It’s that time of year again. Most of us can be found outside on these beautiful spring and summer days working in the yard. From weeding, to preparing the garden, to mulching, these outside activities have a way of leading to a pain in the back. I was reminded of this when we spent last weekend spreading 5 yards of mulch!

So let’s chat friends. As your go-to Physical Therapist, I wanted to share with you my top tips for keeping your back healthy as you care for your yard.

1. Press ups before you work:

This is one of my favorite moves to help counter all of the forward bending we do working outside (or inside for that matter). Those of you who follow me may recall hearing this from me previously.

Laying face down on the bed, floor, or other firm surface, place your hands underneath your shoulders. Press yourself up, working to get those elbows straight, allowing your back to sag, your pelvis should stay near the surface (hips may rise slightly). Repeat at least 10 times.

2. Bend your knees, keep the core engages, lift with your legs:

Proper lifting from is key. Anytime we bend and lift incorrectly, we magnify the weight of the load going through our spine by 10x. You can see how scary that number can get very quickly. Keeping good form is critical to keeping your back healthy.

Stay close to your work, bend the knees, stick your butt out, draw your belly button in, and lift with your legs, not your back.

I found it important to pay attention to the rotation I was doing as I used the shovel to carry mulch from the mulch pile to the wheelbarrow. Just like shoveling snow, we often lift and then turn to unload the heavy load. In this case, it’s best to turn your body, (pick up your feet and turn) rather than rotating through your back repeatedly. Rotation is a pretty powerful shearing force through the spine and can lead to disc related issues following the activity.

3. Perform some back bends in standing from time to time while you lift.   See bottom picture.  This will interrupt your bending and reverse the curve in your low back.

4. When you are done for the day, repeat several more sets of press ups that evening (see tip #1).

5. This one may be the most important friends. Avoid falling into a slouched posture in the lazy boy chair, bed, or couch for several hours. You see, it is oftentimes not the weekend warrior activities that derail us, it’s the poor posture while we recover that seals our fate.

Questions?