Avoiding injury while raking leaves
This time of the year includes a lot of yard work and preparation for winter. AccuWeather's Bill Wadell provides different ways to safely clean your leaves away.
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00:00 foliage is past its peak across much of the northern U.S. Take a look at the map here on
00:05 your screen. The autumn colors are still on full display in parts of the Appalachians,
00:09 the mid-Atlantic and the west. It's a good idea to stay on top of those leaves though and clean
00:14 them up so they don't wreck your lawn and leave you with a mess in the spring. AccuWeather's Bill
00:20 Waddell joins us live this morning. I see some leaves. I see the lawnmower outside. I still have
00:27 to decide if I have to cut one more time. That's a big decision to make Bill, but I understand you
00:32 use your lawnmower to rake up some of the leaves and get a little mulch. Yeah, that's right Bernie,
00:39 Christina. Some people may say the lawnmower is the lazy way out. I don't think so. We'll explain
00:43 why coming up in a second. Yeah, if you leave leaves on your lawn all winter it can create a
00:48 mess. I don't know about you, but the dogs too. I've got Piper the hound dog out here with me. She
00:52 can make a mess out of the yard as well. It really doesn't matter if you are using a rake,
00:57 a leaf blower, or you're pushing a lawnmower. The pros say it is really important to take time and
01:03 to warm up and do some stretches before you rake up all of these leaves, especially if you're going
01:08 to be doing it in the fall chill. Now, these dry leaves, most of the time they're going to be a lot
01:13 lighter than if you were shoveling snow or shoveling dirt into your garden. But the repeated
01:20 bending, stooping, and kneeling, it can take a toll on your back. Dr. Drew Schwartz, a chiropractor
01:25 at Cleveland Clinic, says lower back pain and strains, tightness, stiff joints, even sciatica,
01:31 can fire up if you don't warm up and stretch first. When I say dynamic, I mean we're moving arms across
01:38 coming like this. You can do that while you're going to get the mail. You can do some high
01:42 knees. It doesn't have to be extensive, right? We're not looking to do a triathlon or a crossfit
01:48 competition here, but raking is going to be more than what your body's probably used to
01:52 throughout the week. So you have to prepare for that. Otherwise, injury will occur.
01:56 Now, Dr. Drew recommends an athletic stance when raking. So that's placing your feet shoulder
02:03 width apart and staggered. And it is always a good idea to lift with your legs, not your back.
02:09 Now, a lot of people, when they're raking these leaves, they're going to be bagging them. And
02:13 there's about 10 million pounds, or I believe it was 10 tons of yard waste and leaves that ends up
02:20 in a landfill every single year. But guys, there's a lot of ways to mulch it. We have information on
02:24 AccuWeather.com. I mow mine with the bag on the lawnmower. I put it in the corner, and that way,
02:29 I've essentially got free fertilizer for the spring. But not getting much help out here from
02:34 the hound this morning. This is all on my own today. Well, he said he was so well-behaved.
02:39 I'm so impressed. I need Bill to come over and train my dogs, because Piper's so chill.
02:44 And Bogie would be having a fit and trying to eat the leaf blower right about now. So, Bill,
02:49 hats off to you, but also hats off to Piper. She's trying. She actually won number one lap
02:56 dog in Roanoke, Virginia a few years ago. An 80-pound Tring-Walker hound dog on your lap.
03:00 I just wish she would help with these leaves. All right. Bill, enjoy your leaf gathering lesson.