Recently, Adrianne Vangool joined Tamara Cherry on The Evan Bray Show to talk about one of winter’s biggest (and most underestimated) workouts: shovelling snow. From why it can be as demanding as a gym session to simple ways to protect your back, shoulders, and wrists, Adrianne shares practical tips—plus a few smart warm-ups and slip-prevention ideas to help you get the job done safely. You can listen to the full interview in the audio player above, and read the edited transcript below.
[Tamara Cherry]
All right, another big topic when it comes to the snow, shovelling. And every year there are thousands of Canadians who are hospitalized for injuries they get while shovelling. And we’re talking about this at a time when, you know, there’s this big snowstorm underway. Some areas of this province could see up to 35 centimeters of snow. And when you’re thinking about how you wanna deal with all that snow outside your house, maybe you’ll turn to YouTube for some tips.
[Tamara Cherry]
Okay, so there’s one idea. [laughs] Get a flamethrower. Not necess- not, not something I have in my back pocket or would nece- necessarily recommend. But we have some tips from our next guest, who is, uh, Saskatoon’s physical therapist and yoga therapist, Adrianne Vangool. Adrianne, have you ever used a flamethrower on, on your walkways outside your home?
[Adrianne Vangool]
[laughs] No, but that’s pretty hilarious. I haven’t heard of that.
[Tamara Cherry]
[laughs]
[Adrianne Vangool]
I, I’d go for a snowblower right about now. [laughs]
[Tamara Cherry]
Yes, me too. Okay. So Adrianne, uh, thank you for joining us here on the Evan Bray Show. What sorts of injuries do you see people coming in with, uh, when the… we get these big dumpings of snow?
[Adrianne Vangool]
Yeah, it’s a wide range actually, because it is a full-body activity, and because we’re, you know, Canadians and from Saskatchewan, we just, we’re used to doing it, so we don’t think ab- about the load or the intensity of the activity that it is. And so we often don’t think about the risks that it poses to our body. So we often see anything from wrist injuries, shoulder injuries, back injuries are a huge thing often. Um, and so it can range because it does involve the whole body.
[Tamara Cherry]
Okay. So one of these tips that I saw, flamethrowers aside, last night-
[Adrianne Vangool]
[laughs]
[Tamara Cherry]
… when I was looking around, when I was doing this research, Adrianne, was, um, you know, not to lift snow above your chest level. Is, is that something you tell people too?
[Adrianne Vangool]
Yes. And actually, we, we talk a lot about, you know, you often hear this, “Lift with your legs,” but actually with shovelling it’s better to push and, and really avoid the lifting as much as possible. And so … But certainly above the hip height, chest height, absolutely. But the more that you can push it into a pile rather than lifting at all is really important. Because people often don’t realize this, but the shovelling, especially the amount of snow we have today, is equivalent to doing a 15 to 20-minute aerobic or anaerobic, like a strength, workout in the gym.
[Tamara Cherry]
Hmm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
So unless you’re doing a lot of that in the gym already and you’re warming up and preparing your body to move that kind of a load, to all of a sudden go from the couch to shovelling that amount, um, in one go, is quite strenuous on the body. So you can see why there is that, um, opportunity for injury.
[Tamara Cherry]
So Adrianne, why does my fitness want- watch not have snow shovelling as an option-
[Adrianne Vangool]
[laughs]
[Tamara Cherry]
… to log that workout? [laughs]
[Adrianne Vangool]
We got, we gotta write something to Garmin. [laughs]
[Tamara Cherry]
Yes, exactly. Or, uh, Apple in my case.
[Adrianne Vangool]
There you, there you go.
[Tamara Cherry]
Garmin, Apple, that’s … This is breaking news, folks.
[Adrianne Vangool]
Yeah. [laughs]
[Tamara Cherry]
We’re gonna call for this, uh, this week on the show. Um, okay, so how do you decide who in the household should do the shovelling? And not necessarily you in particular, Adrianne, but, um, if we’ve got a, a family of, you know, maybe there’s a big burly man, but a burly woman as well, there’s some teenagers out there, maybe an elderly parent, uh, a gr- or grandparent living in the home. How should we be delegating these tasks?
