While America’s tryst with gardening seems to blossom with time, it also presents avid gardeners with extreme physical exertion and body aches that can occur in the course of digging soil or plucking weeds.
Gardening in America has never been as popular as it is today. In the last five years, the country has seen a 17 percent growth in food gardening. A report called Garden to Table: A 5-Year Look at Food Gardening in America by the National Gardening Association (NGA) reveals that 35 percent of American households grow food at their homes or in community gardens. With one in every three households growing food, this is the highest level of participation in gardening the country has ever seen.
Prolonged kneeling, squatting or lifting heavy objects while gardening can cause exertion and body pain. From compulsiveguile.
But as they say nothing ventured, nothing gained. The way to a lush green garden and the pleasure that comes from watching your little saplings bloom is through the weariness and ache in muscles yet unfelt.
Tending a garden can be a rigorous physical exercise. The Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has listed heavy gardening as a physical activity of vigorous intensity.
In a study presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), it was revealed that people engaged in high levels of physical activity damaged their cartilage three times more than those involved in low levels of physical activity.
Your joints and muscles are put to task when you’re gardening. Kneeling, squatting, and crouching can give your knees, back and hips hell. Moreover, repetitive actions while tending gardens can trigger carpal tunnel syndrome.
So how do you keep enjoying gardening without exerting your body? Following a few, simple steps can ensure that tending to your beautiful garden does not take a toll on your body, making it a rather painless experience.
- Protect knees from the discomfort caused by bending on hard surfaces. Use specially designed mats to reduce pressure on knees and the chance of injuries. Comfort mats like these cushion your knees from trauma, dispersing pressure normally centered on the kneecap.
- Gardening is physical labor just like exercising. Prepare for it by warming up and gradually increase the time you devote to gardening.
- Avoid lifting heavy objects on your own. If you absolutely have to, lift them using your legs while keeping your head up.
- Alternate the leg you squat on, to avoid one leg taking all of the pressure. Similarly, use both hands alternately to spread the muscle stress.
- Take breaks in frequent intervals and avoid staying in the sun for too long as it can cause dehydration.
- Don’t overdo it, especially when the body starts to show signs of fatigue.
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