Hanging Holiday Lights and Decorations: How to Protect Your Back

The most common holiday decorating injuries are not mysterious: they come from ladder overreach, lifting boxes that are heavier than they look, and twisting while carrying loads. Each of those is largely avoidable, and the habits that avoid them are simple enough to keep in place while you decorate.

Ladders are where most decorating mishaps start. Keep three points of contact with the ladder at all times, face the ladder as you climb, and never reach far to the side or overhead while you are on it: climb down, move the ladder, and start again. Set the base on level ground, have someone hold it steady, and for extension ladders keep the base about one foot out from the wall for every four feet of height. A few extra trips up and down take seconds; a strained back can take weeks.

Decorations live in attics and basements, which means the boxes of lights and ornaments are the first test. Test the weight of a box before you lift, keep it close to your body, and bend with your knees instead of your waist. Do not twist while carrying, split heavy loads into smaller boxes, and use a cart, dolly or a second set of hands for anything that feels like too much. When you put the bins away, store the heavy ones at waist level so you are not lifting off the floor or reaching overhead.

Strings of lights along a roofline or over a front door invite reaching overhead on tiptoe, which loads the shoulders and neck as much as the back. Use a stepladder tall enough for the job, keep your hips between the rails, and reposition the ladder for each section instead of leaning. If your arms are aching after ten minutes of hanging lights, that is a sign to change your setup, not to push through.

Decorating tends to happen in one long push, and fatigue is when good form falls apart. Take a short break every 30 to 45 minutes, alternate between overhead and floor-level tasks, and stop when you are tired. A half-finished string of lights can wait until tomorrow; a strained back does not wait.

If your back, neck or shoulder is still aching after a day or two, keeps returning when you use it, or sends discomfort down a leg or into your arm, that is worth having evaluated rather than powering through the season. Chiropractic care may help some patients by keeping the spine moving well, but it is not a substitute for pacing and good mechanics.

Dr. Gregory Martin has practiced chiropractic since 1996 and sees patients at Gregory Martin Chiropractic at 283 Sparta Avenue in Sparta and at Speedwell Family Chiropractic at 520 Speedwell Avenue in Morris Plains. If decorating season has already taken a toll, call or text (973) 699-4100 to schedule an evaluation before the holiday rush.