12/10/2025
One winter habit silently harms your back.
I see it every single year.
The temperature drops, and suddenly my schedule fills up with people who felt perfectly fine all summer. They come in confused because they haven't lifted anything heavy or changed their routine.
They usually blame the weather.
And they aren't wrong.
It’s not in your head. When barometric pressure changes, the pressure inside your joints shifts too. Plus, the cold thickens the synovial fluid that lubricates your spine. Think of it like engine oil turning into sludge because it's freezing outside.
Everything just gets tighter.
But the weather is only half the battle. The real problem is usually how we react to it.
We hibernate.
Research shows we spend way more time sitting still during winter. We treat the cold as permission to be sedentary.
Then, the snow falls.
We rush outside and try to move 1,500 pounds of snow with cold, stiff muscles. We don't warm up. We bend at the waist. We use our spines like cranes.
That is where the injury happens.
You have to keep the blood flowing, even when you want to stay on the couch.
Simple ways to protect your spine:
➡️ Warm up inside first. Seriously. Do some jumping jacks or walk in place for 5 minutes.
➡️ When shoveling, keep the back straight and lift with your legs.
➡️ Keep moving. Motion is lotion for those stiff joints.
Don't let the winter freeze you up.
Does the cold weather mess with your back too, or is it just me? Let me know below. 👇