One of the best things you can do outdoors is spend time in the garden, unfortunately many people can turn gardening into a pain in the back! Judy Ross from SAOT Consultants is here to help with expert tips to keep your back pain free! We all want to stay as healthy as possible in the garden, and knowing what to do to keep our backs in good shape is so important! Kim gets some expert advice from one of Adelaide’s leading occupational therapists, Judy Ross, from SAOT Consultants and Back Centre. Judy explains that the back is a very complex part of the body with many joints which move when we bend. Intervertebral discs take a lot of load when we carry something heavy, and if you’re bending when picking up a heavy item, the pressure in these discs increases to dangerously high levels! Judy demonstrates this process with some tasty props. Judy shows us the correct way to lift something, by bending with our hips and knees, not our back. Our spines are most protected and strongest when in their natural ‘S’ curve shape, and are more vulnerable when this curve is lost through arching or twisting. Judy also shows us how to save our backs and prevent injury when getting heavy items such as potting mix out of the boot, as well as giving her top 2 tips for looking after your back! Keeping your back healthy in the garden is all about lifting correctly and knowing your limits. For more back health information head to the SAOT Consultants and/or Back Centre website. SAOT CONSULTANTS BACK CENTRE WATCH THE CLIP
