Ergonomic Snow Shoveling Tip
The Heft is a Canadian made invention by Marco Longley who
pitched his click on handle on Dragons Den and the product is now featured at
Home Hardware stores. We haven’t used the device but it is highly endorsed by
Dragon, David Chilton.
In the promotion videos we noticed that the product is often
used with feet in external rotation. This mal-aligns or deflects the
psoas/iliacus muscles which attach to the top of the femur. Psoas/iliacus are
key, foundational muscles in the kinetic chain. When mal-aligned, this causes loss
of strength and function. Other muscle groups compensate, performing beyond
their load tolerance. All of this equates to a wide variety of possible
symptoms from general muscle aches and pains, back/leg/knee pain to nerve impingement (mal-aligned muscles
can pull on joints). To avoid problems with repetitive strain, perform all your
daily activities, including snow shoveling with your feet pointed forward.
The Heft You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJs1ZZ01ZK4 Watch for external rotation. Below shows the incorrect and correct ergonomics for snow shoveling with or without The Heft.
The Heft You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJs1ZZ01ZK4 Watch for external rotation. Below shows the incorrect and correct ergonomics for snow shoveling with or without The Heft.
