Zoë’s Bank Holiday Gardening Guide

Luckily the forecast this weekend finally looks a bit brighter (thank goodness) and we all know what sunshine and bank holidays mean…. GARDENING!

If you’re anything like me the garden has been neglected over this never-ending winter, I have a fence to paint, weeds to pull, plants to plant and grass to be mowed. And the temptation for all of us is to just GET IT DONE. Pleeeeaase don’t do this! … over the years I’ve learnt to predict a sudden surge in ’emergency appointments‘ following a sunny bank holiday. The conversations usually start ‘ just wondering if I can come in ASAP as I did 5 hours of gardening yesterday and have thrown my back out.’ Please don’t let this be you! Instead have a read of my bank holiday gardening guide.

I don‘t pretend to be green fingered, I certainly can’t tell you the best way to grow tomatoes nor give a pro tip on pruning the rose bush, but what i can tell you is how to be safe when you do these things:

I’ve already said it, DON‘T DO IT ALL AT ONCE. Pick one thing to work on, the grass, or potting but not everything. Your body is very good at compensating but will only tolerate so much. There will be a threshold that you will reach and then all of a sudden your back will be in full toddler tantrum mode and will throw it’s toys out of the pram and go into spasm. This is a defence mechanism and your body’s way of telling you it has had enough!  Gardening really can be great exercise for you, but listen to your body!

Regular breaks. This will give your back a chance to recover and keep the problem threshold at bay. Try doing 20 minutes at a time with 10-minute breaks in between. It might take you a little longer to get the job done but your back will be thankful for the respite.

Bend the knees! We have all heard to bend the knees and not the back but I’m sure some of us are guilty of ‘just quickly’ doing something without consideration for our form. Stand up straight and pretend there is a metal pole running through the top of your head, down through the spine and coming out the bottom of your pelvis. This metal pole can’t and isn’t allowed to bend, so to do anything it is only the knees and hips that are performing the movement. It will take a little time to get used to this but the more you practice the easier it gets.

Protect the knees. As you shouldn’t be bending and collapsing through the back you might have to kneel to get to things at ground level. Use a kneeling mat or cushion to protect these bony structures from becoming bruised or irritated. If you can’t kneel on both knees you may need to adopt the lunge kneel stance.

Get someone else to do it… (my preferred way!)

Move all those pesky trip hazards. As you stand up and admire your masterpiece of strategically planted bedding flowers, the last thing you want is to stumble backwards over a rouge brick. Make sure your work space is clear as trips and falls can cause nasty sprains and strains, which can sometimes take a long time to heal.

Pre-book your adjustment with your regular Reading chiropractor, osteopathy or massage therapist.  Do this to avoid disappointment of not being able to get an ‘on the day’ appointment as our diaries are busy.  It is important for us to check that the body is happy and can still function in tip top condition, which of course it will be because you will have followed all of our advice… right?