Gardening and yard maintenance projects can be difficult to perform when returning from an injury or when dealing with persistent pain. These outdoor projects often consist of lots of repetitive movements, bending, crouching, and heavy lifting which can often exacerbate symptoms, leaving you sore and stiff afterwards.      

The following tips can help you decrease your risk of symptom provocation with gardening and yard work:

Use proper lifting techniques

When lifting heavy objects in your yard or garden try to use proper lifting mechanics. This includes bending at the knees and waste, trying to maintain a neutral spine position, keeping the object close to your body, and using both hands to lift heavy objects. Avoid twisting while lifting or lowering the object, instead pivot your feet to square your shoulders up with the direction you are moving the object. When you can, recruit other people to help when lifting heavy or awkwardly shaped objects.

Pace yourself and break up tasks 

It can be easy to look at your lawn or garden and come up with a lengthy to-do list of projects. Rather than trying to accomplish all of these projects in one weekend, consider breaking up your projects into shorter chunks of time and spacing them out. Working for 20-30 minutes at a time and then taking a break for 30-60 minutes can help distribute the load you are putting on your body and can help you determine how much activity you can tolerate. This can be especially helpful if you are returning to gardening after a recent injury that is aggravated by repetitive motions or sustained postures. This may prolong the time it takes to complete a project, however it will likely decrease the risk of a significant flare-up in symptoms.     

It can also be helpful to break up challenging tasks with easier tasks. Break up an arduous task, like digging fence post holes or shoveling bark, with a lighter task, like planting bulbs or light weeding.    

Warm up and cool down 

It may be helpful to perform a warm up before tackling your outdoor project. This could include a short walk or a series of warm up exercises. This may consist of active or dynamic stretches for a specific body region, such as the hips, low back, shoulders, or wrists. Consider performing more stretching exercises as a cool down after you are finished for the day.  

Switch hands and positions periodically

If you can, use both hands to complete repetitive tasks, such as pruning or weeding. Avoid sitting, crouching, or bending in sustained positions for prolonged periods of time. Take a break from a certain position after 10-20 minutes. Use this break time to get up, stretch, walk around the yard, or grab something to drink. Changing positions frequently can help decrease the stiffness and soreness that is usually accompanied by staying in one position for too long. If you tend to lose track of time in your yard, it may be helpful to set a timer while you are working to remind you to take breaks.         

Use the right tools 

Working with appropriate garden tools can help limit repetitive movements and decrease risk of overuse injury. A wheelbarrow can help you carry and transport heavy and awkward objects, such as bags of mulch and fertilizer. Sharp shears and pruning tools can decrease strain through your wrist and forearms. A long garden hoe can limit stooping and leaning while weeding. Some garden hoes are designed to be pushed instead of pulled to limit repetitive pulling motions.     

If you tend to sit while gardening use hand tools to help your hands stay healthy. Hand tools can reduce the effort needed to weed and move soil and can decrease unnecessary strain on your hands. You can use a soft pad or knee pads to kneel on to take pressure off of your knees. Garden stools can be used to get closer to your workspace to avoid bending for prolonged periods. 

Elevate your workspace

Elevating your workspace from 18 inches to waist height can decrease the amount of bending required through your lower back. Complete projects on a workbench if able and use raised garden beds if available. Try to construct and use garden beds that are only as wide as you can reach, a few feet or so, which can decrease strain with prolonged reaching. If installing garden beds, U-shaped or circular shaped raised garden beds are easily accessible from several sides and can allow you to keep your workspace close to your body.   

In summary, when completing a yard or garden project remember to start small, take plenty of breaks, switch up your body position, keep your workspace close to you, and use the right tools and equipment. Happy Spring!

-Sean Tyler, DPT

References:

https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/15-tips-for-gardening-with-chronic-pain/