Spring is finally here, which means so is all the ‘back-breaking’ labor that we’ve missed out on for the last several months! It is important to protect yourself as we become more active in outdoor activities such as gardening, lawn mowing, and other ‘fun’ landscaping endeavors.
A few tips:
- Stretches are helpful before starting one of these projects, especially if your muscles have been on vacation the entire winter.
- If gardening is more of a small hobby, try planting in raised beds. This will save your back with decreasing the amount of time you have to bend over.
- Drink plenty of water and take frequent breaks. Why? You are likely to overwork your muscles and if you dehydrate yourself at the same time, you have a higher risk of injury and more intense muscle soreness that may last for days after your outdoor activity.
- Save your back, bend at your knees, or sit on a bucket. The guy in the picture below is going to be hurting for the next couple of days.
- Pain is a sign that your body has had enough. Listen to it! Your body is too important not to.
- Use a cold pack on sore muscles (Not more than 20 minutes at a time). Many people make the mistake with using heat, which can leave you feeling stiff and achy later on.
- If you do encounter an injury, go see a chiropractor. The longer you wait, the longer the recovery.
moundcitychiropractic.com 