Alexandra Campbell warns against overstretching yourself in the garden

Alexandra Campbell warns against over-stretching yourself in the garden . . .

AS the days grow lighter, it’s tempting to get out into the garden.

But it’s particularly important to remember that, unless you’ve been gardening throughout the winter, you can easily injure yourself.

I’ve been talking to physiotherapist Denise Kesson of Kesson Physiotherapy in Kent.

She says that the phone rings constantly after a sunny weekend, and many of the calls are from people who have hurt their backs gardening after a break.

“It’s not just carrying heavy weights or digging that can hurt,” Denise says.

“Doing things at an awkward angle can be the problem.

“Injuries happen when people are lopping their own trees, for example.”

The height of your pottingtti bbenchh iis another th factor – if you’re stooping over a too-low surface for half an hour or more, that will strain your back.

The temptation is to get lots done, but pace yourself.

Denise’s first piece of advice is to break jobs up.

Instead of weeding a whole border then spending half an hour in the potting shed, alternate between the two tasks.

Do 15 or 20 minutes weeding, then 15 or 20 minutes of another job, then back again.

“Don’t overload your wheelbarrow,” she advises.

“The heavier the load in the wheelbarrow, the more likely you are to put your back out.

“Make more journeys, with plenty of breaks.”

It’s also worth remembering that carrying or pushing something heavy over uneven ground is also destabilising for your knees, as well as a strain on your back.

Another good way to prevent gardening injuries is to do a regular exercise class to strengthen core muscles.

Many gardeners I know swear by Pilates, and I have had fewer twinges since I took it up.

Some people advise doing a warm-up before gardening, but Denise thinks you don’t necessarily need anything formal.

“If you walk round the garden to see what needs doing, gather up your tools and do the easy, short jobs first, that should help you.”

Raised beds at table height make gardening easier for those with bad backs and knees.

There are lots more around today, such as the Vegepod (available from Homebase, Marshalls Seeds and Unwins) or wooden Raised Bed Tables from Harrod Horticultural.

There are a number of lightweight or specially adapted tools around – I use super-light loppers from the Wilkinson Sword Ultralight range.

I also use a smaller, lighter spade – the Kent & Stowe Garden Life spade, which is 40% lighter than a standard spade.

It has a small head, which means that there’s less weight on each spadeful.

I’ve seen the Spear & Jackson proactive Digging Spade, with a shockabsorber handle, reviewed very positively, too.

Digging always used to give me sciatica. That’s one of the reasons why I adopted Charles Dowding’s no-dig gardening method.

His books are mainly about growing vegetables, but the principles work just as well as for flower-beds.

You can find out more in his book, “Organic Gardening, The Natural No-dig Way”.

The basic principle is that you don’t dig your soil, except when you make a hole to put a plant in.

Instead, you tease weeds out or cover them with mulch, cardboard or light-excluding fabric.

You feed your soil annually by covering it with a 3-4" layer of compost, allowing the worms and micro-organisms to work it in rather than forking it in yourself.

Finally, if you have pain after gardening, see a doctor or physiotherapist.

Happy gardening!