5 Ways to Protect Yourself While Gardening and Doing Yard Work This Summer

Protect Your Knees

We are hard on our knees. That joint between our upper and lower leg is responsible for helping us move daily. Protect your knees and avoid knee pain  by using knee pads or cushions. Don’t have a fancy knee pad or cushion? Go with a DIY approach by folding up cardboard as a makeshift knee pad.

Invest in Raised Beds

Raised garden and flower beds are all the rage. Perhaps because it is a fun trend, or perhaps it that too many of us have a love/hate relationship with gardening because of the pain on our knees, neck, and back. A raised garden brings the garden to you instead of your lowering to the ground. There are even raised rolling bed that you can buy at your local hardware store that allow you to easily roll the garden in and out of the sun as needed.

Ask for Help

Maybe you are the ONLY one in your household that enjoys playing in the yard. That’s okay, but that doesn't mean you can’t ask for help when you need it. When hauling brick paver, bags of soil, or sod, ask for help. Get someone to help you move the heavy supplies to your work area. Carrying 50+ brick pavers from the front of the house to the back yard couple cause so much pain that your landscaping job ends up being ONLY brick pavers.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

We’ve all heard that we should stay hydrated in the heat, but what if it’s not hot, or what if I’m not thirsty? Water does more than cool us down and quench our thirst. It also plays a role in reducing pain and inflammation. When you become Dehydrated, parts of your body pulls fluid from other parts of your body to make up for deficits. This could lead to numerous body aches and pains.

Take A Break

Plan to take breaks during your work. This could be sitting down and drinking a glass of water, or it could be taking a break from a laborious task to an easier task. For example, after using the shovel to dig and lift dirt, switch to a slightly easier task before getting back to digging.

Visit Our Livonia Chiropractor Today! 

Whether you are searching for pain relief without the use of drugs, or you want to fix a sports injury without surgery, we can help you. Dr. Grant Schneider has been serving the areas of Livonia, Westland, Plymouth, and Canton, MI for more than 22 years as a leading chiropractic doctor. He will work with you to treat your neck pain, headaches, sciatica, disc injury, painful joints, and back pain. Contact our office at 734-462-2262 to schedule an appointment.