What does that mean? If you have ever injured your back, you know what a crippling ailment that can be. It just takes moving the wrong way one time and experiencing the pain to realize we just did something stupid. For instance, moving a heavy carpet (20 x 17ft) by myself down three flights of stairs in a Baltimore row home. I felt excrutiating pain in my low back that dropped me to the floor instantly. I was on the floor, embarrassed and unable to move, hoping my two room mates (also physical therapists) wouldn’t return home early to see what a dumb thing I did to myself!  Any movement increased the pain. After thirty minutes, I rolled over and crawled to a bed. Luckily, I knew what to do to treat myself and it turned out to be only a muscle strain. But the intense pain is one I will never forget.

Too often we take our backs for granted. We get involved in a project and say to ourselves, “only 30 more minutes…” or “I’ll just carry one more load…” It is usually in that last period when our muscles are fatiqued and endurance is low, that the injuries occur.  Most of us know to use our legs to lift objects, however, when we are tired, the techniques go out the window.

Why lift any object using your legs? One reason is the thigh and hip muscles are much bigger and can produce more force than the back and abdominal muscles. And in general, many individuals do not have good abdominal or lumbar strength. The spine wears out most commonly through repetitive bending and twisting. Any time that we can reduce that stress; we are taking care of our back.

Therefore, when working in the garden or lifting grocery bags, it is important to squat and bend your legs, tuck your tailbone, keep the object close to you and then lift it. All with out holding your breath! There are added challenges if one has knee or hip arthritis, or if the leg muscles are weak and not flexible.  Practice by standing 4 inches in front of an armchair so if you lose your balance, you’ll just have a nice seat. Lower yourself down by sticking your bottom out as if you were going to place your bottom in the middle of the seat. Tuck your  tailbone underneath you. Stop halfway down and hold for 10 seconds. Feel your leg muscles working. Hold your arms out in front of you for balance. You should feel your front thigh muscles (quadriceps) working hard. Those and other leg muscles are the ones we want to develop for heavy lifting to reduce strain on your low back. It’s a lot to think about at first, but with practice, it will become automatic and you’ll notice less muscle soreness after strenuous tasks.

Remember sometimes participating in the outdoor activities we enjoy; being fit and using the correct technique helps to avoid injury. Enjoy the March madness ground preparations for gardening!