Contents:
- Medical Video: Pain Free Gardening: Preventing Lower-Back Pain
- Various ways to prevent back pain when gardening
- 1. Warm up
- 2. Pay attention to position sor shoveling or digging the ground
- 3. Use a bench when weeding plants
- 4. Rules for carrying or lifting weights
Medical Video: Pain Free Gardening: Preventing Lower-Back Pain
Gardening is one activity that offers many physical and mental health benefits. However, despite offering many health benefits, most people often complain of back pain after doing this one activity. Linger for digging, shoveling, planting seeds, and arranging plants can indeed cause the muscles and nerves around the spine to tense, making them vulnerable to back pain.So, how to effectively prevent back pain when gardening? Know the answers in this article.
Various ways to prevent back pain when gardening
1. Warm up
Did you know if gardening is one form of physical activity as well as exercise? Well, that's why doing muscle warm up before gardening is the right step to prevent back pain or muscle injury. Try doing some simple stretching movements to increase the flexibility of your back muscles.
You can do a "Standing-Cat-Camel" warm-up as a back stretch before gardening. How:
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, and knees bent slightly.
- Bend forward, place your hands on your knees.
- Wrap your back forward so that your chest will close and your shoulders curved forward
- Then do the opposite. Lean your back forward so that your chest muscles stretch, and turn your shoulders back.
- Repeat several times.
2. Pay attention to position sor shoveling or digging the ground
Noticing the position and posture of shoveling or digging the soil can minimize the risk of tense muscles and back injuries. The thing that can be done is by menyebalance your body weight on both legs.
The trick, stand with your back and head straight, and feet straight. Then, place one of your feet on a slightly higher footrest - above the scoop head. After that, use your whole body to "scoop up" the soil and then throw it away - remember, you are not advised to use only the muscle strength of your arms.
Avoid turning your body forward or side, especially if you are bending and carrying weights. Because, these steps will actually increase the risk of spinal or back injuries. So, you better rotate by moving your feet. However, make sure your shoulders are always parallel to your hips.
3. Use a bench when weeding plants
Weeding plants is one of the most boring gardening activities. Even this activity often makes your spine cramped or tense. But calm down, you can get around this by using a small bench to sit, but don't just sit down. Also pay attention to your sitting position. Make sure you sit right above your sitting bone (you will know the sitting position is right or not when you feel it).
4. Rules for carrying or lifting weights
Injuries when lifting or carrying heavy items are a major cause of back pain, especially if you feel you can do it without the help of a tool or other person. That's why, think carefully before you decide to bring a heavy object. Don't hesitate to ask for help from the closest person or find a tool to do it. The following are some of the methods you can do when you want to carry or lift weights to reduce the chance of injury.
- Lifting weights by bending and straight legs can endanger your back. Well, to minimize this possibility it's a good idea to open your legs shoulder-width apart, with one foot slightly forward to maintain balance.
- Then, bend your knees slightly when going to lift things. Support the weight of the object with both feet when lifting objects.
- Slowly bend and slightly bend your knees and pelvis. Keep bending and tighten the abdominal muscles to pull the pelvis in.
- Do not stand up straight before lifting because it can injure your back when lifting objects up.
- After that, lift your head as soon as you lift the object in your hand. Focus your gaze forward, not look at the item being carried.
Basically the most important thing to prevent back pain when gardening is to know your own body's abilities. This can be achieved by ensuring the strength of yourself and the burden that will later be carried or used. Make a personal estimate, whether you can lift the object yourself or have to ask for help.
