Use the same motions you use when weeding, raking, digging, etc. Trouble is, by the time your back aches, you’ve already done too much.Back In The Gardenby: News Canada(NC)-For many Canadians, gardening is the most joyful activity of summer. During the winter, few of us make much use of the muscle groups we employ for typical gardening activities. The one exception is washing floors, but, truthfully, how often do you do that?But even if you linger over the linoleum daily from October to March, it’s still important to warm up and stretch your muscles before you dig. Another rule: Go slow!
When the weather breaks, it’s tempting to turn over ALL the earth on the first afternoon.Avoid staying in any one position for too long. By pacing yourself, you can ensure that your back will be fit enough to garden again next weekend!A third principle to keep in mind is that a change is as good as a rest. Vary your activities rather than doing all your weeding, for instance, at once.Remember to hold heavy objects close to your body. Gardening involves bending, kneeling, standing, walking, and reaching; don’t spend more than 15 minutes in any one of these positions before changing to something else whatever your planned tasks but do them slowly, holding each stretch for about 10 seconds.
Another hot shower can help as well.Also, don’t mix and match activities with positions.. But if you love to garden and you also suffer from back pain, you know that you can cause yourself a lot of grief unless you follow some basic ergonomic principles. Don’t bend forward with your knees straight. Gardening, of course, is a seasonal activity here in Canada. And as in any activity, try not to lift and twist at the same time. Here’s a tip – the easiest way to warm up your muscles is to take a hot shower BEFORE you garden. If you keep this advice in mind, there’s no reason for back pain to keep you out of your garden. For more information visit.Finally, organize your tool shed so that heavy supplies are stored at waist level.
Invest in some back-friendly tools like a kneeling bench with handles, shears, shovels and weeders with long handles to minimize bending, an angled rake, and a swan-necked watering can.backrelief.It’s also important to do some gentle stretching after you garden, especially if you’ve overdone it and your muscles feel tight. So what if they’re muddy – getting dirty is part and parcel of gardening’s charm. Rest for a while, then repeat. In other words, shovel for a few minutes, dump, rake, weed. This is called a passive warm-up. If you’re crouching down to weed, don’t suddenly reach up and stretch to snip at a stray vine. PA Hotmelt Adhesive Film Manufacturers You’ll still need to stretch, but you can do this in the garden.backrelief.
Tags: seasonal activity
plfsticompos