Why does my back hurt after gardening?
During lockdown many of you have taken up gardening. Gardening is a great form of exercises to improve your health and wellbeing, aid relaxation and strengthen your muscles. However, it can cause some aches and pains if your body is not use to the strain it puts on your muscles and joints.
Lower back anatomy
Your lower back or lumbar spine is made up of 5 vertebrae, between each spinal segment is a discwhich exists to help with shock abosorption. You may have heard of a slipped disc or prolapsed disc? This is a very common injury and is most likely to happen between lumbar segment 4 and 5. Each vertebra has facet joints which are attached to the back muscles. Your nerves come out your spine at these levels and you often hear of people getting facet joint irritation or nerve root impingement. This can happen around this region if you muscles are not well balances or excessive load is put on these joints. Your personal trainer or physio may have asked you to strengthen your core to prevent some of these problems from occurring. When gardening you are stressing the lumbar discs, facet joints and lower back muscles.
Why is my core so important?
The core muscles include your glutes, pelvic floor, diaphragm and deep abdominal muscles and some of your back muscles. These muscles work together to form solid central unit of your body to withstand load. They help you control your hips and knees and back and shoulder blades. At the top of this solid unit is your diaphragm and the bottom is your pelvic floor. Your deep abdominal muscles and glutes form sides holding this solid core together. These muscles all work together to support your lower back.
Why does my back hurt the most out of all the areas of my body?
This is partly to do with the repetitive bending motion on your back, leaning forwards for prolonged periods of time e.g. when planting, digging, raking and pulling up weeds constantly trying to lean backwards from a flexed posture. Any kind of repetitive action is tough on your body. There is micro trauma in the muscles and an element of inflammation as the body is trying to heal and repair. There is an increase in blood flow to these muscles and excessive load through the discs and facet joints. If you are fit for gardening and have strong core muscles or strengthening in similar positions then this can prevent injuries, aches and back pain.
How do I prevent lower back pain when gardening?
Firstly, speak to your physiotherapist or osteopath. They can point you in the right direction of rehab exercises to specifically help you.
4 key points while you’re gardening:
Bend at the knees instead of leaning forwards with your back, especially if you are lifting anything eg: compost and plant pots.
Takes regular breaks to allow recovery between tasks or spread the gardening out over a few days instead of trying to get it all done in one go.
Spend no more than 20mins on a task before switching to something new. Move between shovelling and weeding for example
If you have to lift or move objects get a second pair of hands. Ask for help.
If you need help with how to make sure you are fit for gardening, how to strengthen your core you can book a face to face or online video consultation today.
Call now:0203 146 6969
