Gardening With Sciatic and Back Pain
This lens will consider how to enjoy your garden and coping techniques if you have a bad back and also how to avoid backstrain in the garden for those lucky enough not yet to have back issues.
It includes back care and back pain relief solutions and ways to cope in the garden.
Spring and summer are often a key time for existing back issues to flare up if we are not well prepared. Also for newly acquired backpain and backstrain as we get out there to sort out our gardens. So take your time, respect your back and give it some relief.
You will also find interesting links on back pain relief and back care gardening tools to help us with back issues.
Gardening is Fun so Lets enjoy it!
Beautiful Gardens And Caring For Your Back
Preparation for Gardening With Back Pain
Warm Up Your Back Muscles Before Gardening
If you get the go ahead:
Whether you already have back pain or are wanting to avoid backstrain it is important that you warm up before you start work in the garden.
Especially after a winter season of gardening inactivity our muscles are not used to gardening and thats when a lot of backstrain occurs. Spring and summer are the main times of year that doctors surgeries fill up with people having newly acquired backpain or existing backpain may get worse with the unprepared for activity.
Do any back care stretches you have, go for a short walk and treat it like you are an athlete getting ready. You are after all about to do some real physical work!
You may find it helpful to have a warm bath beforehand, particularly if you already have back pain. I always do this and it does help me.
If you already have back pain or sciatica you may find, if heat helps you, that putting a heat pad on your back to continually warm the muscles helps.
Only once you are fully warmed up should you start on your gardening tasks...
"What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.Charles Dudley Warner."
Ten Tips To Working In Your Garden-With Back Pain
Ten Tips To Ease Your Back Pain In The Garden.
If You have a Bad back you simply should not do that any more. If you dont currently have a bad back its a good way to get one!
Here are Ten Tips to help.
1.Do a little, rest , then do some more.
2.Vary activities, a little weeding, a little pruning etc.
3.Do not stay in one position for too long eg when weeding, get up stretch and move regulary. Repetitive tasks may put a strain on your back and other muscles.
4. Do not lift heavy things by yourself. Always get someone to help or better still use one of the many tools for moving objects.
5.If you have back pain and sciatica always let someone know you are working in the garden, just in case you should need assistance.
6.Rather than lifting and carrying a heavy watering can either use a hose or a smaller watering can. In a hot summer especially your plants in pots will need watering, I know the smaller watering can will mean more journeys back to the tap but it is better for your back. To be more eco friendly fix a water butt and use the water from there.
7.Use back friendly tools to make it as easy on your back as possible. They can make quite a difference. Try to avoid digging or working over sun baked soil, go with the elements and dig when the going is easier.
8.Know your limits. It may be you can graduate to most tasks in the garden but digging or lifting may prove too much. Do not feel you have to be able to do everything! Split up tasks with other members of the family or friends or neighbours or get a handy person or gardener in to do the things you find difficult.
9.Take regular breaks for drinking water, it is easy to get dehydrated when gardening, especially in a hot summer, but be careful at any time, so regular water breaks will prevent that. Avoid mid day heat. Dehydration is not good for you or for your back and discs.
10.Treat yourself and your back as well as your plants !
Beautiful Hosta Border In The Garden
Back Care Garden Helpers!
Great Products For Easier On Your Back Gardening :)
Step2 5A0000 Garden Hopper Mobile Garden Stool and Storage
Sturdy Garden hopper on wheels doubles as a useful and welcome seat and it has its own storage space enough for all the gardening bits and pieces, it even has a space for your drink!
Amazon Price: $31.00 (as of 07/11/2009) 
List Price: $37.03
Used Price:
Fiskars 9424 Garden Bucket Caddy
Your little assistant in the garden! All the things you need to hand without trailing back and forth.
Amazon Price: $13.68 (as of 07/11/2009)
List Price: $11.99
Used Price:
Step2 Garden Kneeler #5A0100
Versatile and useful piece of equipment for garden or home. Kneel, sit, or stand in cushioned comfort to work more comfortably in the garden. Constructed of sturdy, rugged plastic.Keep comfortable while working in the garden or yard.
Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 07/11/2009)
List Price: $24.99
Used Price:
Gardeners-Ease Stiff, Sore Joints.
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* Eliminates your worse pains
* Speeds muscle and tissue repair
* Helps spasms
* Fights inflammation
* Unlocks stiff hands
* Fights nighttime pain
* Helps muscle soreness and cramps
* Reduces swelling
* And much, MUCH MORE!
Long Handled Gardening Tools For Easier Gardening.
