May is Here and It’s Time to Garden

The month of May indicates we have arrived at the prime growing season, and many of us will be spending more time outside sprucing up our yards and planting a garden. Gardening and being one with nature is a satisfying activity. It’s typically therapeutic to watch your plants grow and your yard take shape.

However, too much yardwork and gardening might mean an appointment with your doctor of chiropractic for treatment of back pain. Back pain is a common result of reaching, bending, shoveling, and pulling, which takes the joy out of what should be an enjoyable and gratifying part of our life.

Tips for Everyday Gardeners from Your Doctor of Chiropractic

Don’t cross gardening off your list!  You can still benefit from this wholesome activity by following strategies approved by doctors of chiropractic for reducing injuries to your back, neck, and extremities.

1.    Warm up Your Muscles Before you Begin

Gardening is at best a real workout, so warming up your muscles is a good idea. Do some stretching exercises and take a five-minute walk before you begin. A gentle stretch (back-flexion exercise) that’s good for warming up is to lie down on your back, pulling both knees to your chest and bringing your head forward. Stretch your back with a gentle pull of the knees while holding the position for one or two seconds. Slowly release your stretch and repeat for 10 repetitions.

2. Lift with Assistance

Lifting bushes, shovels full of dirt, heavy pots, and full watering cans without suitable back support can injure your spinal discs, ligaments, and muscles.

Ergonomically supported lifting begins by crouching instead of bending at your waist. Use both arms and hands to pick up the object, keeping it close to your body, then slowly straighten your legs as you stand up.

To decrease the need for lifting, use a dolly, or other lifting aid such as a wagon, to carry heavy items from place to place. One US liquid gallon of water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds, so consider filling large watering cans just halfway. Other alternative watering options include using a water hose, soaker hoses or automated sprinkler systems.

3. Chairs and Kneelers Offer Good Support

Getting down on the ground and standing upright can be excruciating if not impossible, depending on your flexibility and pain threshold.

Heavy-duty kneelers, especially those with padded handles that are raised, can help you get up and down in an easier fashion. This allows you to use your arm strength to help in the process of standing up. Kneelers usually have a well-cushioned base to reduce the impact and stress on your knees and back. Many kneelers also transform into a low chair.

For added knee protection, use wearable or removable cushioned kneepads are a good option if your tasks require kneeling on the ground. Purchase strong, good-quality kneepads that have sturdy straps and fit correctly. Multiple types of foam cushions are also available to increase the amount of cushioning between you and the bare ground.

4. Take a Break!

It’s easy to lose track of time when you have lots to do, especially when you love being out in the yard or garden. Set a time on your watch or your phone to remind you to get up and stretch or walk. You could also bring a water bottle as a reminder to take frequent breaks and hydrate yourself.

Your doctor of chiropractic also reminds you to avoid doing the same kind of task for extended periods of time. Rotating to another activity or task intermittently will help to avoid overuse of singular muscles. If you’ve been in one position or task for a while at the very least do some stretches during these breaks.

5. Garden Scooters Help to Avoid Twisting and Bending

Stretching and twisting can put added stress on the joints and discs in your spine. One way to minimize twisting is to use a wheeled scooter. Scooters range in size from small to larger scooters with handles for pulling and baskets for storing hand tools.

 6. Specialized Tools Help Gardeners with Limitations

Tools with long-handles can eliminate much of the bending required in planting and weeding. Long-handled digging tools can be helpful if bending forward causes or worsens your back pain.

A traditional wheelbarrow, or a four-wheeled wagon or garden cart, makes it easier to carry heavy objects and reduces the low back pain by carrying your load.

7. Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening is a new trend of planting upward, not across the ground. If your back won’t tolerate bending, consider planting your garden more at eye level.

8. Raised Bed Gardening

Raised-bed gardening offers lots of planting options. Some sturdier raised beds include a ledge where the gardener can sit while planting and harvesting vegetables, fruits, or herbs. Raised beds are also wheelchair accessible.

Growing plants in raised beds or containers can make gardening much easier. In addition to flowers, larger containers are well suited for growing lettuce and other vegetables. Some of the raised beds are wheeled structures or garden caddies that can be used for heavier pots to avoid lifting, pushing, and pulling. Ultimately, they don’t require the typical kneeling and bending to benefit from gardening.

9. Get Creative with Your Gardening!

You may find that you need to weigh what you expect with your garden. Think about what’s most important to you and what you can let go of. Someone else may need to handle the weeding if the repetitive motion causes too much stress on your back then make some changes. If you can’t avoid weeding completely, mulch your plants to discourage the weeds. Mulch will also keep in moisture, so you won’t need to spend as much time watering.

Your Doctor of Chiropractic Wants You to Enjoy This Season of Gardening

Chiropractic care is effective in treating back pain or other injuries because it’s holistic, safe, gentle, and non-invasive. A doctor of chiropractic is a specialist in disorders within the musculoskeletal system. A chiropractic adjustment may be used to correct the misalignment so you can return to digging in the dirt and communing with nature.   

Chiropractic has been known to help a whole list of conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Our goal is to provide holistic care and solutions for a better, more productive gardening season for our patients. Call our office at Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center at (512) 806-0015 or contact us online for an appointment.