Isn’t it fantastic to see the sun peeping through now and again, the days becoming just a little longer and the birdsong sounding that much more tuneful?
I’m sure you’ll remember that we finally had an unusually warm weekend last month. Then, as sure as night follows day, the Cleve Chiropractic phone rang off the hook with patients who had hurt themselves in the garden, taking advantage of that lovely weather.
Who could blame them? The end of those, dark winter days is a cause for celebration every spring but, because of the pandemic, everyone seemed a bit keener to get outside.
Patients are always frustrated by long winters and look longingly into their gardens waiting for the time they can upgrade, fix or simply tidy their garden.
Whether it\’s digging, weeding, or trying to accomplish what a team of builders would take three weeks to do, we all tend to be a little too eager to help nature produce that annual transformation. For sure, gardening after a long winter’s rest will always keep us busy as the cold weather abates.
Landscape your entire garden within a weekend? No problem! But perhaps we need to be more cautious and aware of the damage we can do to our bodies by taking on too much, too soon.
Here are my top tips for making sure you adopt a safety-first approach to avoid unnecessary injury when you venture out to tend your pride and joy:
- Bend you knees when lifting to look after that back
- Take regular breaks
- Invest in a kneeling mat or sitting stool
- Use the correct tools – for example, a garden hoe with a long handle
- Use protective clothing where necessary
- Do your potting on a work bench or garden table
- Keep warm – not all these spring days will be quite so benign as that weekend last month
- Make sure you get help from someone else with tasks like moving heavy pots
Meanwhile, it’s great to see the route out of lockdown taking shape, with hopefully more outside sports and leisure starting up very soon.
As with gardening, it’s so important to just gently ease your way back into things. Whenever you’ve had a long break, you must make sure you prepare well and build up gradually before returning to your favourite sport, or going back to the gym.
You need to take some time to get fit and supple again after such a long lay-off. Hopefully, you’ve been able to get in some stretching and exercise at home during lockdown – but don’t think you can start back in the gym just where you left off.
It won’t take you that long to get stronger again so please don\’t rush. Be happy to make steady progress by starting much more gently than you think you should.
Your first few sessions back should be easy ones – you’ll have plenty of time to catch up in a measured and sensible manner.
Whatever your chosen outdoor activity in the coming weeks, whether that’s in the garden or your favourite sporting environment, I wish you all the best. Let’s make sure we really enjoy all that spring has to offer.
And remember, when you do need some help to get back on the straight and narrow, the dedicated team at Cleve Chiropractic is here for you.
