'Tis the season for shovelling snow, but how can you avoid those common back-related ailments? We asked fitness expert Kathleen Trotter to share a tip from her newsletter to explain how you can activate your core and take the pressure off your back.

Shoveling Snow and Low Back Problems
Many people hurt their backs shoveling snow if their core is not strong, the flexion and rotation required in snow shoveling can put unwanted pressure on the spine. Many people do crunches to get a strong core. Unfortunately, what causes low back pain it is not simply a muscle strength issue; it is a muscle recruitment issue. Often people have a hard time turning on the neural connection to their deep core muscles. What this means is to help eliminate low back pain, the brain connection to the deep core muscles needs to be "woken up". Try the exercise bellow to "wake up" your deep abdominals. Hopefully, once your stabilizing core muscles are working, you will not hurt your back shoveling this winter.

More tips for saving your back, after the jump...

Learn How to Engage Your Deep Abdominals
Lie on your back and take a deep breath in. Try to breathe in three-dimensionally: the air goes into your stomach, the side of your ribs and your back ribs. Pay close attention to make sure you breathe into the back ribs; that is what most people have the hardest time with. As you exhale, imagine you are putting on a tight pair of jeans, and pull your abdominals away from those jeans. Try to activate all the low abdominal muscles, from your pubic bone to your belly button. Don't push out or brace your abdominals. You don't want to feel like your superficial abdominal muscles are working, instead you want to feel the deep muscles. Try to maintain this deep abdominal activation as you walk on the ice or shovel snow.

Once your brain has learned to consciously turn on these deep muscles, eventually they should be able to turn on by themselves in any situation. Properly functioning deep abdominal muscles will save you from slipping on the ice, or brace your spine when you try to lift too much snow, without you consciously having to ask them to work.