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What is gardening without back pain?
However, your yard and garden can also be place where your back pain can be aggravated.
A great form of exercise
Gardening is a great way to exercise because it involves a variety of movements being performed by the body at the same time. Bending, crouching, lifting, carrying, reaching, pulling, and pushing are just some typical actions the body makes while working in the yard. It can be a very physical task that causes fatigue depending on the chore at hand. Some of these movements can also be harmful to the spine if performed incorrectly or repetitively.
One of the reasons why people injure their backs while gardening is that these movements may not have been carried out since the fall season. For those who take care of a garden, it is highly recommended to start off with shorter periods of gardening activities and slowly increase this time as the season progresses. It is often the result of gardening for several hours at a time, whether it is digging, pruning trees or weeding, that leads to back pain.
Therefore, it is more common to see back pain after long days of gardening. The good news is that with some great advice from a physiotherapist, back pain can be avoided, and one can enjoy gardening until the cold weather unfortunately returns.
Tips to avoid back pain when gardening
Here are some great and easy tips to follow throughout the gardening season:
- Perform a quick warm-up and do some stretching exercises before starting to garden.
- If you feel that you have a weak back or have had back problems in the past, try to limit the duration of each gardening session.
- Always respect the technique of lifting a load by bending at the knees without rounding the lower back. To avoid twisting the back while lifting a load, move the feet in the direction you are going instead of rotating the back. If you need help to lift a heavy object, ask a second person for assistance or use a wheelbarrow to transport the load. Good ergonomics is key to avoiding back pain.
- Do not dig when the ground is hard or heavy (wet).
- When sweeping the ground or raking the grass, move the feet and avoid twisting with the spine and overreaching with the arms.
- Proceed slowly, stopping frequently to relax and stretch. Take regular breaks to rehydrate and refuel.
- Do not dig an entire area at one time. Change the gardening activities often to vary the movements and level of difficulty. For example, pruning a bush, weeding the lawn, and planting flowers involve different types of movements and vary in intensity from light to heavy.
- Use tools with long handles and ergonomic shapes to be more efficient.
- Kneel on a garden mat to cushion the knees as you plant or weed.
- When pruning, always be aware of the position of your back. Even the lightest tool becomes dangerous if you must stretch to handle them.
- When watering, it is preferable to use a water hose. If you need to use a watering can or bucket, only fill half of it and make more trips.
- Organize your garden shed or garage so that you don’t have to bend down to grab a tool.
Back pain could bring the start of your gardening season to a sudden halt. To avoid experiencing back problems, these physiotherapy tips will be useful and allow you to spend more time in the garden and less time in pain. If you feel you need some help with your back pain, a physiotherapist will be able to give the appropriate exercises to improve your body’s movements and ergonomics or to increase the overall strength of the spine and legs. Having a healthy back to take advantage of the joys of gardening will ensure that you make the most of this time of the year.
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