Good Garden Tools Make Gardening Easier On You and Your Back
Long Hndled Bulb Planter -SOME MINOR PAINT NICKS DUE TO SHIPPING
Bend Less while planting bulbs! Great helpful tool
Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 07/11/2009)
List Price:
Used Price:
Circlehoe Long Handled Ergonomic Garden Tool
Make hoeing easier! No need to bend down.
Amazon Price: $34.99 (as of 07/11/2009)
List Price: $33.95
Used Price:
Felco #13 Long-Handled Pruners
The long handles on these pruners give extra leverage and rubber cushion help prevent fatigue.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/11/2009)
List Price:
Used Price:
Romantic Roses, Perfect Poppies In The Garden
Back Care Gardening Accessories :Knee Pads
Knee Pads To make gardening easier
Knee pads are great as you can then kneel while gardening rather than bending or stooping too much.
If you find it comfortable on you and your back to kneel at least for some of the time you are gardening you may want to consider knee pads.
Still don't stay in one position too long but knee pads can be a good buy.
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Digging Without Backstrain?
Backsaver spade to help your aching back
Back Saving Digging
A revolutionary way to dig without placing strain on your back
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Gifts For Gardeners.
Choose From These Cool And Chic Designs! For You Or For A Gardening Friend:)
Wall Clock - Red Poppy # 38
Another bright red poppy from the Hondo Iris Farm, Between Ruidoso & Roswell, NM
Plant Manager Women's Pink T-Shirt
This Plant Manager T-Shirt has a brilliant, whimsical garden design. Perfect for gardening, planting, weeding or anytime. The perfect gift for the master gardener or anyone that loves to garden.
Designing Your Garden With A Bad Back
Garden Design for back pain or a bad back
It is the same process you would go through if you were designing any garden and you can do it yourself or get a professional garden designer.
There are many books on garden design to help you get some ideas and I am sure you have plenty of your own.
Consider a low maintenance garden. Plant so there are no bare patches between the plants therefore less room for weeds. Less weeding means less bending and strain on your back. Gravel gardens or planting those plants whch require more attention in pots or raised beds may suit you.
Consider laying membrane which allows water and nutrients to pass through but makes it hard for weeds to get a grip. You will need to mulch it with bark, gravel , slate etc dependant on what you like.
Go for low maintenance plants and shrubs and not the ones that need a lot of attention or digging up after they have flowered.
Consider raised beds. I have two raised beds, actually at waist height as when my back pain was very bad I could not bend at all and that was the only way I could still get contact with my garden. A friend of ours, handy with wood made them for us to my individual specifications.
If your lawn is very small it may just be easier on you to gravel it over. You can still grow plants throughte gravel but it takes awaythe need to be coping with a lawnmower.
So just a few ideas, I am sure you will have plenty of your own....
Books On Accessible Gardening.
Make Your Garden Work For You And Your Back
Gardening In Pots Easier On a Bad Back
General Garden Design Books
Guides To Designing Your garden
Flowers In Gravel
Caring For Your Back After Gardening
Back Care After Gardening.
Use a heat pad on your back to ease those back muscles.
Also if possible ask a partner to give you a gentle massage(avoiding your back directly if you have problems there)
Do any back care stretches you have.
Continue doing stretching and warm baths/shower for the next few days until your muscles have eased.
Heat / Ice Pads For Your Back Pain
Back And Sciatic Pain Heat Or Cold Pads
Use any of these on your back after gardening to ease aching muscles.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byHelpful Gardening With Back Pain Sites
Continue gardening with Back Pain
- Carry On Gardening
- An Award winning website which aims to help people who find difficulty working in the garden the ways towards easier gardening.
- Avoiding Injury In the Garden
- Hints and tips to avoiding injury in the garden detailing guidelines to follow. Raises the need for Back pain sufferers to take extra care when gardening.
- Safe Gardening
- It is possible to cope with gardening and back pain or to avoid back pain brought on by gardening by following a few safety rules detailed on this good website.
- Weed Out Back Pain In The Garden
- Article detailing how to garden with a bad back and some hints and tips to try. Also includes Back Pain solutions.
Back And Sciatic Pain Stopping You Working In The Yard??
When gardening with back pain is not possible...
If however you are told for the time being that it would be damaging to you to do the physical work in your garden you need to think how you can still be involved.
Here are just some ideas...
1. You can take over all the design aspects
2.You can order all the seeds/plants etc you need.
3.You may still be able to do the sowing of seed in cells or pots at waist height and pricking out.
