Seasonal / Minnesota

Snow Shoveling and Back Pain: How to Protect Your Back This Winter

Reviewed by Dr. Dustin Dukart, DC — August 23, 2026

If you live in Saint Paul Park or anywhere in the east metro, shoveling isn’t optional — and it’s one of the most common ways we see a healthy back turn into a painful one, seemingly overnight.

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Why it matters: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recorded over 137,000 ER, doctor’s office, and clinic visits for snow shoveling and snowblower injuries in a single recent year — most commonly sprains and strains to the back and shoulders.

Why Shoveling Is Rough on Your Back

It combines nearly everything that stresses your spine at once: bending forward, twisting to throw the snow, lifting a load that’s often heavier than it looks (wet snow especially), repeated many times in a row, in the cold — which itself makes muscles less pliable and more injury-prone before you’ve even started. This isn’t a small-scale problem either — the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recorded over 137,000 emergency room, doctor’s office, and clinic visits for snow shoveling and snowblower injuries in a single recent year, most commonly sprains and strains to the back and shoulders.

Practical Ways to Lower Your Risk

Push instead of lift when you can. Pushing snow to the side is far easier on your back than lifting and throwing it.
Bend at the knees, not the waist. Let your legs do the lifting — the same principle as lifting any heavy object.
Don’t twist while you throw. Turn your whole body toward where the snow is going instead of twisting your spine while holding a load.
Take smaller scoops, more often. A full shovel of wet snow can weigh 15-20+ pounds — several light scoops beat a few heavy ones.
Warm up first. A few minutes of walking or light movement before you start makes a real difference in cold weather.
Switch sides periodically. Don’t do the entire driveway leading with the same side of your body.
Pace yourself. Take breaks, especially for larger driveways or heavy, wet snow — this isn’t a race.

If It Already Hurts

A little soreness after a big shoveling session is common and usually settles on its own. Pain that’s sharp, doesn’t ease up after a day or two, or comes with numbness or tingling down a leg is worth getting looked at properly rather than waiting it out. See our low back pain page → for what that exam looks like.