Stasia Humphreys
Arm pain, numbness or tingling?
Arm pain, numbness or tingling?
Stasia Humphreys
Is Shoveling Snow a Pain or a Great Workout?
Is Shoveling Snow a Pain or a Great Workout?
Back Pain
Stasia Humphreys
The Posture & Back Pain Connection

Back pain is common but not normal. Learn how to heal your back by improving posture and alignment at Pain Free Clinic of Denver!

The Posture & Back Pain Connection

hip hinging

Is Shoveling Snow a Pain or a Great Workout?

Hurt your back shoveling?

For some yes & others no. The key to staying pain free is the posture, alignment and breathing you use during the work.

I created this short video that quickly explains how to shovel with correct and safe posture alongside. Check it out!

Protecting your back is more than just bending your knees and using your legs to lift things. The way we sit, stand and move is important in terms of protecting our spine for as long as we want to be able to live and move comfortably.

PS - Here’s a download with four exercises that help realign your body after shoveling…but, you can also do these before so you go into the work with better alignment!

How often do you hear about someone who threw their back out shoveling? This happens for a number of reasons with misalignment and muscle dysfunction/compensation at the top of the list. If your hips are tucked under and your spine is in flexion (like the guy in the video), even if you bend your knees, your back is in danger because you are putting a ton of pressure on your spine. However, if you hinge your hips (check out our hip hinge article) + bend your knees + exhale as you lift, you protect your spine. In a proper hip hinge position your glutes are working and with proper breathing your core is working.

Back pain isn’t caused by shoveling, back pain is caused by years of improper loading.

The great news is that even years of poor posture and alignment can be changed. Just ask Anne, my 88 year old client who wasn’t able to get up and down off the floor at 88 but now in her 90’s can!

As a certified Egoscue Affiliate + a Foundation Training Instructor and a Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist I was able to teach her corrective exercises designed to improve posture, get her muscles moving and firing correctly resulting in her ability to get up and down off the floor + move better and feel better!

Need help now? Here are three things you can do now to start healing and feeling better:

Back Pain? Read about Hip Hinging & Fig Leaves!

How do you bend?  How do you stand? The way you do these things plays a huge role in the short term and long term health of your back and your hips.

Hip Hinge & Cashew Back & Fig Leaf.jpg

Hip Hinge vs. Cashew Back

Looking at the two women in the photo above I can tell you that the one on the right will have back pain because she is using her back to do the work. Whereas the woman on the left has hinged her hips and as you can see, has a long, straight back which is supported by her gluteal and leg muscles. 

In partnership with South Suburban Rec Centers I offer 8 classes based on 3 different modalities, ALL OF WHICH TEACH YOU HOW TO PROPERLY HIP HINGE so that  you can learn to protect your back!

This blog post is a follow up on a great article from NPR talking about back pain and why some people have it and others don't:  Lost Art Of Bending Over: How Other Cultures Spare Their Spines.


I've been sharing a great quote from Katie Bowman for years: "When in doubt stick your butt out!"...just another way of teaching the hip hinging technique which is promoted by anyone who understands alignment and back pain. 



I teach hip hinging in all of my classes with a major hip hinging focus in my Foundation Training class. Eric Goodman, the founder of Foundation Training teaches hip hinging as one of the major components of alleviating back pain, strengthening the muscles supporting the back, creating functional hip movement and decompressing the spine. 

COME LEARN proper hip hinging in any of my classes:

Foundation Training
Functional Motion
MUTU Core & Pelvic Floor

New classes begin April 4th...Click on any of the links above for details on each class

Here the spine is flexing forward in order to pick something up. This motion is very hard on the back because the back is trying to do much of the work. Ouch!

Here the spine is flexing forward in order to pick something up. This motion is very hard on the back because the back is trying to do much of the work. 
Ouch!

Here, my hips are hinged and pulled back creating a long + strong back position. This motion is healthy for the back as the gluteal muscles and hamstrings are supporting the bend.HIP HINGING IS IMPORTANT!

Here, my hips are hinged and pulled back creating a long + strong back position. This motion is healthy for the back as the gluteal muscles and hamstrings are supporting the bend.

HIP HINGING IS IMPORTANT!

Take Action

  • Sign up for an alignment assessment
  • Sign up for a group class or a one on one program
    • Learn how to be able to get up and down from a chair or the floor for many years to come
    • Learn how to pick things up 
    • Learn how to garden without so much pain 

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Contact Stasia today to set up a time for a postural assessment or to get more info on individual & group training.