Weekend Warriors Take Note: Yard Work Ahead

Everybody loves fall foliage. Well, they do until all those pretty leaves come tumbling down, creating mountains and hours of work. 

In addition to raking leaves, fall chores such as cleaning gutters, pruning plants, and hauling off yard waste can be strenuous and tend to involve a lot of twisting, bending, and lifting—moves that put even the fittest of folk at risk of lower back, shoulder, and neck strain.

In addition to using proper form (you know the drill, lift with your knees, not your back), an important step to avoiding injury, is making sure your body is warmed and ready to for the task at hand. Here are a few warm-up exercises you can do before beginning chores, plus a few other pointers to ensure both you and your yard are in good shape when the day is done.

Wake up your body:
Before you pick up any tool, take 10 minutes to stretch and move your body. Walk around your yard and swing your arms in large circles (forward and backwards) to loosen your shoulders and back. Next, while continuing to walk, swing your arms so that they cross in front of you and then open them to extend to your sides or even slightly behind your back to engage your chest muscles. Don’t force the movements; just let gravity and the weight of your arms do the work.

Engage your muscles in a short warm up and stretch routine:
To further ready your body and muscles for activity, perform these simple stretching exercises.   As you do them, remember that no exercises should hurt or make you lose your balance. Go slowly and allow yourself to feel your muscles gently stretching.

Calf stretch: Stretch your calves by holding onto a firm surface (the side of the building will work) and place one foot ahead and one foot behind—roughly the distance of a walking stride. Keeping the back knee straight, bend the front knee and lean forward and hold for a count of 5. Repeat two times for each leg.

Torso twist: Standing with hands on your hips and your feet firmly planted on the ground shoulder-width part, turn your body to the right and hold for count of 5. Then, turn your body to the left and look back over that shoulder. Hold for a count of 5. Do this two times for each direction.

Side bend: Standing with your hands at your side, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Do a side bend by sliding your left hand and arm down your left leg towards knee. Hold for a count of 5. Repeat two times on each side.

Hamstring stretch: Stretch the back of your leg by placing one leg in front of you with heel of foot touching the ground and knee straight, lean slightly forward with back straight and hold for count of 5. Do 2x for each leg.

Heel raises: Holding on side of building raise up onto your toes and down 10 times slowly.

Stay mindful of your body mechanics and form:
When performing chores, use your whole body, not just your arms. Let your hips and feet help. Make sure to keep your feet shoulder width apart during raking and keep one foot slightly head of the other, switching regularly as you move about the yard. As mentioned before, bend your knees and lift with your legs not your back when raking and lifting bags. Remember to switch the position of your hands on the rake regularly to overusing one side of your body.

Take regular water breaks:
When your body begins to feel tired, take it as a sign to take a water break. Not only will staying hydrated help you stay on task, a 5- to 10-minute break gives your muscles a chance to recover and ready for another round.

Finish with a final stretch:
Before you put your rake and other tools away for the day, be sure to do another set of gentle stretches to relax your muscles.

Finally, don’t overdo it trying to get every last leaf. In fact, leaving at least some of the leaves in your yard can help fertilize your grass and other plants, provide shelter for animals, and even reduce emissions from landfills.

Kathy Sleeman, DPT, is the Director of Rehabilitation Services at SVHC.