Here are a few tips on how to prevent Gardening injuries!
The summer is here, gardening season is upon us. The royal society for the prevention of accidents (RoSPA) states 300,000 people including children are seriously hurt when gardening and require hospital treatment per year. Injuries to the musculoskeletal system can include: strains, sprains, bursitis as well as disc bulges, among others.
Below are some tips to help prevent these injuries and keep you able to enjoy your garden this summer.
Gardening Injuries
Gardening safely
First, set yourself a plan, not everything needs to be done on day 1. Think your garden as a marathon, it’s a slow process rather than a sprint. Spread tasks out over a number of weekends.
It is wise to stretch both before and after you do the gardening. When you are physically active your body needs to be warmed up correctly so that the muscles work correctly, and prevent injury as the muscles will have an increased amount of blood flow and be able to contract when required. Also, experts recommend to stretch after to loosen tight muscles that have been working hard whilst gardening.
Altering jobs – ideally, the body should not be kept in one position for too long, for example, crouching down weeding so changing between jobs will help keep the body moving and prevent irritation.
Using correct tools – some tools are designed for specific jobs this is not just to benefit the garden but also to benefit the user. These will help prevent injuries.
Make sure you stay hydrated – It is important to keep the body working in an efficient manner. During hotter days you need to take more drink breaks because on hot days you lose more fluid through sweat.
The human performance resource centre (HPRC) has stated that ‘even minimal dehydration can increase strain on the cardiovascular system.
Know your limits – carrying equipment that is not too heavy and lifting correctly; using your knees and tensing your core without twisting will reduce the chance of injury.
Musculoskeletal injuries result in the largest number of days taken off work. In 2016, the Office of National Statistics found that a 30.8 million days had been lost this way.
We hope this information is useful for you. If you have any questions about our treatments, please contact us. You can find us in Islington and in Mill Hill Broadway. If you like this blog, please share!
