The Villages Daily Sun

THE VILLAGES — Gardening can be good exercise, but just like overdoing it at the gym, it can lead to sore muscles, an aching back and even injuries.

Most people who exercise regularly know it is a good idea to warm up before working out, and according to Dr. Jason Davis, a chiropractor with the Davis Clinic in The Villages, it is just as important to warm up before gardening.

“If you’re going to be doing something physically exerting during gardening, you want to make sure your body is well prepared to go through those procedures, those movements,” he said. “You’re less likely to injure a warm muscle versus a cold muscle.”

Although gardening might not seem like a very strenuous activity, Davis said patients frequently come in with lower back, shoulder and neck injuries they received while working in their yards.

Try some stretching

Before whacking those weeds or planting any petunias, try a few stretches first. Davis recommends four particular stretches to warm up muscles before heading out to work in the garden.

To stretch the back of the thigh, or the hamstring, stand up and prop your heel on a doorstep or stool with the knee straight. Bend forward until you feel a slight pull in the hamstring. Hold this position for 20 seconds, relax, repeat once more on the same leg and then repeat the stretch on your other leg.

For stretching the quadriceps, the muscles on the front of the leg, stand up and put your right hand against a wall or other stable surface. Bend your left knee and grab your ankle with your left hand. Pull the heel of your left leg toward your buttocks and hold that position for 20 seconds. Relax and do it again. Then, repeat the stretch with the other leg.

To stretch out your upper body, weave your fingers together above your head with palms facing upward. Lean to one side for 10 seconds and then reverse. Repeat this stretch several times.

Another stretch, which Davis calls “hug your best friend,” also stretches the upper body. Wrap your arms around your torso and rotate to one side as far as you can go. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds, then reverse it.

While performing all of these stretches, breathe in and out slowly and move gently and smoothly. Do not bounce or jerk, and go as far as possible with the stretch without causing pain.

“You’re increasing circulation is what it comes down to,” Davis said of the exercises. “You are preparing the muscle to exert itself.”

Even after stretching, gardeners should be careful to limit the stress on their bodies, especially on the back, which is the area Davis said is most frequently injured by gardeners.

Creative solutions

Village of Rio Ponderosa resident Kathy Porter knows how important it is to find ways to avoid injury when she works in her garden. As a member of The Villages Rose Club and The Villages Garden Club North, gardening is one of Porter’s favorite hobbies, but arthritis and a weak back can make tasks around the yard a challenge.

Rather than giving up her hobby, she has used her creativity and ingenuity to come up with ways to make gardening easier on her body.

“I love to garden, so in order for me to really be effective, I have to come up with things and ways to do what I love without hurting myself,” she said.

One of Porter’s favorite gardening solutions came in the form of a $4 used golf bag. Instead of keeping clubs in the bag, she uses it to hold all of her long-handled gardening tools. The bag is mounted on a wheeled cart, making it easy for Porter to pull around her garden.

“It’s got all kinds of good pockets,” she said, adding that the bag helps her keep all her tools in order and within easy reach. “They’re not on the ground. You’re not stepping on them or losing them all the time, and I don’t have to bend, which is a big thing for me.”

Using a golf bag in this way also has enabled Porter to recycle something that otherwise might have been thrown away.

“I can’t tell you how many people tell me, ‘That’s the best use for a used golf bag that I’ve ever seen in my life,’” she said, smiling.

Of course, in that golf bag are a few tools that help Porter accomplish some of the more difficult tasks of gardening, including weeding and pruning.

For weeding, Porter bought a handmade weeder that consists of a sharpened metal disk on the end of a long pole. The pole keeps Porter from having to kneel down and the sharp blade makes weeding much easier.

“It takes things out at the root, which is very important,” she explained. “You don’t have to bend. You can stand. I can weed a whole big patch in no time.”

Porter puts all those weeds in a garbage bag that is held up by a lightweight expandable and collapsible garbage can. Once the bag starts to get heavy, Porter puts it on a wheeled stool and rolls it to a big garbage can to throw away.

Porter also uses her stool to sit on while she does gardening chores that are low to the ground. The stool has a storage compartment under the seat, and Porter can avoid kneeling and bending while sitting on it.

“I find I can’t do without that. It goes with me everywhere,” she said.

To avoid irritating her arthritis, Porter has a set of pruners and clippers which have a special ratcheting mechanism inside. The pruners allow Porter to snip off thick sticks and branches without having to apply too much pressure with her hands.

“It really saves my hands,” she said.

Keeping tools in top condition will keep them working correctly, and Porter said she was taught to keep her gardening tools sharp and oiled by her father, who was a carpenter. She also said she learned to improvise and be resourceful from him.

“I’d like to think that I inherited some of that from him,” she said.

When injuries happen

No matter how careful you are, the possibility of injury or strain from gardening is always there.

Unless the injury is an emergency and the person is in need of immediate medical care, Davis said there are usually ways to help alleviate gardening aches and pains at home.

“The first thing you should do is go home, get in a comfortable position and you ice (the injured area),” he said.

A cold pack should be applied for 20 minutes on and 40 minutes off to reduce swelling and pain. If pain persists for more than a day or two, see a physician or chiropractor, Davis said.

“Make them aware of the problem,” he said. “You want to address these injuries while they’re new. You don’t want it to become a chronic problem.”

Caroline Klapper is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9018, or caroline.klapper@thevillagesmedia.com.