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Gardening And Your Back
Author: Kim Standerline

Spring is in the air. Have you noticed?

The days are getting longer, the daffodils, hyacinths and other lovely flowers are blooming, the birds are twittering earlier in the morning.

Ahh I'm positively poetical.

Hmm...I guess you're feeling a bit puzzled, (What on earth is she on about probably springs to mind).

One word,

Gardening...

Question

Have you been sat lazing about all winter well wrapped in your woolly sweater watching the TV and studiously ignoring all those pathetic weeds in your flowerbeds? (I know I have)...

But the sun starts shining, the birds start singing, everything outside your window looks unbearably dreary, suddenly you're feeling energised and the pangs of guilt become to much to bear...

Out comes the spade and the barrow, you start digging with gusto and...

You can't move the next day (ouch)

Classic case of "Gardener's Back"

I've done it loads of times.

You have a couple of choices here, you can either let the weeds in your garden take over your life, or you can be sensible about how you approach the whole gardening thing.

Lets take a logical approach,

Does it really matter so much if you take a week to get your garden into a semblance of something approaching nice, Hey it's been choked in weeds all winter..

Why does it have to be done in those few measly allotted hours you gave yourself, because you're really risking a serious injury.

Be sensible and do it properly,(heck I sound like my mother here).

If you think about it logically, gardening is a form of exercise.

All athletes will tell you, you should never exercise without doing those warm ups first.

Are you warming up before straining all those muscles you haven't used for months? Of course you're not..

Without warm ups, tense muscles will crack and moan under the strain you put them under.

Word of advice..

Take it in bite sized pieces... do a small amount at a time... It's really surprising how much you can get done in just an hour a day.

Because thinking to yourself you'll just have another half hour, or you'll just finish that last bit, is absolutely fatal.

(And could be the bit that does your back irreparable harm).

Have you considered drawing up a plan of action for your gardening tasks and sticking to it.

Decide beforehand what you're going to do and acomplish for that session, (and remember to go easy on yourself, especially when you first start).

Do a bit at a time, Have a break (maybe a coffee) and then tackle the next bit.

Before you know it, you will have a garden good enough for Gardeners world, and you won't kill yourself in the process...

Hmm now where did I put that trowel?

About the Author

Kim is a Back Care Advisor working for a large Hospital Trust in the UK,
She's passionatly interested in Back Care and can be found at www.backpain-free.com and www.nursing-hints.com