The first nice weekend of spring always brings in an increased number of back pain sufferers to my office. While outside leisure activities account for some of these patients, far and away the most common cause of spring back pain is gardening. Most patients fall victim to the combination of over exertion, under conditioning and poor body mechanics.

If you don’t want to spend the best months of the year recovering from a back injury, heed the simple but effective advice in this article.

Limit the Duration and Amount of Exertion

Even if you exercise on a regular basis, it would be hard to be prepared for an entire weekend of digging, hoeing, raking, lifting, weeding, and planting. Yet, that is how many Americans begin their spring gardening. It is far more sensible to break your gardening jobs into small manageable projects, performing moderate work over several days, rather than working hard and long over the first nice weekend of the season.

Beware of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Take frequent breaks and continually hydrate yourself by drinking water or a sports drink. Caffeinated beverages are not a good source of fluids for hydration, because they are diuretics (substances that increase urine production).

Stay Conditioned Year Round

One of the biggest factors in seasonal activity injuries, such as gardening is de-conditioning. People who enjoy cardiovascular fitness and strength are less likely to get hurt while gardening. Most serious athletes train and condition in the off-season to reduce the chances of injury during the season of their sport, so should you.

Use Proper Body Mechanics

Avoid bending at the waist! Lower back injuries are often a result of bending and twisting at the waist. Always avoid bending at the waist, even for seemingly light tasks. Use your legs to lift, not your back, and hold the load close to your body. Never twist while lifting.

Get Dirty!

As odd as it sounds getting dirty can protect the lower back. How? One of the rules for lifting is to hold the load close to your body. If you are lifting a bag of manure, or a large dirty pot and try to hold the load away from your clothes, you are much more likely to sustain a back injury. Lifting in this manner shifts the center of gravity forward. This greatly increases the pressure on the lower back. The solution is to hug that bag of manure!

Tips to Prevent Back Pain in the Garden

• Use a lawn mower with adjustable handles set to your height, this will enable you to stand upright while using the mower. Avoid bending while mowing.
• Shovels, hoes and other tools with smaller blades will reduce the amount of weight or resistance.
• Don’t scoop huge spade-loads of soil.
• Do not swing weed-whackers from side to side.
• Use a lawn mower that is self-propelled.
• Be careful when pull starting a lawn mower to avoid extreme bending and twisting. Use your legs.
• Use an electric or electric starting lawn mower to avoid the need for pull-starting a lawn mower.
• Don’t let your lawn get too high. If your lawn is overgrown, it can take more exertion to mow.
• Use long handled tools when you are able.
• Use a wheelbarrow to carry heavy loads.
• Ask for help when you have a heavy lifting job.
• Always bend with your knees, not your back.
• Be cautious in slippery situations such as wet ground, loose gravel, or steep slopes.

Using these simple, but useful guidelines can help gardeners enjoy their pastime without pain throughout the spring, summer and fall.