Hasn’t the weather been great for the garden! Everything is growing like crazy and now is the time a lot of people are outside tiding up, mowing, controlling weeds and planting summer crops. With longer daylight hours comes longer days in the garden and often a few gardening related aches and pains creep in. 

The most common gardening related injuries we see in the clinic are back pain and forearm pain. These can be acute (e.g. a sudden onset of pain when lifting something heavy or awkward or pulling out a stubborn unwanted plant).

More often, these injuries have a more gradual onset. The repetitive nature of many tasks in the garden, make the perfect scenario for our body tissues to alert us that we might be pushing the boundaries on the load they can tolerate. Think off activities like pruning, weeding, hedging and digging. All these tasks can be repetitive and often in awkward, sustained positions.   

To prevent injuries and alleviate pain, vary the jobs you do in the garden throughout the day. Make sure you are as comfortable as possible, ensure you have the correct tools for the task and they are in good condition. Take short breaks every 20-30 minutes and stretch to reverse the awkward and sustained postures.

Our bodies love to move and are much happier changing positions regularly throughout the day. Take care of your body while you take care of your garden and both your body and your garden will thank you for it.