Back Health Tips for Gardening

• Give your muscles a chance to warm up before working in the yard or garden. Practice stretching with the various movements you will be working in the yard, or take a short ten to fifteen-minute walk around the block.
• Avoid prolonged bending, pushing and pulling while raking and hoeing, which can strain shoulders or the lower back.Use long-handled tools, or the resulting forward and sideways bending can aggravate the neck or lower back.
• To avoid strain and muscle spasm on one side of the body, switch hands frequently while raking or hoeing.
• When using a hedge trimmer, keep your back straight and use short strokes to avoid upper arm and neck strain. Pause after three to five minutes.
• Carry medium-to-small sized loads of debris close to your body, or use a wheelbarrow to avoid strain on your back. Save heavier work for mid-way through your chores. This helps avoid sudden strenuous exertion on unused muscles and joints.
• Keep overhead work to five-minute episodes. Avoid extreme reaching with one arm.
• Kneel to perform tasks, rather than bend.
• Stretch! Back exercises should deal with flexibility first, strength second.
• Finally, if a task seems like too much work, it probably is. Hire a professional for tasks like landscaping, tree-topping or trimming large hedges.

Brought to you by: BC Chiropractic Association