The DO’s and DONT’s of Gardening

With the snow hopefully gone for good, people start to think about doing yard maintenance and preparing their garden for the summer. This activity may seem harmless but, with improper lifting and repetitive tasks, many people get injured while gardening, and the pain can compromise their summer!

 

You know that you should warm-up before working out, the same goes for gardening! If strenuous tasks are involved with your gardening, start gradually and avoid lifting loads that are too heavy right from the beginning as your body is not warmed up yet.

 

Take breaks! Limit your working time to about 2 hours a day. It’s tempting to get it all done on a weekend, but this represents a lot of physical effort in a short amount of time and increases the risk of tendinitis or lower back problems.

 

Use your legs to lift! Bending at the waist while holding an object in your hands can increase the pressure in the lumbar spine disc by almost 500%… and you wondered why your back hurts!! Bend at the knees and try to avoid hinging too far forward at your hips. Keep your chest up!

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