Do your muscles remind you that it’s important to be careful while working in the garden?

It’s a good idea to warm your body up before doing anything active in the garden. All this needs to be is walking around the garden a few times, moving your arms and legs so that you are warm and ready before you start working your body hard.
At the end of your gardening session cool down. A few simple stretches can help to relax the muscles in your body and help reduce your chance of injury.

Sudden gardening activity without warming up can trigger acute back pain as these activities tend to involve us adopting poor posture for relatively extended periods of time, with repetitive twisting, lifting and digging.

It’s usually afterwards, during the night or following day that inflammation or swelling occurs in the joints, causing them to stiffen and the inevitable onset of back pain and discomfort.

As above, it’s vital to WARM UP & STRETCH – Gardening is like any other exercise; you need to warm up first. Take 10–15 minutes to briskly walk around the garden and warm up your muscles. Stretch before and after, targeting your back and core, shoulders and arms and leg muscles.

Remember, any exercise or back stretch should be done slowly and without strain; never force yourself into a position. If you feel pain, stop. You may find these gentle stretches useful to ease those  burning aches:

• Lying on your back on the floor or on a bed. Pull your knees, together, to your chest. Keep your ankles together, and lower both knees gently to one side, touching the floor if possible, then the other. This massages the muscles on either side of the spine and gently moves the joints in the lower back.
• Do three to six back bends, slowly, with no discomfort. This extends the spine, which is the opposite of forward bending. You can place your palms near the base of the spine to ensure that you’re not bending back too far.

During Gardening:

• Don’t go straight into the heavy work; start with the lighter jobs as this will lessen the chance of any muscle strain.
• Do not garden for longer than 20-30 minutes at a time.
• Every five minutes or so, stand up and perform the easy back bends from the waist described above.
• Gardening is a form of exercise, so it is important to stay well hydrated.
• Avoid standing and bending forward from the waist. If you need to be near the ground, as for weeding, set both knees on a pad, support yourself with one hand, keeping the neck in a normal position and the back as straight as possible, and use the other hand for gardening.

• Gardening that requires looking up and reaching above shoulder height, such as when trimming branches or pruning, puts considerable strain on the neck. Consider using a ladder or step stool, if safe, to bring the work closer and more within reach.
• When digging make sure you keep the shovel in front of you and avoid twisting motions. If you need to get to an area on the side, re-position yourself to keep the shovel in line with your body. The same goes for raking – pull the rake towards your body, not off to the sides.

• If you’re lifting a heavy object you should squat (bend the knees only), keeping your back straight, and grasp the object with both hands (handles work well). Make sure you’re lifting close to your body as you straighten your knees. You can also put one knee down and bend the other in order to avoid bending forward. If you need to put the object down nearby, pivot your whole body, including hips and legs.
• While pushing a lawnmower or wheelbarrow, keep your back long and arms close to the sides of the body with your hands near your hips.
• If back pain progresses to aching, tingling, or numbness in the buttocks or legs, stop gardening immediately. These can be signs of too much pressure on one or more of the lumbar discs, which may cause sciatic pain.

After Gardening:

Despite your efforts and best intentions, you may end up with some back pain, you’re only human after all!

• Hot or cold compresses can alleviate pain. Either is fine, depending on your personal preference.
• Over-the-counter medications, like ibuprofen can help.
• When you have finished have a warm bath or shower.
• Try not to sit still all evening after a day in the garden. Keep getting up and moving around.

Gardening Pilates

People are often unaware of how vigorously they are working as they get caught up in the enjoyment of being outdoors. A significant amount of a gardeners’ body weight stays bent over at the hips and this puts considerable strain on the lower back.

Gardening makes your body do all sorts of movements and requires engaging all your major muscle groups in your legs, shoulders, spine and deep abdominal muscles.

Pilates helps to improve the control of your core muscles. Therefore, by practising Pilates, you’re perfectly complementing your gardening!

And of course, massage is the perfect remedy for those gardening aches & pains too! 

If you are suffering as a result of gardening and the problem will not go away – don’t ignore it – get help. Don’t let pain stop you from doing the things you love.