Gardening Without Straining Your Back
What's more wonderful than spending a beautiful spring day outdoors? Before you grab your gardening mat and shovel, make
sure you implement these simple tips to help prevent pain and injury.
1. Warm Up: Just like you warm up or stretch before a workout,
do the same before you garden. It will give your muscles a chance to relax and warm up before you dive into your strenuous gardening activities.
2. Change Positions: It's easy to get stuck in one position for a long time. Whether it's pulling weeds or planting, try to make sure that you re-adjust your position frequently. If you start to feel an aching pain in your back or shoulders take a break, stand, stretch, and try shifting to a different position to give your muscles a break.
3. Use Caution When Lifting: Be sure to pay close attention to the position of your body when lifting heavy objects. Try to keep heavy items such as planting pots or heavy bags close to your body when lifting and always remember to bend your knees!
4. Be Realistic: If you have a major gardening project to tackle, split up your efforts over a period of several days. Doing it all at once can cause more harm than good.