Pain-Free Gardening Tips
Living in a four-season climate often finds us doing activities with such gusto that we haven’t done since the previous year. It’s not uncommon for Massage Therapists to see a seasonal trend in injuries, aches, and pains.
In the winter we often see patients come in with increased incidences of pain and injuries from snow shovelling, skating, and skiing.
Summertime injuries have been attributed to water skiing, jumping off the dock at the cottage, marathon bike rides, and of course the avid golfers who try to sneak in as many rounds as possible in that short season. One of the biggest culprits is gardening.
After months of being cooped up indoors, which we’re feeling a little more than usual this year, we get so excited to see the first shoots of green and pop of colour, we want to get in the garden and do it all at once. Unfortunately, we sometimes end up paying for that when we wake up in pain the next morning!
Here are a few simple tips to help keep you pain-free this gardening season. If you need any visual guides for the following exercises a quick Google/YouTube search will provide plenty of examples!
Start simple
Don’t feel you need to do all your gardening at once. It is an ongoing process throughout the season, so break up your chore list into shorter manageable tasks. Your body will thank you the next day if you spend a few shorter 30-60 minutes sessions in the garden as opposed to a 4-hour marathon doing it all at once.
Warm-up before you start
Gardening may not sound like it’s physically demanding but there can be a lot of repetitive movements and positioning your body isn’t used to. It’s a good idea to warm your muscles up before you start by taking a short walk around your yard or neighbourhood. Your hips, thighs, and glutes will be doing a lot of work to keep you balanced so some simple squats and lunges will help target and activate these muscles before you get started. The bridge pose will also help activate your glutes, thighs and low back. Your lower back will also take some of the strain so some cat-cow stretches will help warm up and mobilize your low back before you get started.
Take breaks
Even a shorter 45-60 minute session in the garden can become repetitive so be sure to bring some water with you and take a break to move, change positions, and hydrate.
Adjust your positioning
A lot of gardening requires bending over which can put a strain on the low back. If you are working on an area in the ground bring a kneeling pad to rest on for part of the time. It’s also handy to have an old towel or blanket to sit on so that you can change positions between kneeling and sitting. Also, make use of long-handled instruments for raking, digging, and hoeing to prevent you from having to bend over.
Use pots and containers
If you are prone to low back issues and bending forward aggravates it or if you simply have limited space in your garden consider some container planting. By placing the pots on a table or shelf when you are planting or tending to them you can spare your low back from the aggravation of constant bending forward. Added bonus - it’s perfect for balcony gardening! There are many things that can be grown in pots - herbs, cherry tomatoes, radishes, peppers and all sorts of flowers.
Avoid heavy lifting/reaching/twisting
Before you try to move that heavy bag of soil, that huge potted plant or those giant paving stones you’ve always been meaning to get to please ask someone for help! If you must move anything heavy be mindful of your technique. Be sure to bend at the knees, using your thighs and glutes to take the brunt of the weight. Position yourself closer to the object so you’re not reaching away from your body and avoid twisting your torso while lifting at the same time.
Post-gardening care
Taking the time to stretch after you’re done in the garden will save you some discomfort when getting out of bed the next morning. Key areas you will want to target are your hamstrings (the backs of your thighs), quadriceps and hip flexors (the front of your thighs and hips). Your glutes (bum muscles) may also feel a bit tight from bending forward. To prevent low back stiffness and stretch out your low back you can repeat the cat-cow pose and cobra pose that was mentioned earlier. If you find your hands and forearms achy from gripping tools and pulling weeds you may want to stretch out your forearm flexors and extensor muscles.
To help reduce muscle aches consider taking the time for a hot Epsom salt bath. The salts are comprised of magnesium sulphate, two elements that help reduce muscle aches and soreness.
So, to keep your body from resenting the garden this season simply keep your tasks brief, warm up before your start, change positions regularly, try to avoid constantly bending over, take breaks, and stretch afterwards. With a little bit of mindfulness you can hopefully enjoy a pain-free gardening season while bringing some greenery into the world!
This post was written by Julie Moore, one of wellbe’s RMTs and part-time horticulture student. If you have any questions regarding pain, injuries, or technique around exercises get in touch and book a visit with one of our practitioners.