Gardening: the physical perks and perils

It’s a great time of year to get your hands dirty. As an osteopath, I love to see people outside, moving and motivated. The old adage “move it or lose it” holds simplicity and wisdom. For many of you, gardening is your happy place.

What could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, in my line of work, I’m at the frontline of the downside.

Weeding

This simple activity can quickly turn from a 10-minute tidy-up to a four-hour marathon. If you forget about your posture you may find yourself coming out of a bent position that you’ve unintentionally held for 45 minutes. Suddenly, standing straight becomes painful and challenging.

Make sure you break weeding into small chunks and take a break before moving onto the next.

Lifting

When in the garden beware of rocks, loaded wheelbarrows and large pot plants that you know would benefit from an extra pair of hands.

We’ve all had the experience of looking at something and thinking, “I should get someone to help me with that”, and then we’ve done it anyway. You might get away with this 90 per cent of the time, but when things go wrong, it will make you desperate for hindsight.

Shoveling

There is a small mound of dirt that needs to be moved from A to B. It’s not heavy work, so no big deal, right? Wrong. The potential problem with shoveling is the repetition.

Break the work into two or three sessions and remember to swap sides so that you’re using both your dominant and non-dominant back and shoulder muscles.

Gardening is an excellent way to stay strong and active, but keep the tips above in mind to avoid being sidelined this spring.

Laura Walsh is an osteopath and the owner of Quay Osteo.