Common reasons for back pain related to gardening
After being cooped up indoors through the long winter months,  most homeowners can’t help but start planning and preparing for a thriving, clean-cut yard this spring. Unfortunately,  a sedentary lifestyle through the fall and winter months leads to a higher risk of pain and/or injury when the gardening  season starts.

Too often,  the prevailing advice gardeners hear is how important it is to avoid specific tasks due to risks for lower back pain.  Although this advice may seem to make sense and appropriate in certain circumstances, the research is clear,  avoiding movements is not as effective as being prepared by staying active and maintaining or improvifng strength.

Proper yard care requires repetitive movements and prolonged positions and may include heavy lifting. These activities  have been associated with back pain, but avoiding them is not as effective as addressing them directly.

When working on your lawn,  few injuries are as common as strained or pulled muscles. Strained muscles affect people of all ages, fitness levels,  and physical abilities. The repetitive nature of the tasks needed in yard work sets you up for strains. Most of these  types of problems resolve with time and by avoiding further aggravating them.

In some cases, what at first seems to be a muscle strain,  turns out to be something more serious. Bending and twisting movements are particularly dangerous to the spinal joints,  can cause irritation, and may even injure the spine. For some people,  repetitive movements or prolonged positions lead to a change in the joint function itself.

The source of back pain is often due to subluxation (misalignment) of a joint. Typically pain in the lower back comes  from injury or irritation of the joints (including the intervertebral discs and facet joints). Often the first symptom  is a tightness or pain in the muscle, but the root of the problem is the joint itself.

The contributing factors that are most often associated with back pain include:

Improper posture or prolonged positions (i.e., prolonged sitting or bending)
Repetitive movements, especially bending and twisting
Spinal/pelvic muscle weaknesses (aka “core” weakness)
Poor abdominal, pelvic and back muscle coordination (i.e., compensations due to injury)
Ignoring the pain and/or pushing through pain can leave you even more likely to further pain and injury. A proactive  approach can reduce the risks and improve your overall health so your body can handle the stressors that can negatively  impact your spine.

At Recover Therapy,  our physical therapist can help by restoring joint mobility with spinal manipulations and corrective exercise programs  to ensure your body is adequately prepared. It can handle the movements and positions gardening demands.

How chiropractic care can help your back pain
Too often, people wait until their pain is severe or don’t exercise regularly throughout the year,  which leads to more complications and possible injuries. Our team will thoroughly evaluate the injury’s severity and  identify any other weaknesses or limitations that may affect your function and recovery ability.

We will use this information to develop a comprehensive program that includes targeted spinal manipulations and other  manual techniques deemed appropriate. We will also incorporate corrective exercises focusing on posture,  body mechanics,  and strengthening to help ensure you can adequately perform the required tasks and avoid any future injuries.

Taking care of your yard requires your joints to function correctly, so you will have the ability to bend, lift, kneel,  and squat properly. At Recover Therapy,  our chiropractors recommend addressing your limitations head-on. We will assess your whole body and restore motion to  any joint with restrictions. We will take a proactive approach to ensure you are functioning at your best.

Request an appointment at Recover Therapy today!
If you are dealing with an old injury or are worried about creating a new one,  contact Recover Therapy today and let our chiropractors get you in tip-top shape. We will get to the root of your  problems, help identify areas of concern, and address them head-on!

Request an appointment with one of our specialists,  and let us help you prepare your body for a pain-free gardening season!