Snow shovelling is not everyone's favourite thing to do but is essential for Portage la Prairie winters.

There are 3 - P's you should remember when Shovelling: proper shovel, positioning, and pacing.

Joanne Gross is a Physiotherapist for Southern Health Santé Sud. She goes over some of the risks associated with shovelling.

"There are some strains and sprains to our back, shoulders, and elbows from repetitive lifting, and doing things we don't normally do. Sometimes we don't think of the fact that it's a high energy activity," says Gross. "It's hard on our heart and lungs, especially if you have any existing asthma or cardiac conditions. It's good to be aware that cold weather can make that worse as well."

Sometimes an injury can occur because of your style of clearing snow. Gross says positioning is key.

"A lot of it is just body mechanics in terms of keeping our feet turned the same way as our shoulders and trunk. If you're picking up snow to move, try to not twist on your spine, and throw it off to the side, but try to turn your feet and point them in the direction that you're throwing the snow."

There's a lot of equipment out there that can help you stay safe while shovelling.

"Like getting some grippers for your shoes, so you're not slipping on some of the newly shovelled ice or snow," says Gross. "The shovels that have the curved bends to them can also prevent you from bending over as much when you're lifting it and making the lifting a little bit easier. When you're looking at your shovel make sure you don't have this massive shovel, and you're not going to be able to push that amount of snow."