There is no doubt that gardening is physically demanding, as many people have complained of back pains due to the dexterity involved in the activity. The underlining reason why most gardeners complain of back pains is because most of the beckoning garden duties require people to bend at different angles for a very long period of time.

Since the summers are in full swing, now is the time to work on the landscape of your garden in order to accentuate the beauty of your home, but the winters make most people lazy and suddenly jumping into gardening will no doubt take a toll on your physical well being.

But that does not mean that you should put your green thumb to waste, as there are many different steps you can follow in order to protect your back while gardening. This is exactly why we articulated a list of steps to help protect your back during the activity. These steps are as follows:

1.     Stretch before you start gardening

Consider gardening to be a marathon race, thus the only way your body can be prepared for the strenuous activities is by stretching. Before you put on your gardening gear we would recommend that you stretch for at least 10 minutes, make sure you stretch as much as you can before you begin gardening. There are two targeted stretches for your back; one includes hugging yourself and slowly rotating. While the other requires you to sit on the ground with your legs in front of you, slowly try to touch the tips of your toes. Remember you are not actually running a marathon so do not overexert yourself while warming up.

2.     Walk for at least 5 minutes

After you have completed your warm up, you should now start walking around your garden for at least five minutes. Walking is one of the best exercises out there and it will help all of your muscles prepare for the strain caused by gardening.

3.     Lighten your gear

If you have ever noticed most professional gardeners only carry the required equipment and leave the rest in their saddle bags. The more weight you carry while working, the more pressure you are placing on your muscles. Although you may look cool with all of your tools hanging from your belt, please consider reducing the load so that you are not putting unnecessary pressure on your back.

4.     Learn how to lift

One of the most common reasons why people face back problems due to gardening is because they do not lift weight properly. Picking up weights such as bags of manure using your back will not only induce back pains but will also affect other muscles. The correct way of lifting weight is by bending your knees and picking the weight up while standing up, so by the time you are standing straight the weight should be in your hands.

5.     Keep changing positions

While doing gardening you spend hours in the same position and this is what causes most back pains, you should keep changing positions while working and not stay in one position for more than fifteen minutes. We would also recommend that you stretch before you change positions and take breaks in order to further condition your muscles.

Finally if you follow of these steps mentioned above there is no doubt that the chances of you succumbing to back pain will be reduced by a substantial margin.