10 Tips for Safe Gardening This Spring

With warmer weather approaching, many of us will be spending more time outdoors gardening.

Follow these 10 safety tips to enjoy gardening and prevent injuries this year.

  1. Warm up before gardening. Walk around your garden for a few minutes and stretch.
  2. Wear gloves when working outside to protect your hands against cuts, soil, insect bites, and skin irritants.
  3. Avoid long gardening sessions or uncomfortable positions.
  4. Check posture often. Kneeling (with knee pads) instead of bending puts less strain on your back.
  5. Rotate your tasks to avoid repetitive movements, for example, after 15 minutes of raking, swap to pruning for a while.
  6. Use tools, not your hands. Sharp objects and debris buried in the soil may cut you.
  7. Use the RIGHT tool for the job. Blisters, calluses, and muscle pain can occur if the finger grips on the handle are too small or too large for your hand.
  8. Keep your hand and wrist in a straight line when using hand tools. Bending the wrist weakens your grip, which can lead to fatigue and soft tissue injury.
  9. Bend at the knees and don’t strain when lifting heavy objects. If the object is too heavy for you, seek help.
  10. Rest frequently, drink plenty of water, and always wear sunscreen.

The specialists at Sheltering Arms treat more than 50 neurologic and orthopedic conditions. If you need us, we are right around the corner at one of our seven convenient locations in central Virginia.

References

https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/gardening-2/gardening-tips-safety/

https://www.assh.org/handcare/safety/gardening

https://handtoshoulderwisconsin.com/2018/05/9-safety-tips-for-healthy-gardening-practices/

https://www.theherbcottage.com/top-14-gardening-safety-tips-for-everyone/

Share This Post:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
RehaBlog

More Posts

Why Do I Have to Retrain my Brain to Rehab my Back?

While low back pain is extremely common, it can be difficult to treat, especially if it’s lasted for a long time. In these cases, research recommends that physical therapy interventions should include aerobic exercise, manual therapy as appropriate, and a specific type of patient education called pain neuroscience education, or PNE.

What is Knowledge Translation?

Most of us have been in a situation where we learn something new at a continuing education course, in a new program, or at an in-service that we want to put into practice in the workplace, but nothing ever happens. This happens a lot with evidence-based practice in healthcare. Clinicians want to help their patients achieve the best outcomes, so they learn about new research and techniques; however, there are many reasons why change is hard.

The Role of Occupational Therapy in Recovery

Whether we realize it or not, we always engage in some kind of activity, even when we’re asleep. Occupational therapists assess a person’s routines, like taking a shower, making breakfast, or checking the mail, as well as a person’s habits, or those expressions of occupation that, for better or worse, create predictability for a person to help navigate life demands.

Start your Journey

Learn more about Sheltering Arms Institute

Contact a specialist at Sheltering Arms Institute to learn more about how you can gain more freedom in your everyday life.