Useful reminders to avoid gardening injuries

Q The gardening season has just begun and already my back is killing me. How do you manage gardening without developing a cranky back?

A: I must admit I don’t always escape injury. A year ago, I was lifting and positioning a huge boulder into place in a newly renovated plot. In the kneeling position, I made the mistake of twisting my body as I moved the boulder. A torn ligament kept me in discomfort for months. A hard lesson.

Gardeners will be more vulnerable to backache than usual this spring, because the rainy fall and freezing winter kept us out of the garden. Gardening year-round helps to keep the body accustomed to the work.

I try to keep in mind a few tips recommended by professionals: locking the knees, rounding the back, twisting the body.

I often work bent over — a common gardening stance, easiest on the body, according to experts, when we bend at the hips, not the waist. The knees should be slightly bent, not locked, and the back long and straight. Stability and alignment are most easily kept if the feet are at least hip width apart.

When reaching for weeds not directly in front of you, change your whole body’s direction to face the new patch of weeds. Avoid twisting to change direction. The same applies to digging. Keep the feet, hips and shoulders all facing in the same direction when lifting a shovelful of earth or compost and turning to empty it. Don’t twist the body.

Use leg and arm muscles to lift a shovel up with its load, keeping the legs slightly bent. Use long-handled tools.

Varying garden tasks as much as possible over each work session helps to prevent strain on any one set of muscles. Take breaks.