Hi all. I was wondering how many of you would admit to physical health issues when gardening. Just gardening - bending, twisting, lifting weights of various kinds, reaching a little beyond our comfortable range, can take its toll. The use of machinery, whether heavy or light, repeatedly, month after month and year after year just adds to the toll. How do you avoid wrecking your body? I was a career change gardener so didn't start when really young, but have now been at it full time for around 13 years. In the last few years, though I've been finding I have a lot of shoulder/neck issues and this year it's got so bad I'm in a little pain even before I have done any gardening so am dreading the season really getting going.
Things like my knees and hips and ankles aren't too bad, but I sometimes also get twinges in my wrists and a few years back I had to have physio for 'scar tissue' in my hand - I used to lean on my trowel handle and reach for weeds with the other. I had treatment, did massage on it and it's vastly improved. I also don't lean on my trowel handle anymore.
A while back I was talking to another gardener who does the 'big stuff' for my client - the tall shrubs, trees and so on, nearly all with a hedge cutter and he wasn't yet 40 but was complaining of shoulder issues. I said if he wasn't careful he may not be able to do the job in another 10 years and potentially he could have 20 at least ahead of him if he doesn't wreck his body.
So what issues have you had and how do you treat them/avoid them/live with them? Is it simply a matter of fitness? Is it possible to garden with serious machinery after a certain age? Should you do so or are we storing up years of pain in our later years when we finally put the machines down for good when arthritis and nerve problems get worse?
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Well , been in the trade 40 years. Prior to that in agriculture in the days of feed in sacks of 75kg carried up into lofts and hay and straw in small square bales handled multiple times from field to barn. Now if it can't be done on a tractor seat it doesn't get done !
Perhaps this gave me a grounding in physical work ? Now 64 still working 60 plus hours per week. Yes back, shoulder etc pains but on the upside no need for gym membership, get a good cardio - vascular workout every day along with 15k steps a day. Think it's about having a positive attitude, pushing yourself ignoring the aches and pains and getting on with it along with enjoying what you do. Certainly have no intention of retirement for many years.
Gardening full time does attract repetitive strain injuries , the worst one for me is looking up to prune fruit trees with a long reach , always expect some neck and shoulder fatigue .
Hand weeding is another painstaking task and usually end up with wrist strain which eventually subsides .
You can develop more chronic conditions from activities such as repetitive strimming so you have to learn to pace yourself and wear appropriate protection .
Taking up gardening as a job in my mid thirties compared to sitting down all day at a work bench actually improved my physical health and mental health plus was more financially rewarding .
Now age Sixty Six still physically very fit but you do slow down and you lose muscle tone , joints creak and your body takes longer to recover but there are ways to adapt but as much as i love this job have taken the decision to retire this year but not due to age .
Getting to jobs has become more challenging with what seems like never ending road works ,clean air zones and traffic jams I find far more stressful than physical work and it's something beyond my control but you still have to factor it in to your daily routine but for myself reoccurring stress has a massive impact on my health and outlook .
Ah, yes the travelling side is another factor. I only work in my immediate local area, so usually my longest journey is only 20 minutes, and the expansion of clean air zones is getting ridiculous for all the working trades, and no doubt it will become an increasing frustration for residents as some trades may refuse to come or even quote for jobs if they find it difficult to get to them. There is an area near me which is a real bottleneck to get out of and I once had a 45 minute journey home from there. I resolved after that not to accept jobs in that area as it wasn't cost effective to do them for the kind of rates I charge.
Sounds like you have built up a really big core of strength. I hope you can continue for a lot longer. I just don't want to be in permanent pain in my 70s onwards if I can avoid it. It's hard to know the long term effects sometimes isn't it. I often think about how much pain elite sportspeople put up with when they push their bodies to the limit - how long will Andy Murray's hip last I wonder?! - but then they usually earn a lot more than gardeners so can afford a lot of private treatment!
Tendonitis in my hands, Dodgy left shoulder/ left knee, pain in upper back right side due to old ruby injury. I use a spiked plastic massage ball on my hands works a treat and I have a foam roller for the rest. Most importantly I stretch through out the day. Yoga moves are also very good, the child pose is best for the back.
The main killer is trying to keep up beat when the weathers isn't kind, feeling a bit physically broken, plus the stress of never ending problems to solve.
I used to manage the stress by cycling/running/ weight training. I gave it all up about 9months ago when I brought some e-drums the most fun thing I've found, Love them! And I get a sweat on. All you need is drums. Learning an instrument is so therapeutic, shuts out all the noise.
That's why I also brought and electric guitar at Xmas (always wanted one/ had a bass for more than 20yrs) no other feeling compares to playing power chords loudly with distortion. Obviously with head phones! 🤘🤣
What a kind neighbour you are to use headphones for your instrument playing. I wish the person I lived next door to decades ago who practised on real bongo drums had been so considerate! I hadn't thought of using massage tools. I got a TENS machine but am not sure how effective that is really. I should probably stretch more. I'm just not sure which ones are best for my issues. I probably need to see a physio or possibly even an osteopath/chiropractor for ideas. I still don't know the difference between those two! I'll look up that yoga pose.
Angela, I can wholly recommend a chiropractor. But find a good one ! I have 6 discs gone in my back - yes 6 ! When the pain becomes unbearable a visit will always improve things. So yes the last 48 years of hard work have taken their physical toll but I wouldn't change a thing, but I know what you're saying!
Not sure about the neighbours. In hindsight I should have got all mesh pads in stead of rubber, there's quit a lot contact noise plus vibration. Not ideal in timber framed town.
Went to a chiropractor about 15ys ago well worth the money.
I started a garden maintenance business last year after 12 years at a desk and it's very hard physically. It genuinely shocked me. I've had to start PT once a week to strengthen my back as that was the first thing to go and my hands really suffer. Having said that, 12 months later I feel much fitter overall, I just wish I'd started 12 years ago, as other people I know who are in a physical trade and started much younger seem to have a base level of strength/fitness that I have to work at. I do yoga stretches twice a day which has made all the difference. I do wonder how I will do this into my 60's ( I'm 34) sometimes but I love it so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! Alice
It is very hard not to get some kind of RSI or perhaps several of them when you do this every day. Just looking up a lot or twisting your neck to look at what you're weeding, or leaning over and reaching while putting your neck up a bit to see what you're doing, can all do for your neck after many years, as can lifting heavy bags and raising fairly heavy equipment above your neck area, using a long lopper with similar action will also put a lot of strain on the shoulders and neck. And that's just one area! Always use gloves, kneeling pads, don't lean on your hand fork handle with your palm (!) and perhaps try to get out of the physical side into design if that is even remotely an interest. Lots of courses out there. I think I've left it a bit late to switch to that, and I'm not very artistic or pictorially imaginative, but I would pay as much as you can into a pension too (or ISA) so you don't have to work as much beyond a certain age! It seems to hit you unfortunately so it's good to have options later in life.
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