by Genevieve on February 7, 2010
Anne Asher, a movement specialist from The MOVE! Blog, answers questions about how professional or passionate gardeners can reduce the strain that comes from repetitive gardening tasks. Check out her new product – great for winter time – called Clear the Blear. Here’s this month’s installment:
When pruning apple and other trees in January, I often tire my shoulders using the pole pruners or sawing/ pruning above my head. Have you got any tips for easing shoulder pain while pruning trees?
Hi Gen,
The first thing that comes to mind is that you probably are not “in tune” with your shoulder blades, those flat triangular shaped bones located on your upper back. Those bones are there for a reason. When you don’t involve them in the work you do, your arms must provide all the power for the pruning. This takes a LOT of muscle, and after a while they get so tired and sore they go on strike! And you can feel that.
[Click here to continue reading…]
by Genevieve on December 31, 2009
Anne Asher, a movement specialist from The MOVE! Blog, has been kind enough to answer some common questions about how professional and/or passionate gardeners can reduce the strain that comes from repetitive gardening tasks. Check out her new product – great for winter time – called Clear the Blear. Here’s this month’s installment:
Dear Anne,
In winter, I love to mulch my gardens, because mulch protects plants’ roots from the frost, keeps the soil surface from forming a crust when the rains beat down on it, and keeps the weeds from coming up.
But shoveling loads of mulch, either from off the ground if we have mulch delivered by a dump-truck, or out of a pickup truck, can be repetitive and tiring on the lower back. I find I have a tendency to stoop while scooping.
I’d love some tips on how to shovel light loads like this, where the material does not weigh much and you shovel more quickly than when working soil.
Tips on using a wheelbarrow would also be much appreciated! [Click here to continue reading…]
