Ah, Spring! Warm weather and outdoor activities. And for many of us, these are the weekends that we are out in the garden planting flowers and/or vegetables. Good times for sure but there also exists the potential for injury from this activitiy.
Since many people are relatively inactive over the winter months, the simple tasks of planting and pruning can cause significant pain due to awkward and reptetive poor posture. Shoulder,back and leg pain are the most common injuries and can be avoided by following a few simple steps:
Minimize the twisting of your spine by aligning yourself with each individual plant you are working with
Bend from your knees, not your hips, and wear knee pads
Keep items close to your body when lifting and lowering them
Remember that every item you purchase in the store (especially heavy items like bags of mulch and top soil) will have to be lifted a number of times (from the store shelf to the cart; from the cart to the car trunk; from the car trunk to the garden). Imaging the repetetive strain of all of these 20 to 40 pound bags on your back. It can easily add up to a few hundreds pounds a day
Stretching and/or a hot shower before and after gareding will relax tight muscles
Don't do large jobs all in one day, spread it out over a period of time to minimize the potential for injury
Most gardening-related muscle pains will spontaneously relieve themselves over a short period of time. However, for those pains that don't or worsen with time, physical therapy is an excellent option for treatment
Steven L. Braverman, PT PC / RESTORE Physical Therapy 450 Seventh Avenue (corner 34th Street) Suite 302 New York, NY 10123 P: 212.594.6054 F: 212.594.5915 Contact Us
