Isn’t this great?  Blue skies, fresh cut grass, birds chirping…Summer is almost here!

That means you’ve probably been out in the yard, pulling up weeds, planting flowers, and soaking up the sun.

I want to let you in on a little secret.

The number one cause of injury I see this time of year comes from gardening.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Not from car wrecks or sports injuries or people falling down steps over Memorial Day weekend…gardening.

I know, I know, I couldn’t believe it either, but think about it for a minute?  It Pittsburgh we are just coming off our third or fourth winter…

We have spent most of the year sitting on the couch watching television or scrolling through social media, and we haven’t done a lot of physical activity or gotten any amount of sunshine since 2019.  Combine that with the fact that gardening requires us to repetitively bend, twist and lift things that are much heavier than we are accustomed to SO many more times than we are accustomed to while maintaining.. questionable… posture for hours on end…It starts to make a little bit more sense!

So why am I telling you this?  Well if you haven’t noticed, I kind of like telling stories.  But also because I want to help!

So without further ado…Here are 5 tips to stay safe while gardening this year.

5 Tips To Prevent Planting Pain

1. Posture

Maintaining good posture is essential when gardening or doing anything active really. You want to make sure you are hinging from your hips, keeping your back straight and bending your knees.

2. Use Proper Tools

Please, I beg of you, buy some decent tools if you are going to be spending a lot of time in the yard this year. A rake without a handle isn’t much of a rake. You know? Proper tools reduce the wear and tear on your body and allow you to maintain proper posture to avoid injury.

3. Consider Assistive Devices

The cool thing about 2022 is that there are all sorts of companies that are trying to make things easier for us. There are inflatable kneeling boards, carts with seats and even pot holders with wheels! Do a quick search for “gardening assistive devices” and you’ll find everything you need.

4. Hydrate

Dehydration is much more common than most of us realize. Much like the flowers you are planting, you need water too. Especially if you’re in the sun for extended periods of time. Dehydration makes our muscles tight and less pliable making us much more vulnerable to injury.

5. Take breaks

I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but you don’t need to pull all of your weeds in one go. Read that one again. You DO NOT need to pull all your weeds in one go. Try to break it up into 30 minute chunks. No more than an hour!! Pull some weeds, smell some flowers, drink some water, rinse and repeat.

Conclusion:

Please don’t let pain prevent you from doing the things you love to do.  If you’re having a hard time with any of this or even feeling like you’re not moving as well as you’d like to be, please give me a call.  Your yard and your neighbors will thank you for it.

Want to learn more about how to stay healthy and pain free this summer? Subscribe below. Thanks for reading!