[Adrianne Vangool]
I mean, it’s a great point, right? So, you know, we’ve gone through the strain on the body. And so if those individuals don’t have the physical ability to, um, try and find the person that has the most fitness, but also warming up before the movement.
[Tamara Cherry]
Mm-hmm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
So lean on your neighbors if there are people around that have a snowblower, younger kids around. It is a great form of exercise, so if you’re at home and you’re like, “Instead of going to the gym this morning, I’m gonna shovel my neighbor’s driveway,” or help out an elder- elderly person or someone with disability nearby. But I think, you know, really thinking about that community mindset and also thinking about the importance of warming up before you’re about to do that activity, whether you’re fit or maybe not as active. That’s really critical.
[Tamara Cherry]
All right. If you’re just joining us, I am Tamara Cherry filling in for Evan Bray the rest of the week, and I’m speaking with physical therapist and yoga therapist, Adrianne Vangool, in Saskatoon. Adrianne, let… talk to me more about that warming up. What sorts of stretches should we be doing before we head out with that shovel if we don’t have a snowblower?
[Adrianne Vangool]
Yeah. So you wanna have a really good squat technique when you’re doing shovelling. So we think about sometimes people are standing tall with their knees straight and they’re pushing upright.
[Tamara Cherry]
Mm-hmm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
And that’s not great. So we wanna get into a nice squat position. So doing almost like a sit to stand, hovering above the chair, is a really good warm-up exercise to get your legs ready to do that movement. And then as well, grabbing the shovel sideways and kind of doing gentle twists and rotations of the upper body. And then if you’re thinking about your, again, that shovel sideways and in both hands pressing up overhead, you’re preparing your shoulders and upper body for that type of movement. Doesn’t take a long time, but a little bit of warm-up like that really can set the stage for injury prevention.
[Tamara Cherry]
So we are lifting the empty shovel above our heads to stretch, but we are not-
[Adrianne Vangool]
Yes
[Tamara Cherry]
… lifting a shovel full of snow above our heads to toss it to- onto a pile.
[Adrianne Vangool]
Correct. Thank you for clarifying that.
[Tamara Cherry]
[laughs]
[Adrianne Vangool]
This is the warm-up. [laughs]
[Tamara Cherry]
Okay, okay. Uh, talk to me about slip and fall injuries, because this snow, I mean, one of the hazards of snow sometimes is that it can hide that sheet of ice that it might be just below the surface. So what do you tell your clients in how they can protect themselves that way?
[Adrianne Vangool]
Yeah. This is a really difficult time of year with that melting and then s- and a, a huge amount of snow on top of it. Um, it’s slippery, and you can’t see it, and so that’s where we also see a lot of injuries, when it’s unexpected. And so what I like to tell people is if you can get some really good footwear, but having those grips that attach to the bottom of your boot.
[Tamara Cherry]
Mm-hmm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
If you are the person that’s gonna be doing a lot of the shovelling, try and get the gear to support and prevent falls.
[Tamara Cherry]
Mm-hmm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
And so yes, ideally we’d have our sidewalks clear and the salt out and there wouldn’t be any ice, but it happens.
[Tamara Cherry]
Mm-hmm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
And so making sure that you have a non- as much of a non-slip boot as possible w- can really prevent that, uh, slipping. But if you are in a good position, your knees are bent, you’re in a wide stance when you’re shovelling, if you do slip a bit, you’re in a better position to prevent falling. You might slip, but you can catch yourself. If you’re standing upright and your knees are straight, you can j- imagine if somebody gently pushed you or you slipped your foot, you’re not in a good active stance to correct or catch yourself.
[Tamara Cherry]
All right. Adrianne Vangool, physical therapist and yoga therapist. I like to think that this, you would not be more busy in the days to come because of this, but unfortunately I’m sure you will be. And-
[Adrianne Vangool]
[laughs] Yes
[Tamara Cherry]
… happy for your clients that they are in good hands. But we really appreciate your insight today, Adrianne.
[Adrianne Vangool]
Thanks so much for having me.
[Tamara Cherry]
Have a great day. Stay safe out there.
[Adrianne Vangool]
Thank you.
[Tamara Cherry]
Stay warm.
[Adrianne Vangool]
Thanks. You too.
