Summer is here! For those of you who spend a lot of it in your gardens, here are a few tips for you:
Here are some simple tips on the do’s and don’ts of gardening, and how massage therapy can help you with pain relief if you overdo it.
1. Warm up with light movement or a brisk walk to loosen your muscles and increase your flexibility. The smooth coordination of your muscles and ligaments is an important part of safe exertion in gardening and avoiding aches and pains.
2. Know your strengths and limitations. Do not overexert, vary your activities, and take regular rest breaks.
3. Avoid bending over repeatedly while standing upright when performing ground-level work like weeding. Get closer to the task by kneeling or sitting on the ground or a gardening bench, rather than bending and twisting from the waist.
4. Keep your back protected when you stand up from a sitting or crouching position. Rise up by straightening your legs at the knees, not by lifting your torso at the waist.
5. Lift dirt and plants by letting your arms, legs and thighs carry the load: bend and straighten at the knees instead of the hack and hips. Lift the load close to the body’s torso and handle smaller, more manageable loads at a time.
6. Use long-handled tools to give you leverage and help avoid having to stoop down while raking or digging.
7. Switch hands frequently when doing prolonged raking, hoeing or digging actions. Repetitive motion on one side can bring on progressively serious joints imbalances and may produce postural mis-alignments and pain, including muscle spasms in the neck, shoulder and lower back.
8. Don’t work too long in one position, especially one that is awkward or unusual. This can reduce circulation, restrict mobility, and promote strain injuries.
If you should find yourself with painful joints and muscle because of gardening, remember that massage therapy provides significant reduction in back pain, (including lower back pain), migraine headaches, neck aches, shoulder pain, joint pain, overused or sore muscles, arthritis, and muscle injuries.
At Myosense Wellness our Registered Massage Therapists and Acupuncturist tailor each session to met your needs in our downtown Ottawa Clinic. Offering a variety of types of treatments, from, Rolfing, Sports Massage, Acupuncture, to Chinese cupping. Open Weekends, evenings, and early mornings to better serve you. Book online today!
Myosense Wellness Acupucture and Massage Therapy Clinic
208 Slater Street Suite 205
Ottawa, Ontario K1P5H8
Www.myosense.com
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