Gardening can be a form of exercise. Doing basic gardening tasks such as weeding, trimming
and raking can burn up to 300 calories an hour. It’s a good way to maintain flexibility and range of motion in your shoulders, hips and back, as well as building strength and endurance. Avoid pain and injury by starting with planned shortened sessions and gradually increase activities.
USE PROPER BODY MECHANICS
When digging or raking, make sure your neck and back are fairly straight, and you’re not holding a position where you’re rounding forward—be upright, and use your legs to move around, not reaching over with your arms! Always bend from the hip joint to keep your back straight, and not from the waist. When lifting, try to “hinge” from the hips and use your legs.
We’ve all had injuries, either from some sports mishap or when you get tangled in the dog’s leash and fall over. What’s the first thing you do? Reach for the ice. We’ve always known (or thought, anyway) that icing that sprained ankle or swollen hand would be helpful to decrease pain and swelling after the injury. After all, putting ice on restricts blood flow to the area, which helps to numb the pain and keep any swelling under control. Were we wrong all along?