Although gardening is a healthy activity, it requires a lot of bending and can be surprisingly tiring for the body. Constant bending and slumping over the ground require increased effort from the body, causing your back to strain. Using various gardening tools (both short and long handled tools) requires immense effort as well and can physically exert you.
If your gardening techniques require to lift heavy weights (or carrying heavy objects), work for long periods of time or bend over small plants, then this activity might be unhealthy for your muscles and joints, eventually leading to aches and pains.
Despite efforts, you would still need to think of remedies to improve your physical strength, and especially that of your core muscles. Here are some suggestions that would help you maintain your routine while not causing many problems.
Exercises to do Before Gardening
Stretch the muscles of your body before and after gardening to maintain a healthy posture. Slowly do a backstretch and never force a position on your body. Make back stretches comfortable and if you feel pain or discomfort, stop. Here are a few exercises that are advantageous for the spine and lower back joints:
- Start with a couple of warm-up back exercises while lying on the floor or bed. Bring your knees to close together and pull towards your chest. Lower knees on the floor both to one side while keeping ankles together, then shift knees to the other side. This exercise helps the spine and joints explicitly in the lower back.
- For the second warm-up exercise, do backbends almost three to six times without hassle. You should not feel any discomfort in doing this exercise. Place a palm on your lower back to ensure you are bending at an appropriate level.
How to Do Gardening Safely
For the prevention of back pain, it is essential to stay cautious as health is above all. Maintaining a strong position can prove to lessen back pain. Staying physically active through gardening is a healthy activity, but poor positions can make it dangerous. Following are a few prevention tips for back pain:
- Every five minutes of gardening, perform the backbend stretch to prevent back sprain.
- Gardening should not take longer than half an hour.
- Avoid bending from the waist. In case of close groundwork, set knees on the ground or a pad and use your hand for support. This position would save your back at uncomfortable or dangerous angles and keep it straight.
- If possible, try to work on raised beds for the plants, rather than having them so low that bending is painful.
- For heavy weight lifting, use both hands and lift the object close to your body as you get up. In case of putting the object down, avoid bending or twisting the upper body on its own. Use hips and legs too.
Some Common Practices Can Save You
Despite exercising and prevention, if efforts are in vain, try the following treatments for your lower back pain.
- Acupuncture and physical therapy can prove to solve back pains, and both have long term effects on the body.
- Electrotherapy is a trending pain relief remedy that is an alternative for drugs. This therapy has now become quite affordable and does not have side effects.
- Hot or cold compression is an effective remedy for lower back pain. However, cold compressing is preferred over hot.
- Develop a strong core through core strengthening exercises. This will help stabilise your upper body and provide you with added strength in your back.
Gardening with back pain is not possible at all so we suggest you use the
Backrack™ device to address your pain first.
The Backrack is a spinal decompression medical device designed to treat and prevent back pain at home. Through easy, specially-designed back exercises, it can help you decompress your spine through massage, as the nodules exert pressure to gradually restore the natural curvature of your spine.
Not only is the Backrack highly effective at treating back pain, but it is also a great tool for preventing injuries.
Join thousands of people who have restored their spinal health thanks to the Spinal Backrack!
Author: Spinal Backrack
