As the summer winds down, home owners across the region will be faced with a new set of yard chores — and different chores mean new ways to get injured.
Because of Hurricane Earl's path, some of us may be stepping up the timetable for these chores. So if you have a lot to do and if you want to stay healthy, read below to find out how you can avoid or modify the most common ways people will be injured this fall.
Picking up sticks in the yard can take its toll on your knees, hips and back in just a few short minutes. A better option is to rake as many of the sticks as you can into a pile and place them in a bag all at once. This eliminates unnecessary bending, squatting and lifting from your yard work.
Storing patio furniture for the winter can result in aches and pains. Managing the awkwardness of couches, loveseats and armchairs is hard to do by yourself and is often the cause behind many cases of neck and shoulder pain. Your best chance of a successful move without injury is to have some help; in this case, many hands do make light work.
Raking leaves — one of the least favorite autumn activities — is another way to acquire a back strain if done improperly. Most people who are injured raking leaves bend and twist at the waist while doing it. Because the body moves to the path of least resistance, it's natural to do it this way — but the repetitive strain of the frequent strokes is enough to aggravate even the healthiest spine. To ensure that your back is in good shape to rake throughout the season, use your arms and legs during the raking stroke — not your waist.
Closing the pool can be hard on your body if you're not careful. Dragging a heavy cover over the water is an easy recipe for injuring a disc in your back. When fitting the pool cover into place, be sure to keep your back locked in an upright posture as much of the time as possible - this minimizes your chances of hurting some of the sensitive structures in your spine.
Exercise extreme caution when removing your air-conditioning window units. A catastrophe waiting to happen, storing your AC units is one of the most dangerous things you can do over the next few months. Make sure you have adequate help for the heavy lifting and never try and lift anything you cant easily get your hands around. If you store your AC units in the basement or in the attic, or have to travel up or down a flight of stairs, have a chair nearby to rest the unit on in case you get tired. Breaking the task up into several smaller tasks makes it easier on your body and reduces your risk of injury.
Tilling your garden this fall? There are a couple options that will make your job easier. The first is to rent a small machine called a rototiller that will chop up organic material making good fertilizer for the ground next year. Rototillers cost around $50 to rent and dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes to do the job.
If you prefer to do it by hand, it is recommended that you do only a portion at a time and not the whole garden in one day. Undertaking the entire project in an afternoon can exact a lot of strain on your shoulders, arms and spine. The heavy work of digging up plants, pulling out stakes and turning over the soil is almost sure to create pain somewhere in the body. There are many winter months before the next planting; breaking up the task over a few weekends is the best way to prevent injury.
Closing the pool can be hard on your body if you're not careful. Dragging a heavy cover over the water is an easy recipe for injuring a disc in your back. When fitting the pool cover into place, be sure to keep your back locked in an upright posture as much of the time as possible - this minimizes your chances of hurting some of the sensitive structures in your spine.
Exercise extreme caution when removing your air-conditioning window units. A catastrophe waiting to happen, storing your AC units is one of the most dangerous things you can do over the next few months. Make sure you have adequate help for the heavy lifting and never try and lift anything you cant easily get your hands around. If you store your AC units in the basement or in the attic, or have to travel up or down a flight of stairs, have a chair nearby to rest the unit on in case you get tired. Breaking the task up into several smaller tasks makes it easier on your body and reduces your risk of injury.
Joe DiVincenzo is a physical therapist and clinical specialist in manual therapy. He writes "On the Mend" weekly. Questions may be submitted to joedivincenzo@comcast.net.
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