Another blog post from the desk of Ann Arbor chiropractor, Michael Tannenbaum, D.C.: A Chiropractor Suggests How to Prevent Injury While Gardening

It's the gardening/yard work time of year. You’re pushing a lawn mower, digging holes, pulling weeds, carrying bags of mulch, etc. In other words, you’re doing things that can cause you physical injury if you’re not taking proper precautions. Here are some steps that you can take to help prevent injuring yourself as you labor in your garden.

1. Make sure to warm up your body. First, warm up a bit by taking a minute or two walk, then perform a few minutes of light stretching, which should include hamstring stretches, squats, left and right lateral torso bending, torso rotation with hands extended overhead, and anterior and posterior shoulder rotations.

2. Take regular breaks/switch things up. Every 15 minutes, stop any repetitive movements and do something else. If need be, get back to the original repetitive movement after 15 minutes or more. An example of a repetitive movement in gardening is using the same tool to do the same movement, such as using handheld clippers to prune small branches on a bush.

3. Make sure you are staying hydrated. Bring plenty of water with you so you can keep hydrated.

4. Wear gloves. This will help you prevent hand blistering, cuts, and splinters.

5. Consider a pad for kneeling on, to avoid stress of knee joints.

6. Use proper tools. Make sure to understand and abide by the tool manufacturers’ safety and use instructions.

7. Make sure you maintain proper posture. This does not mean just proper positioning of your torso, but also proper positioning of your wrist, hands, and feet.

8. Have regular chiropractic adjustments. In order to garden without negative physical repercussions, your spinal joints must have good fluidity through their full range of motion and you must have good nervous system communication throughout your body. Chiropractic adjustments provide proper spinal joint motion that helps lead to increased flexibility, mobility, proper muscle activity, and effective nervous system communication. Regular chiropractic adjustments help ensures that you’re in optimal condition for gardening and other activities.

If you have any questions about this blog post, chiropractic, back pain, neck pain, or headaches, I can be contacted at my Ann Arbor chiropractic office at [email protected].