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Common Problems
OPH Good Housekeeping & Homemaking
One of the most common problems with gardening is those aches and pains caused by bending, lifting, and pulling. Below are some handy tips which we have compiled in order to limit the risks of you injuring yourself, gardening can be fun and we want to keep it that way.
Before you even open your potting shed, it’s a good idea warm up properly. Gardening is as strenuous and burns off as many calories as a work-out at the gym, so it’s Imperative that you do a few star jumps or go for a short brisk walk before you do anything.
Once you get the blood pumping around your body, then it’s time to do a few stretches. This will help you lengthen the muscle and limit the chances of you damaging that muscle tissue, which is the prime cause of those aches.
The target areas where special focus has to be paid is the lower back, hamstrings and calves (if these are nice and supple it’ll take the strain off your lower back), forearms and biceps. It’s recommended that you stretch each target are for minimum of 1 minute to feel the maximum benefit.
To avoid these common problems it’s important that you make sure you warm down properly too. When you have finished gardening for the day just stretch those prime muscle groups again, this will help get rid of any lactic acid which has built up, which is the main cause of those “morning after” aches.
Another important consideration to take into account is that if you feel any painin any of your joints or muscles then stop doing that particular activity, because if you proceed you may seriously damage yourself. Come back to it later or get somebody to help you.
When lifting make sure you follow the correct lifting procedures. Hundreds of people a year injure their backs through incorrect lifting procedures. The correct lifting procedures are listed below.
1.Stand with your feet, shoulder width apart, facing towards the object to be lifted.
2.Bend your knees, but don’t squat down because you need to keep your back straight.
3.Make sure that you are keeping that back straight and ensure that your center of gravity is over the object.
4.Keeping your elbows parallel to each other grasp the object and begin to rise, making sure you keep your back straight.
To avoid the common problems involved in gardening, then, when you are moving heavy objects in your garden then it may be a good idea to get somebody to help you, or if you have equipment on hand to help you, such as a wheelbarrow make sure you use them. There is no point in struggling and possibly damaging yourself in the process if you don’t have to.
Look for tools which will put less strain on your joints and muscles. Some of the things to look out for when choosing appropriate gardening equipment are listed below.
1.Make sure the equipment you invest in is not too heavy, a trade off may have to take place between sturdiness and weight.
2.For tools which are used with one hand, such as seed planting equipment, preferably will have a handle with an optimum diameter of roughly 2 inches, any thing which is much less or much higher will put an unnecessary strain on your wrists and forehands.
3.Items which have longer handles such as sheers, will create more leverage and allow you to get a better grip of the equipment in question, again, this will ease the overall capacity of the work you’ll undertake.
4.When you have purchased equipment make sure you maintain them, such as cleaning them, storing them properly and sharpening any equipment such as sheers. This will ensure that the next time you use the equipment; it’ll be in full working order, which means you’re not overworking yourself.
To avoid this common problem then don’t lose track of time. You need to do this because as we all know, we can get caught in the moment when we are gardening. When this happens we don’t normally take regular breaks. It’s important we take regular breaks so that we are not overworking ourselves. During these breaks make sure you drink some water, as dehydration will also lead to muscle aches.
Thanks for checking out our OPH Good Housekeeping common problems associated with gardening. We are adding more gardening good housekeeping tips all the time, so don't forget to click on to check them out.
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