A Chiro's guide to Safe Gardening

Garden Festival at Disney’s Epcot

Happy Spring! It is that time of the year where we think about which plants we will have in our garden. Whether you garden to relax, feed yourself, get fresh air, or cause it is a good source of exercise I want you to stay healthy and safe from injury! I have a couple tips for you to help you stay healthy while gardening. Firstly get ready to garden just like you’d  get ready to go to the gym. Make sure that you do active stretching before gardening, this means stretching while you are moving around. I really like to do butt kicks, chest openers, windmills, marches,and hip openers.  Also do some static stretches throughout gardening and after you are done gardening. Protect yourself from muscle strain by standing as straight as you can while raking or mowing. I really like to use a scissors stance when I rake, so one foot forward while the other is back, and then switch throughout the task. As you have heard in the past make sure to bend at the knees and not the waist when picking anything up from leaves to the barrel to make sure you don’t strain your back. A strain injury will take 6-8 weeks of care to fully heal and by that time your garden would be full of weeds. Just like any other activity make sure to stay hydrated, even if it is not in the 70s yet your body will need to stay hydrated through this physical activity. Make sure you limit excessive sun exposure and do not garden during the hottest times of the day(usually between noon and 3pm). I also wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t tell you that you need to make sure to wear safety gear depending on what you are doing. Happy Gardening!