How To Cultivate a Healthy Body in the Garden Spring has sprung! And that means many of us are looking forward to spending happy hours tending our gardens. Gardening is more than a relaxing hobby—it is a great way to stay active, spend time outdoors, and support a healthy lifestyle. Whether you have a large backyard garden or a few pots on a balcony, gardening can give your body a gentle workout while helping you connect with nature. But as I’m sure you know, with all the bending, kneeling and lifting, gardening can be pretty hard on the body. Fortunately, there are simple things you can do to avoid the aches and pains that can make gardening more of a chore that a pleasure. Keep Track of Time It’s very easy to get lost in the moment when you’re in the garden and stay in one position for too long. Moving is the key to keeping your muscles supple and pain-free. You shouldn’t spend more than 30 minutes in one position. Too long kneeling down weeding, or even doing the same task, like pruning roses, means you can stiffen up and start feeling sore. Setting a timer on your phone for between 20 and 30 minutes (max!) will help remind you of the time. When the alarm goes off it’s time to change position. Regularly changing position gives your body a chance to rest and distribute the load to different parts of your body. Changing positions also involves movement, which is really important as it helps free up tightening muscles and stimulates blood flow Use the Right Tools You can save yourself a lot of effort and potential pain by using the right tools. For example, tools with long handles can help you avoid having to bend down. Padded kneelers with raised arms are great for protecting your knees and can also help you stand up more easily. Your local garden centre is full of great tools that will make gardening easier on your body. Get help with heavy objects. When you’re in the flow of gardening and want to move something heavy like a planter full of soil or a large plant, make sure to ask for help. If you think something might be a bit too heavy for you, it probably is. So don’t risk a severe strain by trying to move it yourself. Garden trolleys with a low load platform are a great way to move heavy things around with the minimum of lifting. Don't do that Twist! The lift and twist – a recipe for disaster! Twisting your body while lifting just about guarantees you’ll end up with a lower back strain. Holding an item while rotating multiplies the physical force on your lower back joints. Make sure you step and pivot your whole body instead of twisting your spine. Bend your knees using your strong leg and hip muscles to go down and come up. Hold objects right against your body while you lift (not reaching away from your body), no matter how light or heavy. Self care Warm up and cool down Before gardening, spend a few minutes gently moving your shoulders, arms, hips and legs. Take a 5 to 10-minute walk to get your blood flowing and muscles moving. This can help prepare your body for activity. Then, when you’re done in the garden do the same again. Warming down helps your body recover from exercise (yes, gardening does definitely qualifies as exercise!) and helps your muscles stay nice and flexible. It can also give you a nice sense of well-being as you reflect on a job well done. Hot and cold If you have a sore spot, icing it for 5 to 10-minutes can help reduce inflammation. You can also try alternating an icepack (frozen peas work perfectly) with a warm wheat bag. Apply ice for a couple of minutes then apply heat for a couple of minutes and repeat the process 3 times. The idea here is that the ice pushes inflammation away from the sore spot and brings fresh circulation back with the heat, creating a deep flow of blood through the inflamed area. Hot and cold treatment is a staple of rugby and netball changing rooms, where players want to recover from a game as fast as possible. Bathtime A luxurious soak in the bath can do wonders, especially if you add Epsom salts. Soaking in a warm bath lets the Magnesium Sulphate in the salts absorb through the skin where it increases blood flow, reduces stiffness, and promotes relaxation. It also helps with muscle recovery. Pain Free Gardening Tips Benefits of Osteopathy for Gardeners Osteopaths use hands-on techniques to diagnose, treat, and prevent a wide range of conditions, including back pain. By addressing the root cause of discomfort, osteopathy offers a natural and effective solution for gardeners seeking relief. Osteopathic techniques aim to enhance joint mobility and flexibility and promote better circulation, crucial for delivering oxygen and nutrients to muscles and tissues. Improved circulation supports the body’s natural healing process, aiding in the recovery from strains and injuries. As an accredited treatment providers, our Osteopaths can assess and lodge your claim with ACC directly after an accident or injury. There is no need to visit your GP for a referral. If you already have an active claim we can accept and treat you under the existing claim. Our osteopaths can refer you for private X-rays or ultrasound scans when necessary and ACC will contribute to the cost of these if your injury is accepted by ACC. Book Online Meet the Team
