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Summertime Injury
Precautions
By Wayne L. Westcott |
If you are like me, you live for summer. And the
most exciting and enjoyable aspect of summer is the yard and
garden. Not only are these outdoor physical activities
beneficial from a health and fitness perspective, I consider
the results of my yard and gardening efforts legitimate
works of art - obviously I have no other artistic abilities!
Seriously, many of us take great satisfaction in the way our
lawns, ledges, flower plots and vegetable gardens appear.
However, many of us also experience the devastating
disappointment that accompanies an injury attained while
working in our yard or garden. Such injuries, typically to
backs and shoulders, cause pain and prevent us from
participating in the activities we love to do.
This month I present some sensible precautions that should
reduce your risk of injury as you perform your favorite
summertime tasks.
The most important principle for preventing yard and garden
problems is understanding leverage. Basically, leverage
means that a relatively small change in body position can
cause a relatively large change in body stress.
For example, if I ask you to hold a five-pound dumbbell with
your arm straight down, you could easily do so. But, if I
ask you to raise your arm straight out to the side, you
couldn’t hold the dumbbell for very long. That’s because
leverage changed a five-pound shoulder stress to a 100-pound
shoulder stress, simply by moving the dumbbell 20 inches
from your body.
Let’s apply the leverage principle to yard and garden work.
When trimming hedges, be sure to keep the clippers fairly
close to your body and preferably around waist level with
elbows bent about 90 degrees. Avoid holding the clippers at
shoulder level with elbows straight, as this can easily
place excessive stress on both your shoulder joints and your
lower back structures.
Use a sturdy stepladder to trim the taller hedges and
bushes, always keeping the clippers as close as possible to
your body.
When hoeing the garden or raking the lawn, use short-range
movements of your arms. Don’t stretch too far in front of
your feet and don’t pull too far past your feet, as
long-range movements multiply the forces on your
musculoskeletal system. Always maintain a solid base of
support with your feet, and keep your arms relatively close
to your body when hoeing and raking.
Of course, plants don’t grow until we plant the seeds.
Planting seeds (as well as pulling weeds and picking low
level produce such as strawberries and lettuce) requires
some degree of body bending. If you bend at the waist, you
increase both muscular stress (particularly to your low back
and rear thigh muscles) and cardiovascular stress.
Instead, place one knee on the ground, place your forearm on
your thigh for support and use the free hand to distribute
the seeds. If you need both hands, keep your back as erect
as possible as you work in the soil.
Finally, when pushing your lawn mower or rototiller, avoid
pronounced forward lean, especially bending forward at the
waist. Make a mental and physical effort to walk as straight
and tall as possible, with your elbows bent about 90 degrees
most of the time. Keep your turns relatively tight, never
letting the machine get very far away from you.
In weight training and in yard work, leverage is the key
factor for a safe and satisfying exercise experience. Train
smart and work smart, enjoying the physical and mental
benefits while reducing the risk of injury. |
About The Author
Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., is fitness research
director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, and author of 20
books on strength training.
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