As the warm weather finally arrives and gardening season starts to bloom, green thumbs across Ontario will kneel, plant, lift, twist, seed and weed to get their gardens ready to grow. To help avoid unnecessary strain, the Ontario Chiropractic Association has some tips as well as a giveaway.
To help avoid unnecessary backyard back injuries during the planting season, the Ontario Chiropractic Association offers these suggestions:
- Warm Up – Gardening is hard work! Make sure you stretch your thighs, shoulders, sides, arms, back and hamstrings before you start to get the most out of your gardening.
- Alternate – Switch from heavy tasks to light ones, and change your hands and positions frequently.
- Lift Light and Right – Always bend with your knees and keep a straight back. Carry the load close to your body.
- Kneel to Plant – Knee pads or a kneeling mat can help to ease the strain on your back while you plant and weed your garden. Keep a straight back and stop when you need to have a break.
- Rake Right – Put one leg in front and another behind when you rake, and alternate on occasion to minimize the back strain.
For more healthy back tips visit http://www.yourback-health.com/. You can find the Ontario Chiropractic Association on Facebook and Twitter.
Put these tips to good use with a Plant and Rake Without Ache Tool Kit containing a garden tool bag filled with tools, a knee pad, water bottle and an assortment of seeds to help your garden grow (approx value $100 Cdn.) To enter tell us how you avoid back strain when gardening.
One (1) Plant and Rake Without Ache Tool Kit is available to win. Contest is only open to residents within Ontario and closes Wednesday, July 17 midnight ET. Please see full contest details. Winner will be announced on this page on July 18.
Random.org picked Sunshine G Kelly as our winner. An email has been sent. Congratulations.