisy, expensive, gas-guzzling and punches Mother Earth in the throat whenever you start it up. Plus, you have to store it somewhere. Then there are the neighbors who either complain about noise when you fire it up at 5 a.m. or, even worse, expect you to clear their driveway too. FYI, snowblowers have their own hazards (rapidly rotating auger blade ? how could anything go wrong with that?), with the AAOS reporting 16,000 snowblower-related injuries in 2007.
# Have your kids do the shoveling. That's one of the reasons you have progeny, right? Mind you, an expensive automobile, kids and a large, unwieldy blade on a long wooden stick might give you some pause.
# Hire someone else to do it. Stimulate the local economy!
# Screw it, just buy one of those cheap condos you keep reading about and spend the winter in Florida.

==Buy The Right Shovel(s)==

[[Image:ShovelSnow1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo by Snow Wolf, [http://www.wovel.com Wovel.com]]]
Since you've decided not to take the easy way out and simply avoid shoveling altogether, the first step to getting the job done is to buy the right shovel. There is mixed opinion among experts over whether the old-fashioned, straight-handled shovel is best, or the newfangled ones showing up that have bent handles. The pro bent handle faction say that using this model reduces back strain by allowing for a more upright shoveling stance, while traditionalists point to the flexibility of the straight handle ? it allows for a much wider range of hand positioning, accommodating shovelers of all sizes. Some companies have even taken the high-tech shovel paradigm to extreme lengths.
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Take the [http://www.wovel.com/ Wovel] for example, a wheel-mounted $150 contraption designed to reduce effort and risk of back strain. Then there's the whole lightweight modern materials versus heavy old-school wood and steel argument. Straight handle, bent or Wovel, polycarbonate or oak, you're more likely to avoid injury no matter what shovel camp you're in if you choose the correct blade size for the job. Bigger is not always better. If you have an inch or two of light, fluffy snow, then the wide push blade works fine. If you're tackling dense, wet snow, a much smaller blade is more appropriate. Loading a wide, push blade shovel up with as much heavy snow as it will hold, lifting and throwing it is a recipe for a visit to the chiropractor.

==Dress Appropriate and Warm Up==

When it comes to clothing, dressing in layers is the way to go. This keeps you warm (the layers trap air for extra insulation) and by layering, you can safely remove some if you begin to overheat. Wear a hat (your head is essentially a human heat sink) and warm gloves or mittens. Finally, you want boots that are warm, waterproof and that pack a slip resistant tread ? as if back strain and heart attacks weren't enough, snow shoveling also claims victims who suffer broken legs or arms after slipping and falling.

Snow shoveling is a vigorous workout and you don't want to have at it from a cold start. Spend some time warming up before you even lay hands on a shovel. Walk around for a few minutes and maybe start by brushing the snow off the car to get your arms moving. Oh, and your warmup shouldn't include coffee, nicotine or other stimulants.

==Technique==

Don't approach shoveling snow as if you're trying to outdo the front-end loader clearing the mall parking lot. This isn't a race, unless you're rushing to be first in the emergency room. There are three key elements to snow shoveling technique. Follow these and you reduce your risk of injury:

# Pace yourself. Aim for a maximum of 15 shovel strokes per minute.
# Take reasonably sized shovelfuls of snow. Can you lift 30 pounds of the white stuff at a go? If you're a dumbass, you will. Aim for no more than 15 pounds at a time to avoid strain.
# Where possible, push the snow instead of lifting it. When lifting and throwing is a necessity, stick to relatively small amounts, lift with your arms and legs (not your back) and keep the shovel blade close to your body (if you hold it out, that increases the stress on your arms). To avoid twisting injuries, throw the snow straight ahead, not to the side or over your back.

==Common Sense==

A few tips that probably shouldn't be needed, but then again we all benefit from a gentle reminder now and then:

# If you have a heart condition, consult your doctor and get clearance before attempting to shovel snow.
# If the driveway or walk that you're shoveling is covered with ice, spread salt, kitty litter or your melter of choice first to minimize risk of wiping out.
# If you feel faint or nauseous while shoveling, stop. Call 911 if you experience chest pains, shortness of breath or other warning signs of heart attack.
# Although it may sound like more work, it's easier to shovel snow when it first falls and make return outings through the day during heavy snowfall than it is to wait until it's over and have to tackle the full lot. Waiting also gives the snow time to pack down, making removal more difficult.

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''Original article by Brad Moon, Wired.com.''

[[Category:Lifestyle]]
[[Category:Survival]]
[[Category:Winter]]


Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/1lFaVaLtvvs/Shovel_Snow_Like_a_Pro

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