Tips On Avoiding and Easing Your Pain from Gardening this Autmn
Autumn has dramatic effects on our gardens and give many of us much to do!
Gardening however, is a great way to get outside, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine and increase your physical activity.
Below are some tips to help you get safely get your garden ready for the winter. These tips will help to prevent injuries and ease and soreness afterwards.
- Make sure to get a good warm up. Warming up before any form of physical activity like gardening can help reduce the risk of injury. A good warm up prepares the body to tackle different movements and physical stressors, like picking up a bag of soil. You only need to spend 5-10 minutes just prior to gardening to see the benefits. A good warm up with get the whole body prepared and target the muscles you will be using.
- A good cool down is just as important as the warmup. Cooling down allows your body to gently return to a resting position and help to prevent some soreness and stiffness. Cooling down can be less dynamic than the warmup and focuses on stretching out those tired muscles.
- Gently increasing your activity tolerance. Your body needs time to adjust to new activities, especially if you haven’t been moving as much as you would want to recently. When you first start back to gardening make sure to limit your working time to manageable bouts with lots of rest breaks as needed.
- Similar to gently increasing your tolerance is to alternate overly repetitive positions frequently. A good practice would be to switch up activities every 20-30 minutes, kneeling pulling weeds may to feel strenuous but that constant repetitive motion can irritate some tissues. You can either take a short break get up and move around or switch to a different activity that requires different movements from your body.
- Proper body mechanics and using the right tools for the job. Gardening can involve a lot of prolonged position in what can be some uncomfortable positions. Using the right tools for the job can help with this. For example, get a foam pad you can kneel on to protect your knees from the hard ground, or using long handled shears instead of holding your arms out in front of you for a prolonged period. When kneeling on the ground try to keep back straight and your hips and knees aligned in a neutral position.
- Proper lifting mechanics. When lifting heavier items like a bag of soil, make sure to keep your back straight and lifting with your legs. Doing this can help to protect your body. Also, when in doubt get someone to help you lift larger loads. Better to ask for help than to injure yourself.
- Being outside all day requires a lot of energy, making sure you keep hydrated and eat enough can help your body to perform best and prevent injury. Ensure that you get plenty of protein to help rebuild your muscles, carbs to provide short term energy, and fats to keep you full and provide long term energy.
- If you find you did overdo it and have some muscle soreness, a nice warm bath can help to ease any aching muscles. Research shows that your bath should be warm, not hot and you only need to soak for around 10-15 minutes. You can use plain old water or add some Epsom salts
- As tempting as it may be to hang around on the couch if you do find yourself sore, some gentle movement can ease muscle soreness. It can be a simple as taking a 10 min walk or some gentle stretching. Sore muscles also called DOMS can last anywhere from 12 hrs after activity, with the peak happening around day 1 to 3 and easing up from there.
- When to seek care. If you find your hard work has upset and old injury or you are having stabbing pains, it may be a good idea to seek advice from a physiotherapist. Give us a call at the clinic and let us make sure you are ready for the winter too! Or email us
Brid Walsh
Brid qualified in 2004 with a BSC Honours Degree in Sports and Exercise Science from the University of Limerick, Ireland. In evaluating her future path, she spent a summer in Alaska with the Hope Foundation supporting disabilities of various sorts. Her further work experience in the Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin convinced her that Physiotherapy was the direction she wished to specialise in. In 2007 she subsequently qualified from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen with an MSC in Physiotherapy.
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