Garden Safety Tips

Did you know that more than 400,000 gardening injuries are treated each year in the emergency room?  If winter ever ends, we will all be spending a lot more time in our gardens. The following gardening safety tips may help you avoid becoming one of the 400,000.

1. Set realistic expectations for the work that you need to get done and plan rest breaks;
2. Take time to stand and stretch between tasks;
3. Take time to check in and listen to your body.  Don't push through pain during tasks. You can always come back to the job at a later time after stretching and resting your muscles and joints;
4. Wear gloves while working outside to reduce blistering and protect skin from fertilizers, pesticides and prickers;
5. Avoid prolonged repetitive motions. Try alternating between activities that work different muscle groups or joints;
6. Use the right tool. Good gardening tools can be especially helpful to reduce risk and pain associated with repetitive use injuries;
7. Use proper ergonomic posture.  “Posture” refers not only to your whole body position but also to the angle of your wrist while using hand tools.

These gardening safety tips were compiled by Northern Inyo Rehabilitation and shared with the Master Gardeners.