Staying healthy means staying safe, too. If you take a fall shoveling your sidewalk, that giant bruise on you backend will take your immune system’s focus, and you’ll be weakened a little bit while your body repairs it.
Tires aren’t the only thing that need new treads. Sure, Smelly Shoe Spray keeps the inside of your shoes fresh, but the outside can still wear down, leaving your prone to more easily slip on ice. A nice pair of winter boots in good condition is essential—both for warmth and safety.
Watch out for black ice—when you’re driving or walking. Bridges (where cold air hits the bottom as well as top) are more likely to be icy. You can get salt to help get rid of ice on walkways and stairs.
Make sure gutters are in good repair, so that melting snow is directed not only away from your foundation, but from walkways, where it might freeze again at night.
It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but it’s actually easier to make a few trips outdoors to shovel during snow storms, before it piles up. As long as conditions aren’t dangerous, dress warm and spend a few 20 minute sessions scraping away an inch of snow, rather than waiting until it’s over and breaking your back on a few feet. It’s also a good practice because you’ll be safer in an emergency if you need to exit your house quickly (some areas have laws about shoveling—variations of it needing to be cleared within an hour or two after snowing stops).
If you shovel after the storm, treat it like any other exercise. Stretch before and after, drink lots of water, and do it correctly. That means good posture (don’t twist your body throwing snow, use the correct muscles), and making a plan for shoveling efficiently (where will the snow get dumped?). Dress in layers so you can take them off and avoid overheating. And a smaller shovel will help control how much weight you’re lifting.
If you still have body aches afterwards, try Dakota Muscle Relief. Take a fall or just have really bad pain? Try Welltrient Body RLF. And if you wind up with a bad bruise, support healing with Welltrient Systemic EnZymes.
What are your winter safety tricks?
