7 Tips for Painless Gardening

If you have been doing more outdoor gardening or yard work outside this month, please read some of the helpful tips I have in this issue to help prevent injuries and learn simple home care you can do to treat yourself.

Gardening is a favorite pastime of many and yard work is a necessary evil for most. It is an opportunity to breathe fresh air, beautify your home and exercise your muscles. Back pain, however, can take the joy out of gardening. Pain does not always signal the end of your gardening hobby,often it is simply your body's way of telling you to correct your posture and be more careful. In order to help you take care of yourself and continue gardening in a healthy way, read on to learn a few tips for safe yard work.

1.) Get a check up
If you haven't been to your primary care doctor in a long time, this is a good time to go get a check up. People with high blood pressure or a history of stroke need to take extra precautions when working outdoors. If you are otherwise healthy, a quick check up with a Chiropractor can detect any misalignments or postural abnormalities that may cause back or neck pain when gardening.
2.) Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Never garden barefoot or in sandals. Remember,everything is connected in your body and protecting your feet will also help to protect your back.
3.) Stretch before you start gardening.
Take 5 to 10 minutes to loosen up your muscles and get your blood flowing. Muscles work better and are less prone to injuries when they are warm. Start your stretches by clasping your fingers together and lifting your hands high above your head and then down to your toes. Lift your hands out to shoulder-height and then gently twist your torso from side to side, keeping your knees slightly bent and feet apart.
4.) Take breaks to stretch and rest.
It's never a good idea to stay in one position for too long, especially if you are leaning over or bending down and curving your back. Your back muscles are paired side to side, so you don't want to do anything one-sided over and over again.Take breaks so your muscles can readjust and relax so that they're not more tense on one side than the other.
5.) Use proper posture.
This is probably the simplest and most important tip for people working outdoors, especially for people with bad backs - you must lift and bend correctly while working! If you have good posture when gardening, you are going to have less pain. Instead of using your back muscles to lift, you should take advantage of the stronger muscles in your thighs and buttocks that were designed for heavy work. You can utilize these muscles by bending your knees, leaning over from the hips and keeping your back straight from the base of your neck all the way down to the end of your spine. If you find this difficult to do on your own, you might want to consider wearing a back brace for extra help maintaining proper positioning when bending and lifting.
6.) Use the right tools
If you use gardening tools with handles that are too short or too heavy to allow you to easily reach the areas you need, you will increase the likelihood of straining your back. Instead, try using lightweight tools with long handles or extensions.The more things that you can push into the ground with your feet instead of bending over and pushing it in with your hands, the better.

7.) If you feel pain while you're gardening,that's your body telling you it's time to stop.
The main thing to remember when gardening is to break up the work into manageable increments and to continue stretching your muscles throughout the process. Just like an athlete needs to cool down after a race, so too should you cool down when you're done with your gardening work. Take some deep breaths and stretch again before going inside. Try not to tackle more than you can physically handle.

If you are feeling pain after working in the yard, use ice for 15-20 minutes every 2-3 hours for the first 24 hours, then move to using heat for 15-20 minutes the following day if you're still sore. It's OK to take a hot shower to relax your muscles and make sure to drink lots of fluid to keep your body hydrated.

If your pain is extreme, or it lasts more than a day or two, call the office to schedule an appointment. An adjustment or two should get you back in top shape!

Happy gardening!
Be well~

Dr. Kristen