Orthopaedic Physio

How to Avoid Common Gardening Injuries

Gardening season is here! And if you’re like me you have launched yourself outside with enthusiasm and gusto. There is so much to love about gardening. The fresh air, it’s relaxing (sometimes), and can be a very rewarding activity. But gardening can also be very physically demanding work and if you aren’t careful you might end up with an injury that could have been prevented.

Below are some tips to help you avoid the most common gardening-related aches and pains that we see!

  1. PACING: If your normal activity level is walking the dog for 20 minutes around the block would you suddenly wake up one day and decide to run a marathon? Probably not. If you did you would probably survive the ordeal but your body certainly would not be happy with you. The same goes for gardening. If you are generally sedentary and don’t do a lot of full body exercise, then keeping your arms overhead for four hours while you trim the hedge all in one day because “you just want to get it over with” is probably not the best idea for your shoulders. Instead try to do the more intense activities for shorter periods of time and try to spread them out throughout the day or over a few different days with easier activities interspersed.

  2. YOUR LOW BACK: Repetitive bending and twisting is tough on any back, but if you have a history of back problems (especially disc problems) then you really may trigger some pain. Be careful with your lifting posture and use proper techniques (wide stance, back in neutral, lift with your legs, you know the drill). For lifting and carrying keep the load as close to the center of your body as possible.  Maybe try sitting on a low stool when working in a garden bed instead of being on your hands and knees. If your back starts to feel sore take a break. Better yet, if you notice you have been hunched for a while get up, walk around and maybe give your back a chance to arch a bit before the ache even sets in. 

  3. YOUR SHOULDERS: The reaching, the grabbing, the digging, the pulling, the pruning, the supporting of body weight while on hands and knees…. it’s almost a perfect storm. Once again, unless this is something you do regularly, shoulders can struggle with a sudden increase in heavy activity. Specifically, shoulders tend to dislike overhead activities, reaching, and twisting. The more repetitively you do these things or the more prolonged the activity, the more likely you could end up with rotator cuff impingement (pinching) or tendinopathy (overuse injury). Again, pacing and rest breaks are your friends. Also, if you must prune the hedge get on a ladder so there is less overhead work, and move that ladder frequently to avoid unnecessary reaching. 

Please note that a little bit of muscle stiffness the day after gardening is completely normal and can be a good thing. It means you worked your muscles hard enough that they will become stronger. If you experience this soreness it is probably a good idea to take a rest day in order to give yourself some recovery time. Pushing through sharp pain is not recommended.

We hope these tips have been helpful for you. If you have any questions or would like to book an assessment  you can give us a call at the clinic 778-630-8800 or access us online at ladnervillagephysio.com.

Happy gardening!

Devon's Top Ten Tips for Sprained Ankles

I have a looooong history of sprained ankles. My first sprain was at the age of 10 or 11 - we were hiking down from Garibaldi Lake and I couldn’t keep my ankle from twisting to the inside. By the time we got to the car my ankle was the size of a grapefruit.

Since then I have sprained my ankles countless times. When I was in my 20’s, I was playing ultimate four nights per week and rolling one or both of my ankles at least once per game. I ate Advil like candy, relied heavily on ankle braces and taping and pretended it wasn’t happening. I kept brushing it off until I couldn’t.

It was then I sought the help of a physiotherapist. I had never seen one before and I had no idea what to expect. After my first visit, I was given simple things to help prevent a sprain - Stretching! Basic balance exercises! A warm-up! - and started on the process of actually healing. My physio also looked at things that were contributing to my constant sprains, like posture and muscle weakness in my core and hips.

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I started to feel better. No longer was I treating Advil as an appetizer to sport - I was able to play without any pain. It was also a period in my life where I wasn’t sure what career I wanted and the idea of being a physiotherapist interested me. Fast forward 15 years and it’s the best decision I have made.

Two days ago, I gave myself a double ankle sprain - see exhibit A on the right. Impressive, hey? I am currently hobbling around with little grace or dignity. I thought this may be a good time to remind myself of best practice in ankle sprain rehab. So, I present…

Devon’s Top Ten Tips for Sprained Ankles

  1. This may sound silly, but avoid them at all costs! For me, that means wearing proper footwear. I managed to do this one by jumping off a 2 foot platform IN BARE FEET. Given I have no ankle ligaments on the outsides of my ankles, I should have known better.

  2. There is currently a lot of controversy surrounding the use of ice after an injury. Here’s my approach: I use ice for 48-72 hours after a sprain, for 10-15 minutes at a time. After that, I use heat or ice depending on how I feel.

  3. Protect your ankle! That may mean using a brace or reminding your three year old not to jump on your foot. This one is important - trust me.

  4. Compression is key immediately after an ankle sprain. This helps control the swelling. A tensor bandage is a great option as are compression socks (of which I have several pairs after my pregnancies) and make sure your compression is not too tight. You want to control the swelling, not cut off blood supply to your foot!

