We’ve all had enough of the white stuff already, but a new study conducted by a graduate student at the University of Calgary may have found the best type of snow shovel that does the job and doesn’t sacrifice your back.
The study, by biomedical engineering graduate student Ryan Lewison, was published in the latest edition of Applied Ergonomics.
Lewinson found that for the lifting part of clearing snow, a bent shaft shovel is best.
“We were primarily interested in looking at lower back flexion to see how much bending people were doing when using one type of snow shovel or the other,” explains Lewinson in a release. “What we found is that when you use the bent shaft snow shovel, you don’t bend over quite as much.”
He says that the study only looks at lifting, so it wouldn’t apply to whether or not the same shovel would be useful for pushing, chopping, or throwing snow.
There would need to be further research to determine if straight or bent is the way to go for those jobs.
Studies in the United States show that nearly 12,000 people are treated in emergency departments each year for snow shoveling injuries, and the most common injury reported is to the lower back.
