Growing great posture while gardening

While gardening isn’t an extreme sport – it can still cause structural and functional issues to the spine & joints. There are steps to take to avoid injury from having sustained improper posture.

Seeding, weeding and watering can all place stress on the spine, due to bending over in improper ways. Then there is also activities of digging, carrying buckets & pushing wheelbarrows which when done the incorrect way, can place strain & stress on our backs, particularly when our bodies are held in prolonged positions.

It is simple to understand how back pain can arise when we are gardening if we don’t undertake the activities in the correct way. And therefore it is not surprising that in the general population around 80% of people can experience lower back pain at some stage in their lives.

Gardening, like any other activity or sport should be prefaced with a few minutes of preparing yourself for the physical task ahead.

Here are some of the common posture problems that result from incorrect postures when gardening:

Rounded Shoulders:
When we are constantly bent forward in a flexed position, weeding & planting, it may result in rounded shoulders, which can lead to a hunched over appearance, and pain in the upper back, shoulders and neck.

Uneven or rotated hips:
When twisting to shift dirt or to pull out weeds it can lead to issues in the lower back, creating rotated or uneven hips.

Correct Posture:
The good news? Postural issues can be corrected, here are a few of our top tips:
- Prepare before you head into the garden - light stretches
- Bend with your knees
- Only spend a few hours at a time in  the garden
- Take a stool or step with you to use
- Take frequent breaks to walk around & stretch

If in doubt, get your chiropractor to assess your spinal health.

If you’re looking for a chiropractor in Dubbo, and would like more information on maintaining a healthy spine, schedule an appointment with one of our Chiropractors today, phone (02) 6884 1655 today.