DON’T LET ARTHRITIS KEEP YOU OUT OF YOUR GARDEN

It is National Arthritis Awareness Month so what better time
to talk about gardening with arthritis. While we can experience pain from
activity at any age due to improper movement or overdoing things, as we head
for and through middle age it seems to not take much to hurt ourselves as we
bend, squat, kneel, lift, stretch, stumble and fall. Sometimes our bodies don’t
wait for those events. By the time we hit our upper forties, fifties and
sixties we’ve learned the term osteoarthritis from our doctor. Simply put it’s
the wear and tear on our joints. And it hurts.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 43.5% of 54.4 million adults who have been diagnosed with arthritis by a doctor, have limitations in their usual activities due to their
arthritis. The benefits of physical activity are well known. Inactivity is
associated with other health problems, including obesity. Obesity can
contribute to osteoarthritis.

 Get Out There

So what can we do? We tend to stop doing the things we love
because of pain and restrictions. But being physically active can help delay disability.
If we enjoy gardening, it’s a great way to get moving. It’s probably wise to
check with your doctor first if you’re going from couch potato to planting
potatoes. If you’re given the all-clear, get out there!

Prepare Your Body

The CDC says low-impact aerobic activities are helpful
because they don’t put stress on joints. Besides walking, riding a bike,
swimming, and others, light gardening is on the list of these activities.

Athletes know that they must stretch and warm up their
muscles before they compete. Your competition may be with your friends and
neighbors in who can grow the biggest pumpkin but you still need to prepare
before diving into the rows of beans. If you don’t attend an exercise class or
work with a trainer at a fitness center, do a search online for some warmup
exercises. My search for warmup exercises before gardening brought up
several sites. I liked this one with advice from the Ontario Chiropractic
Association Plant and Rake Without the Ache program at gardenmaking.com/stretches-for-gardeners/  .

Watch your body mechanics and how you move. When you lift
something keep it close to your body for less strain. Think of a ballet dancer
when you move—smoothly with no sudden twisting or turning. Exercises for
helping you with balance, muscle strengthening and flexibility are all helpful.
Maintaining flexibility can help with stiff joints to keep pain away and give
you better range of motion. This will help you in other daily activities too.

Just Give Me the Tools

So what is light gardening? No heavy lifting. Watch how you
bend and don’t do too much of it. Use a garden seat and kneeling pads. Put in
raised beds, which work great with a wheeled garden seat. There are specially
designed raised beds to fit wheelchairs and walkers. Use gardening tools that
can assist you in getting your work done and take the stress off of your hands,
wrists, elbows and back, including assisting a weak grip. Let the tools do the
work. Online, search ergonomic and adaptive gardening tools or assistive
garden tools to land on some sites with these tools.

Be Mindful and Joyful

Enjoy your gardening. Do a little at a time--it doesn’t have to be a marathon. We should
garden because we enjoy it and it shouldn’t be a chore. Take pleasure in your
movements and thankful that you can still move. And move with intention and
balance. Walk away before you are tired—it will all be there waiting for your
next visit. I like to do any of the more strenuous work like weeding in the
morning. I can walk away with a sense of satisfaction that I’ve created
something, that I’m growing food. The seeds I planted have sprouted, and I’m out
in fresh air hearing birds sing and call. It’s a great way to start the day. In
the cool of the evening I like to go back and take a look again. I like to
touch the plants, pull that little weed I missed this morning, pick that now
ripe cherry tomato and eat it right there. And then I exercise the most
important muscle—my smile.