4.You can supervise the gardening work. (I drove my husband nuts "supervising" but he still loves me!)
5.Utilise gardening forums to at least talk about gardening - you may find it helps to just talk with like minded people and you may be able to impart useful advice.
6.You may like to have a go at photography in your garden-you don't have to be great as long as its fun!
7.Spend time learning more and reading more about great gardening.
8. Teach your children if you have any how to care for plants-they can follow your instruction.
9. Look after the houseplants-watering,feeding etc.
The Able Gardener
Use This Site To Help You With Your Gardening Needs.
Useful Links Back Pain and Gardening
Gardening and Back Pain
- Back Pain -Is it The Price We Pay For A Great Garden?
- Back pain article linking to the dos and don'ts of back pain lifting and dumping when gardening.
- Poll Says Gardening Tops The List Of Back PAin Woes.
- Poll highlights gardening as a major culprit in back pain in the spring and summer, and tips to help prevent it.
- Back Care For Gardeners
- Good UK based website detailing care for your back while gardening as well as more general and extensive gardening information and support.
Visit My Other Back Pain Lenses For More Information
Back Pain Relief, Suggestions, Back Pain Hints, Sleeping With Sciatica and useful Back Pain Links...
Visit these lenses if you are interested in learning:How to cope with back pain in everyday life, articles on back pain and sciatica by back pain professionals, my personal story with back and sciatic pain, back pain solutions for you to try.
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Sleep Tips For Sciatic And Back Pain
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Easier Gardening With Great Garden Tools
- FRED's SHED
- Excellent range of garden tools and accessories for the gardener who needs easier ways to garden at this site. Worth checking out
From the site homepage:
"My aim is to find, and develop the best tools to enable anyone to work to the best of their ability. This means carefully chosen, top quality tools, that last a lifetime and that can be serviced and repaired."
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Back and Sciatic Pain Blog.
Life With My Pet Back Back Pain Blog.
- Life With My Pet Back Blog.
- Do feel free to visit my back pain blog where I informally chat about life and back and sciatic pain. Also Informative articles from back pain professionals, Inspirational thoughts and back pain information.
If you drop by leave me a message-I would love to hear from you :)
Just gorgeous!
"A garden is a friend you can visit any time."
Friends Of The Garden-Gardeners talk
I hope you found this lens useful. I would love to hear from you.
Share your love of gardening, your thoughts on back pain and gardening and any hints and tips that have worked for you in your garden.
Tiddledeewinks wrote...
I love my veggie and flower garden, although i've had to cut down due to spine pain from degenerative disc disease.
Posted September 07, 2008
OrganicGiftsByDiana wrote...
With me, my back is fine. It is my hands, feet, legs... that I have trouble with due to a genetic connective tissue disorder. We dislocate easy and have a lot of pain... .
However, I have to use many of the same methods as you listed to overcome my issues.
I am trying to get a huge raised bed put in for my herb garden gardens.
I use lots of herbs and flowers... in my soaps, perfumes, balms... and it is just getting too hard to keep up with my gardens.
I have been planning my raised beds for a few years, but am still having trouble finding the time to get them done.
I hope they are finished by Spring.
Organically yours,
Diana
My virtual storefront: http://organicgiftsbydiana.mybisi.com
My brick and mortar store in Hubbard, Ohio : http://www.dianascraft-antiqueshop.4t.com
One of my lenses:
http://www.squidoo.com/OrganicandNatural
Posted September 03, 2008
poddys wrote...
This is a fabulous lens, great information and lovely pictures. Definitely deserves 5*****
Posted July 26, 2008
sisterra wrote...
Excellent lens. I love to garden and you have some great info to help me keep planting.
Posted July 07, 2008
LaraineRose wrote...
I found your lens very useful. After years of gardening - I'm still try to do everything in one day. Thanks for reminding me not to do that. Spring is here and the garden is planted - now the flower beds need some attention. (Tomorrow.)
5 stars, fan, favorite and lensrolled.
Posted June 02, 2008
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Disclaimer:Garden Back Care
I am a recovering back pain sufferer and not a medical expert.This lens contains personal opinions that are not intended as medical advice. The contents are not intended to diagnose, treat or give a medical opinion.
Please take advice from your healthcare professional if it is safe for you to garden if you have back issues or had back surgery.
The information here is no substitute for medical diagnosis and guidance. Consult a physician in all matters relating to health, particularly concerning any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. Never disregard medical advice, or delay or change treatment because of something you have read here. For assistance with back pain, or any other medical condition, always consult a qualified healthcare professional. You health is your responsibility.
