Gardening with backache!

I intermittently suffer from severe back pain - usually it clears up after a few days, but this time it hasn't!
Of course, it is precisely the wrong time of year to be unable to garden, as I had only just started to plant the bulbs - and I need to sweep up the leaves as well!! :ktykss:
So what do people suggest - I can't bend down, should I try to get a special chair or something?
Everything is in pots and containers BTW.
Will be grateful for any suggestions!

 

I struggle when my back plays up,i try to do weeding and planting on my hands & knees(when needed) so im not bending as much whenever possible,if you can have raised beds and place your pots higher( on steps maybe) I rake my leaves as their on grass but i try not to twist and go in straight lines,then footsy them in a large bin/bucket till i can bag them..its no fun some days
But i would rest till your back is better if it hasnt cleared up as it usually does,then its trying to tell you to chill a bit more x

 

Ah yes, one of my other problems is that I have arthritis in both knees, so it is difficult to kneel - I had adjusted to that, but now I have the back problem......I MUST find a way to continue gardening, however!!!

 

Osteopath is the way to cure your back costs a bit but works been there many times, If you dont get it sorted takes ages to heal and gets worse The garden can be fixed later your back is more important

 

This is true - about the osteopath I mean. The problem is, though, that the garden CAN'T be fixed later, I have to plant the bulbs soon!!

 

I get what you mean. But tis true, the garden can wait. Sometimes if it is a job that has a very narrow window, you can lose a whole year if you miss the window, but you still have to put yourself first.

One year, right in the middle of bare root season (mid winter) I was struck down with what I thought was just a bad cold right when my couple of hundred bare root trees had arrived and needed planting on my fairly remote piece of land. Everybody said leave it, and my dad and my mate even offered to do the job for me but I couldn't leave them to it. We got to the land, I physically couldn't work (even just lifting the spade was an exhausting effort, and I was physically sick a few times before my dad and my mate ganged up and ordered me to do nothing while they planted the trees). Later that day I was in the NHS walk-in centre after my mam had seen my stop for a rest on the stairs at her house (not at all normal for me). Turns out I had a very nasty chest infection. According to the doctor, one lung was chock full of mucus and was currently not functioning at all, the other lung was also infected but lucky for me was only just starting to fill with mucus. The doctor made no bones about the fact that I was to begin a course of strong antibiotics not within the day, not within the hour, but immediately.

I know its not the same thing, my point is simply that sometimes our determination to get the job done makes us overlook our own well being.

If the job cant wait til your back is better, get one of your friends or relatives to do it for you. You can always return the favour by helping them out when your back is better.

 

I have no knowledge on tools sorry leonora,is there no body who can do it for you at the moment while your struggling? id come do it for you if i was close I think you starts thinking about raised beds for the future..i know iam xx

 

No, my partner may be prevailed upon to sweep up the leaves, but that's about as far as it goes.
Should explain that nearly everyone else in the block of flats is even older and more decrepit than me!! I once asked a neighbour to water the garden while I was away (we go to Italy twice a year), and he let all the climbing plants die because 'he didn't realise they were part of the garden'.(Yes, he's an idiot!)

 

leonora, what about paying a gardener to do a one off job for you?

 

If only!! Well, no (a) I can't afford it (b) I love my garden!! I did manage to get out and sweep the leaves up today - first time in three weeks I've even been able to try!

 

I think there are little fold up, lightweight stools that you can buy, anglers use them. Perhaps you can buy one, I shouldn't think they're expensive.

 

Try to find a cure ,not a work around, I have back spasms, usually caused by standing in one position too long, I dread pricking out /potting on. When I am in pain i find the quickest relief is a wheat bag. 2 minutes in the microwave put it on my bed and lie on it where it hurts, keep re-heating, they seem to get hotter the more you re-heat.

Hopefully you will get some relief ,enough to plant the tulips, taking breaks as you need to

 

The biggest cause of backache is poor posture. Resting it may help, though generally speaking back muscles come into the "use them or lose them" category. My advice to you would be to join a local yoga group, telling the instructor of your problem and getting him or her to show you some gentle exercises to help strengthen the muscles and others to relax them, to help them repair.

Hope this helps...

Regards,
Steve

 

I agree with that,i do an hours wii yoga and muscle workouts, every morning and my back is much stronger,and I am much more flexible but I thought she was looking for help now.

 

I have 2 upon elongated discs and excessive wear on my spine due to being 6 foot 3 and working bent over the wing of if car when I was a mechanic. I have actually made it worse by not listening to the Doctor and finding a new job. If your back is bad do not try and work around it, see the doctor and heed their advice. At times I can hardly move at times. If it is a pulled/ damaged muscle then physio may work if not rest and leave the garden until it better. Trust me I wish I had listened.

Rusty