As summer heats up in Chicago, people are still remaining active, both at home and throughout the city.  One important activity that Chicagoans and fellow Lincoln Parkers may deal with is minor landscaping at their home.  Gardening can be a relaxing and rewarding way to spend your time whether it be growing fruits, vegetables, and/or herbs, or even flower beds.  It is often surprisingly tough on your back, shoulders, and knees if you’re not mindful of your body mechanics. Many people don’t realize that gardening injuries are one of the most common reasons for seasonal back pain. With a few simple tips (and a little chiropractic help), you can keep your garden—and your body—in the best shape possible to avoid injury and time away from not only this, but other activities you enjoy.

Why Gardening Can Be Hard on Your Body

Bending and twisting repeatedly, alongside lifting and kneeling, gardening involves repetitive movements that can strain your muscles, joints, and spine. Poor posture or improper lifting can lead to pain in your lower back, neck, or even wrists and shoulders. Over time, this strain may cause inflammation, nerve irritation, or joint dysfunction. If this were to occur, there are few, easy tips to follow to avoid injury.

1. Warm Up Before You Dig

Just like any physical activity, gardening benefits from a warm-up. Taking 5-10 minutes to stretch muscles through your lower back, shoulders, neck.  Also, doing any mobility exercises to warm up the joints in your neck, middle back, hips, and shoulders.  This improves circulation, flexibility, and movement so your joints and muscles do not stiffen and/or tighten up prior to any yard/gardening work you do.

2. Use Proper Lifting Mechanics

When moving soil, plants, or pots:

• Bend at your knees, not your waist.

• Keep the load close to your body.

• Avoid twisting while bending and/or lifting—turn with your feet in the direction you need to lift and bend initially before moving instead, to avoid any unnecessary pressure and torque, compressing your spinal discs.

3. Vary Your Position

Spending too long in one position—whether kneeling or bent over—can cause stiffness and fatigue. Switch tasks every 20–30 minutes to give different muscle groups a break.

4. Use Tools That Work for You

Ergonomic gardening tools with padded handles or extended reach can reduce strain on your back and wrists. If you have the option to use raised garden beds, this option reduces excessive bending.

5. Protect Your Knees and Back

Use a kneeling pad,  knee pads, or a garden stool to reduce pressure on your knees and hips. If kneeling isn’t comfortable, try sitting on a low stool and bringing your work closer to you to avoid excessive stress on your discs, and muscles.

6. Listen to Your Body

Lastly, if you feel pain—especially sharp pain, but also dull, achy, tight, or stiff symptoms, stop, rest, and stretch. Pushing through pain can lead to bigger problems down the road.

How Chiropractic Care Can Help Gardeners

If you suffer an injury from gardening/landscaping, visiting a chiropractor to treat your injury (or injuries) can improve your recovery time by reducing pain, inflammation, and improve movement.  This increases your function, and hopefully, does not cause a disruption to your daily activities.   A chiropractor will discuss how you can avoid injury in the future, treatment options if it’s determined that chiropractic care can help, and what your injury is.  Chiropractic care can improve joint mobility, spinal alignment, and muscle balance, reducing your risk of gardening injuries. Adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and corrective exercises to be done at home can keep your body healthy and functioning at its best reducing these injuries from recurring in the future.

Taking the necessary steps to move more efficiently and productively will reduce gardening injuries in the future and keep you more active in other aspects of your life.