Gardening without back pain: postures and garden adaptations

Adopt good posture!

• Don’t neglect a good warm-up! Before going for a run you warm up; at the start of a karate class you warm up… So tell me why no one thinks of warming up before gardening? Gardening is an activity that places demands on the heart, muscles and joints… So never neglect this step! And drink before, during and after activity, to hydrate joints and muscles as best as possible;
• Bend your knees! If they still bend, that is… Better to bend your knees to lower yourself and keep your back straight than the other way round. Avoid at all costs straining your back by bending it forward for hours! For low tasks such as weeding, for example, simply lower yourself, back straight, by placing one knee on the ground while the other leg is bent. Remember to switch legs from time to time;
• Work seated when possible! I admit not all gardening tasks lend themselves to this. But some, such as propagation by cuttings, repotting, seed sorting… can be done seated. Prefer a good folding lightweight seat, fitted with small pockets in which to slip your tools;
• Stand up straight! Whatever the task, try as much as possible to keep yourself upright. When carrying heavy loads, engage your thighs, brace your abdominal muscles and stand as close as possible to the load;
• Rest! Gardening is not a race. If you feel tired, stop! And resume your work tomorrow or the day after or… Learn to listen to your body and remember that accidents tend to happen when you’re tired.

Be well equipped!

The main cause of back pain in the garden is using tools unsuitable for the task and for your own body shape. You can also invest in tools and equipment that make life easier. Here is a short list:

• Prefer tools well suited to the job, not too heavy and adapted to your morphology: long handles and narrow blades reduce load and effort required.
• Try telescopic-handled tools: they will save you from balancing precariously on a ladder (or an old wobbly chair…) and will also prevent you from bending your back to cut branches that are too far away, for example when using a hedge shear.
• Try the grelinette or aero-fork and rotating weed forks: conventional tools such as hoes, spades and mattocks are very useful and effective but are not known for being kind to the back, especially when overused or used incorrectly. The worst for the back remains the rotary tiller! To protect both your health and soil health, why not invest in an aero-fork or grelinette (name varies by manufacturer): this tool, made of a wide fork with bevelled tines and fitted with two straight handles, allows you to work the soil without bending while keeping your back straight. For weeding, you can also opt for rotating weed forks operated via a long handle. The “bad herb” is pinched and the gardener can pull it out effortlessly by tugging.
• Make abundant use of wheelbarrows and sack trucks: wheelbarrows are designed to move heavy loads with (little) effort. Get one or two urgently if you do not already have them at home! Better to load your wheelbarrow less and make more trips than the opposite. Sack trucks are unrivalled for moving large pots, containers or even bags of compost.
• Protect your knees: knee pads and kneeling pads will be your friends for all work done on your knees, because protecting your back should not come at the expense of another part of your body.
• Do not forget a lumbar belt if you already suffer from back problems. It will help reduce pressure on your spinal column at the lumbosacral hinge. You will thus be able to continue gardening despite it.

Try to grow differently!

Ground is low! So plants are low too… Why not bring them closer within reach of our hands. Several solutions are available for gardening that’s easier on the back:

• Raised vegetable beds : raised bed vegetable gardens are often discussed, but you can just as well to grow herbs, perennials or annuals in them. The idea is to create or buy a box (regardless of size) and fill it with soil. For adults, allow a height of about one metre ;
• Mounded, ridge or lasagne gardening : it’s the same idea as the raised vegetable bed except that here the accumulation of organic matter in mounds raises the growing height ;
• Green wall and vertical planting bags : flat ground hurts backs, so cheat a little by gardening vertically. The idea is simple: grow plants on a wall or vertical support using containers or bags hung on the wall ;
• Potting bench : these benches allow various gardening tasks such as repotting, sowing, propagation by cuttings… while working either seated or standing with back straight ;
• Think of vegetables that grow taller : consider climbing ones such as beans, peas, cucumbers… but also think of chenopods and oraches to replace spinach, and why not try artichokes whose heads rise above 1.5 m.