Tips to look after your spine while gardening
While you may not have killer tomato vines lurking at the bottom of your garden there are some dangers associated with gardening. While backache may seem like something you just need to put up with, it may be a sign that you have caused some damage to your spine which could lead to the same or worse backache next time you are gardening.
The most common injuries result from common practices such as repetitive actions or spending too long with your back bent or twisted, lifting objects awkwardly, particularly if they are heavy or difficult to hold. Other injuries to the spine can occur as a result of slipping and landing poorly.
Getting amongst the roses (or weeds!) can be a great way to give your body some exercise. You can avoid the next-day stiffness or soreness by employing good gardening practices.
Tips for safe gardening
Before you start, do some stretches. Bend your spine from side to side. Gently twist from the waist up and look over each shoulder. Warm up your leg and arm muscles too, your legs particularly should be helping out with any lifting work you will be doing.
Whatever you are doing, aim to have a comfortable posture and as much as possible set yourself up to do jobs with your back straight.
Avoid spending too long in any one position, especially if a job involves leaning over. While you may want to tackle a huge patch of weeds avoid the temptation to do it all in one hit. Perform regular stretches while gardening, or even better, vary your activities throughout your gardening session.
Choose gardening tools that suit your body size and height and that are most comfortable for you to use. If you are tall look for long handled tools to help avoid bending over.
Water the garden before you work in it, to break up hard earth.
Use a small stool or garden seat to make planting and weeding more comfortable and to avoid having your back bent over. Use a kneeling board to ensure your body is square on to the garden, and to protect your knees.
Put in raised garden beds which are easier to tend to. They also make flowers easy to see and enjoy and raised vegetable patches makes picking veggies a breeze. Raised garden beds can be made from stone or wood, or for a small garden use tubs or half wine barrels raised on bricks.
Digging – this is an activity which can result in back injury. Break big jobs into small sections and take frequent breaks to, walk around and stretch. Don’t overload the spade with soil, load up as much as can be lifted with ease. When shifting soil avoid twisting awkwardly while carrying the load, or at least keep the load close to your body when moving. Regularly switch the spade to the other side.
Lifting – another danger activity for gardeners to be aware of. Use your leg muscles rather than your back muscles by bending your knees. Get as low as you can to the object and bring it as close to your body as you can, as you rise use your thigh muscles more than your back muscles. Keep your back straight and upright.
Also take care when putting down heavy objects by following the guidelines above for lifting.
Use a wheelbarrow to carry heavy loads and place the heavy load over the wheels.
What can you do about “gardeners back”?
If you do experience an injury to your spine, or you experience prolonged back pain or stiffness you should have your spine checked. While the ache may fade the underlying problem in the spine may remain. But this does not mean there is nothing you can do to improve the condition of your spine. Chiropractors are trained to identify bio-mechanical problems of the spine and their primary goal is to improve the function of the spine.