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Gardening with Sciatica

  • 10-04-2020 7:23pm
    #1
    countrywoman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 276 ✭✭


    Hello everyone
    I get awful flare ups of Sciatia...I get injections for it and am taking anti inflammatories.
    It's so difficult to garden with the pain. I try to do bits for small amounts of time and take regular breaks
    Anyone else the same? Any tips please?


Comments

  • #2
    Deco99
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,642 ✭✭✭Deco99


    countrywoman wrote: »
    Hello everyone
    I get awful flare ups of Sciatia...I get injections for it and am taking anti inflammatories.
    It's so difficult to garden with the pain. I try to do bits for small amounts of time and take regular breaks
    Anyone else the same? Any tips please?

    I get mild sciatica at most. But you haven't said you've tried stretching? When mine starts to flare up I do 10 mins yoga in morning and some specific stretching excercises for the glutes and lower back


  • #3
    nthclare
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,315 ✭✭✭nthclare


    Kneeling pads, and a lot of good hand tools.
    Fruit hill farm in Cork have great handtools.
    A bit expensive but they save me a lot of pain.
    Suffering from my back since the 90s due to a fall from a ladder.

    I learned over the years how to get the tools to work for me rather than me working for the tools.

    Plenty of core exercises, and those gym balls are great.

    Using gravity to shovel and raking is good.
    Don't drag the rake but take backward steps as you go along, and your body weight will pull the rake.
    When digging topsoil, use your body weight while holding the shovel, lean into the pile with your knees bent, lift with the knees and empty the topsoil into the barrow.
    When wheelbarrowing, and lifting bend the knees and keep your back straight.
    Always put weight in front of the barrow, and a gradual fill, a tapered fill.

    Having two watering cans help too as you can fill them half way, and carrying them both won't put pressure on one side.

    A oscillating hoe is easy to use over and back like the rake, let the hoe work for you.

    It took me a while to get myself into the stride but I'm sure it added years onto my gardening career.

    Long handles are an advantage too, as a short handle can be a killer from bending down.

    This is what works for me and it might not suit everyone.

    As mentioned above yoga and other activities are very helpful too


  • #4
    countrywoman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 276 ✭✭countrywoman


    Deco99 I do some yoga stretching every day.

    Nthclare, thanks for your post. Lots of useful tips and advice


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