11 Ways to Make Gardening in Spring Hoe, Hoe, Hoe
When spring springs our fancies may turn to thoughts of love but in reality the garden is a more obvious choice for attention. It’ll soon be growing madly if it’s not already doing so, demanding work if successful production of that green lawn, beautiful flowers and great vegetables is to be achieved.
Springtime is the time for a surge in gardening related activities with its consequent surge in gardening related injuries and pain. A little planning and preparation could go a long way towards prevention.
Winter is typically a time of much reduced physical activity and exercise for most people, turning us into less fit physical beings. The warm weather then calls us to action outside at the very time we are worst prepared to face significant physical demands on our bodies.
Advice on warming up before you get stuck in to the work is useful in itself but leaves out a crucial part of the equation, the amount of activity you decide to do when you start or later on. You could warm up really thoroughly but if you perform far too much gardening initially you will suffer due to your body’s tissue tolerances being overstepped.
Preparation is part of what’s needed but you can’t expect to succeed if you leave out the second part of the deal, controlling your activity levels to start with until you build up towards Olympic gardening fitness levels. Your tissue tolerances are low after the winter and you need to get yourself back into training in a paced manner, strictly controlling the amount you do. Olympic athletes don’t go from their winter layoff straight into the 100 metres sprint; they warm up and train over months until they can perform their event at full tilt. There’s a reason for this.
Overdoing our activity is the typical behaviour most of us fall into if we do not apply a controlled, timed approach. We are unable to figure out how much is wise for us to do because the consequences of what we have done come along later on and so cannot guide us at the time. Getting the gardening tools out and trying to get stuck in to the work will ensure we fall for the overdoing trap.
Physiotherapy practices and chiropractors and osteopaths all report a significant increase in painful conditions and injuries from outdoor pursuits such as tending the garden in the springtime. Back pain is overwhelmingly the most common presentation although other joint injuries and ligament sprains are also represented. Typically people aggravate an injury they already had before.
11 Ways to Prevent Injury and Get Fit for Gardening
1. Be prepared for the spring work by keeping yourself fit with exercise or regular activity during the winter.
2. Follow a stretching routine each time before you start.
3. Work at ground level should be done whilst kneeling either using knee pads or a kneeler.
4. Decide before starting what breaks you are going to have and when.
5. If you are relatively fit keep the amount of activity to short times at first and for no longer than a total of two hours a day. If you are not fit or have pain, make it much shorter.
6. Continue with the decided times and gradually increased in a paced fashion if you have no difficulties.
7. Make sure you stick to the times you have decided, especially if you feel really good and want to do much more. This is a trap.
8. Lift well and get someone else to help you if the load is heavy.
9. Avoid mowing by swinging the mower from side to side; walk up and down with it instead.
10. Avoid doing two activities which are posturally similar one after each other. Give your tissues a break by choosing tasks at different heights and angles.
11. If you feel you may have overdone it, leave the activity for a day or so just to see if it is muscle soreness. When you restart, go back with a lower time than when you brought the problem on.
Decide how much to work at before the start and then stick to this with paced increases in level.