Life With My Pet Back

Before back pain issues I used to lug around a heavy watering can to water all my pots and troughs full of plants and also the new starters in the garden. After I got back issues that was not going to be a good thing for me, yet the plants still needed watering in the heat of the summer and it wasn't fair to expect my husband to do it all. I love gardening and those of you who know me know that I wasn't about to give it up. One Doctor had told me... I would never garden again... While that comment plunged me into some despair it also made me start thinking about how I CAN DO things and what I CAN DO rather than what I cannot do. Now its ironic I am writing this as it is pouring down with rain outside!!(LOL!!) However, we have had some very hot spells when especially my young seedlings and pot plants have found it tough going. So a couple of quick remedies for watering your plants if you have back pain. 1. I use a household watering can, its much smaller and lighter an...

Recently I have been taking advantage of the slightly better weather to get some gardening done. Although I do exercise throughout the winter to keep my back in as good a shape as I can there is no denying that I do less overall exercise. So when it comes to Spring and I want to do more outside it can come as a bit of a shock to my back! Gardening is one of the things that people said I would never be able to do again with my back condition, but well I proved them to be wrong as I still enjoy my gardening. Yes I am careful with my back and I do step up the back pain exercises and water therapy and Yes I take my time but I still do it :) So for anyone who is in a similar position you may like to take a look at my  tips for watering your garden to do what you love more safely, with a healthier back. Also I hope you enjoy this picture of my very first snowdrops in the garden, so beautiful! Lose The Back Pain System Lose the Back Pain, is a system of self assessments to det...

What a pain it is when you just want that big pot moving a couple of yards. Do wait until you can get someone else to do it. It is not worth aggravating your recovery from back pain for the sake of a little patience. Let someone know you are in the garden working. If you do overstrain your back you will want the comfort of knowing someone will be checking on you from time to time. Consider some of the many tools you can buy to help you if you have general backache, pinched sciatic nerve symptoms, upper or lower back pain. A small investment in some good quality tools will ease strain on your back and mean you can be independent in your gardening If the physical work is really too much for your back at this stage you can do all the design, planning, ordering and task list. Teach others how to do what you know so they too can grow from the experience and learn to love gardening. Visit gardening forums and pass on your knowledge. For the ye...

Scented plants are fantastic in raised beds for everyone to enjoy. You can even grow great vegetables in large raised beds and have more control over the environment and soil. Raised beds at waist height mean less work for your back. If you have a small lawn, consider gravelling it or using chamomile or other lawn plants. When you first get back pain your garden can suffer as you deal with the initial pain. If your garden has done its own thing for a while you need to take it in hand. If family or friends cannot help, consider getting a company in to do the hard graft for you then you can concentrate on doing the finishing touches. If you share a garden or have an allotment consider asking if people would swap tasks with you so you do more of some things for them and they do more of say digging for you, it’s worth a try! Consider a series of raised beds with paths in between so you can move easily between them to tend your plants. Don’t...

Spring has sprung ! It has where i live anyway. We have all the little spring flowers out and everything has started to grow, buds are everywhere and its a very exciting time of year for me. However where the flowers are growing so are the weeds, and weeds do seem to grow faster for some reason... So i decided to do my first real foray into the garden since the winter today and i was thinking about how to garden with a back condition... Due to the severity of my condition last year i had to give up gardening for a long time and as i love gardening i have been researching how i could do it without aggravating my back.  Here are some things i do which may be useful to you.  You should obviously check with your doctor if there is anything you should not be doing. Warm up first, especially if like me you have not done much gardening over the winter just do a few exercises, take a walk and get your muscles warmed up before you go in the garden. If it helps you try a heat pa...