As the weather improves and your garden maintenance demands grow, it’s easy to find yourself spending long hours attending to your expanding garden space. As most green thumbs will attest to, gardening can be extremely strenuous and can cause unwanted aches and pain. As Perth chiropractors, we treat a vast number of people who’ve experienced lower and upper back pain specifically from gardening, and in this article, we share with you our expert tips to avoid making common gardening mistakes yourself.

Divide your ‘work’ day

While most people allocate an entire day or weekend to addressing their garden demands, extended periods of gardening isn't ideal for your back. Instead of setting aside large, unbroken sections of time, divide your time into hour blocks, giving yourself a break or change of activity in between. The break will ensure you can persist with your garden chores without aggravating your back or causing additional pain to your tender lower or upper spine.

Invest in extendable garden tools

A trip to your local nursery or hardware store will provide you with endless options to help reduce the pressure on your back and joints. Gardening tools and supplies come in a diverse range of options and sizes, including add-ons like pole extensions and soft-grip handles that provide you with more comfort during your gardening work. Other comfort devices such as knee pads will help protect your joints during unavoidable weeding or planting time. As with any activity, make sure you are wearing comfortable footwear that provides ankle and arch support as you move around the uneven ground.

Add walking into your garden routine

How you recover from your gardening is essential to minimising both upper and lower back pain. Though the temptation to sit after your back-breaking labour is high, walking is the best relief. What you’re trying to reduce is a stiff spine post gardening, and walking helps move the spine into a comfortable position while avoiding stiffening the joints.

Ask for help

Thanks to online gardening services and family members who are happy to give you a helping hand, it’s possible to share the burden of gardening with other people. Especially when your lower and upper back pain worsens, seek additional help with the laborious tasks, such as lifting heavy pots or mowing large lawns.

Is your garden causing you unnecessary back pain? Contact us at Melville Wellness to discover how to minimise your pain with back pain treatment, and address the activities exacerbating your condition.