Panther Sports Medicine | Green Thumbs and Sturdy Backs

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Green Thumbs & Sturdy Backs

Many people garden because it is a relaxing and satisfying activity. Well guess what? This pastime can also be great for your physical fitness! With all the raking, digging, pushing and pulling involved in gardening, this activity works a variety of muscles while strengthening bones.

Gardeners have a tendency to overwork themselves in their garden and end up nursing a sore back at the end of their hard day of work. Aches and pains often result from poor positioning of the body, poor gardening techniques and overuse of specific muscle groups. It has been discovered that the most common gardening injury occurs at the lumbar spine. This lower region of the back bears the brunt of prolonged and repetitive forward bending and lifting.

Here are some friendly tips to ensure that your gardening is great for both your body and soul:

Begin your gardening with a nice light warm-up. Start with a five-minute walk to raise your heart rate and warm up your muscles. Follow this with stretching of all the major muscle groups in order to minimize muscular aches and pains and help prevent injury.

Be aware of your posture and body mechanics to help minimize the strain on your body.

Use ergonomically correct tools. Give your back, legs and knees a break from stooping and kneeling. Buy tools with long handles to help with the weeding and build a potting bench that is at a height that will prevent unnecessary bending.

Pace yourself. Gardeners tend to do too much in too short a period of time. It is important to take intermittent breaks accompanied by gentle stretching of the muscles and ligaments in your back in order to decrease the risk of injuring them.

Be smart in the sun.

By following these precautions, wear and tear on your body should be minimized. If you still end up with sore and achy muscles, your body is telling you to reduce your activity level to one that is more comfortable. Pain resulting from muscle or ligament strains will normally repair itself within the first 24 to 48 hours. Back pain can range from a nagging pain to sheer agony that can last for hours, days or years if uncorrected. This pain may be felt in the back or it may be what is called "referred pain" that is felt in the low abdomen, groin, leg or foot. If the pain has not subsided after 24 hours, is getting worse, or is causing you to experience any pain radiating down your leg, it is important that you speak to your physician or physiotherapist as soon as possible for professional treatment.

-Rezwan B. Jiwa PT MCPA