It is that time of year again and I can hardly wait to get my hands in the dirt. Gardening is hard work and can put quite a strain on your muscles, especially those in your back. Here are some suggestions for making the most of your garden while treating your back with care.
First, be sure to warm up your back muscles with some stretching before you go out, particularly in colder weather. Gardening may involve significant reaching and twisting, so be sure to start slowly and work your way up to longer gardening sessions. Be sure to keep water nearby and to take breaks often. If you start to feel any pain, stop and rest. Otherwise, you risk injuring your back and making it impossible for you to do anything at all in your garden.
Garden Layout
•Use mulch on the surface of your garden. This should reduce weeds and help the soil retain moisture, so you don't have to water and pull weeds as often.
•Use raised flowerbeds, which are both attractive and help reduce the need to bend down. You can grow vines and other trailing plants around the edges.
Plants
•Remember that slow-growing shrubs are less trouble to maintain than perennials or annuals. •Consider ground-covering plants to keep weeds under control. Weeding is hard on the back due to all the bending and pulling.
Tools
•Use forks and trowels with long handles, and other tools with extenders to reduce your need to reach.
•Avoid heavy watering cans for irrigation. If you use a can, only fill it half way.
How to reduce digging
If you spread compost and fertilizer or manure over a flowerbed surface in the late autumn, the soil has time to settle before spring planting. Worms will take organic matter into the soil and you won't have to dig so much. This approach requires initial digging to level the soil and remove weeds, but over time you will be able to dig less and less. Many gardeners feel that this method is better than traditional "double digging" because it leaves the soil structure intact. Contact a specialist at your local gardening center for more details on this back-saving approach to gardening.
If pain is preventing you from enjoying your garden, give your Chicago Chiropractor neck and back pain specialists a call.
Please visit our website for more information.
Chiropractic Care Millennium Park - 30 N. Michigan Avenue - Suite 605
Chicago, IL 60602 - Phone: 312-269-5556
Chiropractic Care, Ltd. - 2417 W. 183rd Street - Homewood, IL 60430
Phone: 708-798-5556
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