THE MOST COMMON GARDENING INJURIES

Lower back pain from lifting pots/heavy fertiliser DON’T

Bend forward or twist your back while you bending to reach, lift or carry. “It’s loading of the spine when bending and twisting that causes injuries,” says Jenny Smith. “If you are struggling to lift bags of compost, use a spade as a lever to hoick it onto a wheelbarrow,” says landscape architect and garden designer Dominic Cole (dominiccole.net). “Or open the bag and put the compost into smaller containers.”

DO

Make sure the object is close to you, and bend at the knees and hips rather than at the waist to pick it up. Squat, stick your bottom out. When you lift the object up, hug it close and push through your feet rather than using your back. “The biggest muscles in our body (our quads and glutes) are doing this power work,” says Victoria Holmes. “Push up using the front of your thighs and your buttock muscles rather than trying to use your back.”

Neck and upper shoulder pain from weeding at an awkward angle; pain from bending and crouching DON’T

Bend over and dig with a trowel. Research from Coventry University and the RHS in 2018 revealed that a bad digging technique can as much as double the load on the joints in the body, leaving people susceptible to chronic injuries. And neck pain can be caused by bending down. Don’t bend forward and then reach (for example: reaching into the back of a border to pull a weed); it will certainly hurt your back.

DO

Look for tools with long handles that allow you to work in a standing position, rather than bending. This avoids strain on your back. If you bend, do it from the hips not back. Kneel, so you are closer to the plants and less bend in the back is needed. Sitting down to weed on a pad or stool lets you work at a comfortable height. Make sure you bend from the hips and the knees and not from your back, and keep a long neck position.

Pulled muscles from reaching to cut branches DON’T

Attempt to lift the secateurs high and snip away.

DO

Use long-handled shears to avoid shoulder tendonitis from overhead work or prolonged periods of being in an outstretched position.