A chiropractor is advising people to deal with lingering back and muscle problems before winter arrives, arguing that stiffness and untreated pain make cold-weather tasks more dangerous. Dr. Chelsey Spano, a chiropractor and clinic director at Roseland Wellness, made the case in comments reported by The Weather Network on Saturday.
The network framed the advice as a counterpart to the seasonal habit of booking a vehicle in for a tire change — a sensible precaution, it noted, but one that leaves the body itself unaddressed.
Why it matters
Winter places demands on the body that most people do not train for. According to The Weather Network, the season brings slipping on wet leaves, raking, scraping frost off windshields and shovelling snow. Each of those activities asks the spine and muscles to work in ways they may not have for months.
Spano told the network that entering the colder season with stiffness, soreness or tight muscles makes it harder to move safely through hazardous ground conditions. Her concern is not only discomfort but the way an existing problem can compound at the moment a person needs stability most.
The stakes are highest for older adults. The Weather Network reports that falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations and deaths among Canadians aged 65 and older.
How one tight muscle shifts the load
Spano's explanation centres on asymmetry. She told the network that tension on one side of the body disrupts the other side, because people overwhelmingly favour one hand for daily tasks. That imbalance, she said, becomes a problem for the spine and nerves when someone steps onto ice or lifts a shovel in an awkward position — and can set a person up for a serious injury.
Her recommendation is to treat the aches people have learned to tolerate. Addressing existing pain, tension or stiffness before winter, she said, matters because the season asks the body to perform movements it is not accustomed to.
Chiropractic care, in her framing, is not a guarantee against falling. She told The Weather Network that it cannot magically stop every fall, but that it can leave the body better prepared to handle whatever conditions arrive.
The network closed its report by suggesting that preventive care can give people more confidence when facing what it called their toughest opponent: Mother Nature.
What to watch
As temperatures drop across Canada, the practical question for readers is whether they address nagging back and muscle issues now or wait until the first snowfall forces the issue.
