There’s nothing worse than waking up the day after a good gardening session, only to find you have terrible lower back pain. The pain puts people off from tending to their gardens but with some preparation you can avoid the pain.
Back pain may not become excessive whilst doing the actual activity, but usually comes on afterwards, during the night, or the following day. This is when inflammation or swelling has developed around the structures involved, causing them to stiffen up and cause the onset of your pain.
This article is all about protecting your lower back from pain and here at Muswell Hill Chiropractic Clinic, our chiropractor Dylan Paydar has 18 years of experience in dealing with such painful episodes.
It is important to protect your back and while gardening is an excellent way to get exercise you should be aware that there are ways of avoiding back pain.
It’s important that you recognise that you are in fact undertaking exercise and, as such, you should carry out some simple warming up exercises to avoid lower back pain after gardening. Here we are talking about some simple stretches such as reaching for the ceiling and gently trying to touch your toes; things like that.
- The lower back pain you are suffering may come from the increased activity your muscles go through and the prolonged periods you spend in one position. Avoid repetition and working in one position for too long. Also avoid twisting too much or making jerky movements.
- Lift heavy objects (and sometimes not so heavy but just bulky objects) correctly. Bend your knees and not your waist to take the load. If the object is too heavy, don’t struggle with it: either break it down into manageable weights or get someone to help you.
- Maintaining good posture while gardening is so important. We all have bad habits built up over the years but you must start working properly to avoid lower back pain after gardening. Don’t slouch and keep your back straight whenever possible. Do not over-reach to plants or flowers. Try to avoid kneeling for too long or squatting – use a stool or an upturned bucket.
- Take regular breaks. You should not really be out gardening all day without resting your body (and you should not really work on one task for more than 20 minutes). Your muscles will appreciate it and you will drastically reduce the chance of suffering lower back pain after gardening. Do you really need an excuse to have a regular tea or coffee break?
It should be important to note that our professional Chiropractor in North London, Dylan Paydar also recommends that if you do suffer from lower back pain then you should keep on exercising/moving, to a certain extent, to help the muscles loosen up and repair themselves. Indeed, you may find that gardening, while using the ‘proper’ techniques detailed above, may actually help your lower back pain!
All activity and exercise is good but if, however, you do suffer with back pain after gardening you should make an appointment to see a chiropractor. Here at Muswell Hill Chiropractic Clinic we can help resolve back issues and we have done so for 18 years. If you have lower back pain issues after gardening then contact us on 020 8442 0008 or visit our website at https://chiropractornorthlondon.co.uk/.
Dylan Paydar at Muswell Hill Chiropractic Clinic
Committed to improving the health and well-being of people in North London
Including Muswell Hill, Finchley, Highgate, Crouch End and Southgate
Dylan Paydar at Muswell Hill Chiropractic Clinic