Tuesday, August 2, 2016

8 top tips for preventing gardening injuries

To celebrate National Gardening Exercise Day, taking place on June 6th 2016, Bakker.com has put together eight top tips for gardeners to help prevent injuries when working in the garden.
National Gardening Exercise Day is designed to give us an opportunity to go out and burn off calories, and have fun doing it! By following these eight tips, Bakker hopes to help avoid those inevitable gardening injuries which many of us have encountered:

Do a quick warm up

Always begin with a warm up. Take a brisk walk to get your heart pumping and blood flowing

Impose a 10 minute limit

Don’t perform any job for more than 10 minutes. Alternate the hand or arm you’re using wherever possible

Listen to your body

Pay attention to what your body is telling you, slow down or take a break if you notice pain or breathlessness

Lift with your knees

Straighten your back, look ahead and lift using the power of your knees and legs. Never use your back!

Kneel on foam pads

Use a foam-padded kneeler to prevent knee pain and backache when planting, weeding or tending to low growing plants

Use long handled tools

Use long handled tools if you can, as this will reduce the amount you need to bend, reach or stretch

Do back exercises

Perform back exercises before and after gardening to mobilise and strengthen your spine

Don’t work after eating

Never start gardening immediately after eating: blood will be directed towards the digestive system rather than essential muscle groups
Resource: amateurgardening.com

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