OSTEOPATHS CAN PREVENT GARDENING BEING A “BACK BREAKING” CHORE.
OSTEOPATHS CAN PREVENT GARDENING BEING A “BACK BREAKING” CHORE.
As spring approaches many of you will be descending on your gardens over the forthcoming months. There are several ways you can prevent the pleasure of gardening becoming a “back breaking” chore.
Gardening is a physical activity and like any other exercise requires your muscles to be warmed up before you start and stretched afterwards. A few flexibility exercises prior to starting work and 5 minutes stretching and a hot bath after will help prevent stiffness the following day.
Incorrect lifting is the biggest cause of back injuries in the garden- always lift with bent knees and a straight back. Use a lifting aid or ask a friend for help moving heavy pots- the blade of a spade can be used under a pot to act like a sledge and allow you to push a pot about.
Much better, make 2 or 3 lighter trips than risk a back injury that may have you out of action for weeks by lifting too much at once or too much in one day.
Try and vary your activity in the garden, avoiding hours of digging or bending in one go. Allow your muscles time to rest by limiting each activity to ½ hour before having a break or moving to a different task.
Pace yourself - too many people view a bank holiday weekend as a chance to “blitz” the garden, but this inevitably ends in injury.
It is safer to chip away at the jobs for an hour, a few times a week than think your body will cope with 3 full days of digging!
If you start feeling pain in your back while gardening- STOP; the roses can wait. Pain is your back’s way of saying it is tired and therefore vulnerable to injury.
A general rule of thumb is if you are stiff the evening or day after gardening use heat on your back, a hot water bottle for 20 minutes is ideal. If you have sharp pain which came on suddenly while you were gardening stop and put ice on it to prevent inflammation build up.
If post gardening pain does not settle in 3 to 4 days get some advice or treatment from your osteopath. If you already know you have a back problem, a check up before embarking on the garden could save you weeks in pain.
