Spring is here again, time for digging, planting, weeding and pruning. It is surprising, but we see a lot of gardening injuries in the clinic! Some of the most common complaints are low back pain, neck, shoulder pain, tennis elbow and wrist pain. For the most part, all of these injuries are caused by overuse of the muscles, improper body mechanics while gardening, fatigue, lack of stretching and rest periods. Admit it, on a beautiful sunny day who doesn't love being outside? The problem is, the majority of people will garden for hours on end! You wouldn't go out for a six hour run if you hadn't run all year. Yet, consistently, people will garden for four, six, even eight hours in a day, non stop without batting an eye.

In order to reduce the amount of physical discomfort you experience after a heavy day's work in the garden, there are some simple tips to follow.

Take frequent rests. Stop every 30 minutes to change your position, stretch and relax your muscles.

Bend your knees. Squat instead of stooping while weeding. Placing one foot in front of the other with knees bent, or, using a small cushion or bench to sit on provides a nice alternative to stooping.

Use a ladder or footstool. When pruning high branches, instead of reaching up over head, raise your body up so that you are cutting at a height between your waist and your shoulders.

Avoid over reaching for plants and pots. Move as close as possible to the area you are working on, turn your whole body instead of twisting to discard weeds or to get plants

Save your back by using the big muscles in your legs to perform lifting, bending, shoveling and carrying tasks.

Stretch your muscles. Stretch your neck, back, shoulders, wrists and legs after any work done in the garden, even if it has just been for one half hour! Muscles have the greatest potential to tighten after activity, therefore stretching afterwards is imperative.

Use ice. If you feel pain in any joint of a muscle group after gardening, apply an ice pack, bag of frozen peas, or gel pack to the area for a minimum of 10 minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes. Use a damp cloth under the ice to protect your skin and watch for frost bite! Topical creams like "deep cold" will not decrease inflammation and will only mask the symptoms you're experiencing.

If you continue to experience pain or swelling in an area for more than two to three days(up to one week), it is best to have the injury assessed by a physiotherapist or physician. It is likely that you will be in need of some treatment for the area. Don't delay!

The sooner you get an injury taken care of, the sooner you can get back to the activities you love to do....especially in the garden. With this beautiful weather, who can blame you?

* For an illustrated copy with stretches, please call or email us.*