Gardeners Recovery - Information

Protect your joints—Choose implements with padded handles to protect joints in your hands and fingers from excess pressure. Tools like shears or clippers with a spring-action self-opening feature are helpful if you have weak grasp.

Conserve energy—Sit while working to conserve energy and decrease stress on your back, knees, and hips. Use a kneeler seat, a combination kneeling
platform and seat that helps you rise from a kneeling to a seated position. Take rest breaks, and stop work before you become overtired.

Limit lifting—Watch out for those heavy bags of soil, mulch, or fertilizer. Instead of moving the whole bag, divide it into smaller, more manageable
loads and use a cart or wagon to move materials. When lifting, use the muscles in your legs, and not your back, for the heaviest exertions. Ask for help, or hire it, if necessary, for heavier tasks.

Think small—Start with a small garden area that you can manage without excess exertion. Locate it near your house and the water supply to reduce
hauling long lengths of hose. New lightweight hoses and coiled hoses are available and produce less stress and wear on your body.

Mix it up—Vary your tasks to avoid overstressing any one part of your body. Change your position frequently to keep from becoming stiff. Tightly
gripping or pinching a tool for extended periods can cause swelling in the hands and arms, and hunching over or kneeling for prolonged periods can cause back strain and knee pain.

— From the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.


	Protect your joints—Choose implements with padded handles to protect joints in your hands and fingers from excess pressure. Tools like shears or clippers with a spring-action self-opening feature are helpful if you have weak grasp. Conserve energy—Sit while working to conserve energy and decrease stress on your back, knees, and hips. Use a kneeler seat, a combination kneeling platform and seat that helps you rise from a kneeling to a seated position. Take rest breaks, and stop work before you become overtired. Limit lifting—Watch out for those heavy bags of soil, mulch, or fertilizer. Instead of moving the whole bag, divide it into smaller, more manageable loads and use a cart or wagon to move materials. When lifting, use the muscles in your legs, and not your back, for the heaviest exertions. Ask for help, or hire it, if necessary, for heavier tasks. Think small—Start with a small garden area that you can manage without excess exertion. Locate it near your house and the water supply to reduce hauling long lengths of hose. New lightweight hoses and coiled hoses are available and produce less stress and wear on your body. Mix it up—Vary your tasks to avoid overstressing any one part of your body. Change your position frequently to keep from becoming stiff. Tightly gripping or pinching a tool for extended periods can cause swelling in the hands and arms, and hunching over or kneeling for prolonged periods can cause back strain and knee pain. — From the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.		Additional Information Healthy Gardening Tips Developed by The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. www.aota.org "Gardening, America’s number one outdoor leisure activity, can be difficult if a person has health conditions that limit movement or stamina. But there are ways to decrease the aches, pains, and strains that often occur during gardening." Download the PDF guide (85kb) Guidelines for Personal Excercise Programs Developed by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports "You have taken the important first step on the path to physical fitness by seeking information. The next step is to decide that you are going to be physically fit." Download the PDF guide (580kb) Introducing the Physician's Rx: Exercise Developed by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Three-Part Plan for Your Physical Fitness." Download the PDF guide (192kb) Walking Works: The Blue Program for a Healthier America The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, in partnership with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports WalkingWorks, a campaign to help Americans live healthier lives by helping them set and achieve personal walking goals. It’s the Blue programfor a healthier America. Download the PDF guide (418kb)