  5. Elevate your foot - it helps the swelling go down. It’s also a great excuse to sit and watch the last few episodes of Game of Thrones before tonight’s season premiere…

  6. While you’re at it, early controlled motion is crucial to healing. I move my ankles constantly within their pain-free range, up and down as well as side to side. There are several benefits - the muscles pump the swelling out, the synovial (aka good) fluid in the joint moves around to nourish and lubricate the joint, and the pain signals to your brain decrease. And this is just a few of the benefits!

  7. REST. When your foot is telling you to sit down, SIT DOWN. I know this one is obvious, but it’s hard to avoid those things we need to do. I am guilty of this one - the dishes need to get done, the laundry pile is obscene - but the better you are at taking care of yourself, the faster you will get back to normal life.

  8. Walk normally as much as possible with whatever speed you can muster. If this is impossible and you need a gait aid (ie. cane or crutch), so be it. The last thing you need is for your back to go out on you.

  9. When you’re feeling better and that ankle is looking like an ankle again, remember to go slowly. The scar tissue laid down is weakest at 3 weeks post-injury, prime time for re-injure your ankle. Be smart about your activities.

  10. Seek the advice of a physiotherapist. We are trained in the ways of short term and long term rehabilitation for these buggers. We look at things that contributed to your ankle sprain. How’s your core? What about your glutes? What’s your sense of balance like? There are several factors that can make you more likely to sprain your ankle and most of them are correctable.

Your Head is a Bowling Ball

FREEZE!

As you read this, what position are you in? Are you slouching? Did you fix your posture once you realized I had brought your attention to it? I hope so because POSTURE MATTERS!! Poor posture can lead to unnecessarily high loads through your joints and muscles which can CAUSE INJURIES over time. Think about holding a bowling ball close to your chest. Now think about holding a bowling ball at arm’s length. It’s easier to hold the bowling ball closer to you, it’s just physics. Now think of that bowling ball as your head. And your poor neck is represented by your arms. Every time your head shifts forward by just one tiny inch you are loading up extra work onto your neck muscles. Maybe you don’t realize you’re doing it because, you know, it’s just so you can read the fine print on your phone or computer screen, or maybe you haven’t gotten around to getting new glasses yet, or maybe you enjoy the “chin poke” look, but every little indiscretion adds up over time to a lot of extra work for your joints and muscles. FYI, they don’t like that.

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I struggle as I write this to think of a joint that isn’t affected by poor posture. Neck injuries, rotator cuff injuries, wrist injuries, you name it. I personally have even injured my big toe from poor posture (I went through a phase where I decided it was easier to sit with my feet in “tippy toe” position rather than change the height of my chair. I’m not proud of it, but I feel like full disclosure is necessary). Basically, if you sit in the wrong position for a long enough time, something is going to start hurting. So… let’s avoid that shall we? Below is a quick overview of proper workstation setup and three tips for better workstation posture.

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My Top 3 Desk Posture Tips!

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1. BE A T-REX

If you suddenly woke up one day as a T-rex (yes, the dinosaur) you should still be able to do your job. That means if you are sitting up straight and “glue” your elbows to your side, everything that you need to use on a regular basis at your desk (keyboard, mouse, phone, etc.) should still be within your reach radius. As soon as you start reaching further or twisting your body or elevating your arms/shoulders in order to complete a task you are increasing the workload on your body.

2. CAN YOU SEE YOUR SCREEN PROPERLY???

This is important. Do you have reading glasses? Do you actually use them? Is your screen close enough to you? Is the font big enough? Is it the correct height? Again, head = bowling ball. Do your neck muscles a favour and make head position a priority.

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3. BACKREST

Most people tell me they have a nice ergonomic office chair. My next question is, do you actually use said awesome ergonomic chair? Or, do you sit on the edge of your chair and lean on the desk. Please use the backrest. The backrest is there to help you stay upright, supported, and relaxed. Maintaining a proper lumbar lordosis (curve in your low back) rather than a big “C” shaped slouch is a major factor to overall posture.

4. A BONUS

Shoulders should be down, back, and relaxed. It’s not military posture we are going after, but if you continue to slouch you narrow the space for your muscles and tendons to maneuver. This can lead to impingement syndrome, which is no fun at all to get rid of.

 Images from: https://shpare.com/greatest-25-ergonomic-desk-setup-images/

Let Me Tell You A Story....

My ankles are terrible. Everyone who knows me knows this to be true. I have sprained both ankles more times than I can count. When I was in physio school, I was the test subject on “what ankles without any ligaments feel like". My ankles were the catalyst for me to become a physio - more on that in a later post.

Fast forward to two years ago. My youngest was nine months old and I was determined to get back to my favourite sport - Ultimate Frisbee. I have played for 17 years and it has become a part of my DNA but I hadn’t played since I was pregnant with my first. I signed up and played my first game in over 2 years. And it was joyous. JOYOUS. It was like I had found a long lost friend and we picked right up from where we left off.

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Then the pain started. I was only playing once per week but every game left me hobbling a little longer. It started with an hour after the first game; obviously, I brushed this off. The next game, it was two hours. By three months in, the pain lasted right through the week. As a physio, I knew what I had to do - continue brushing it off and hope it would get better…. right?

Wrong. I had to quit. I couldn’t walk without limping. I had to face up to the simple fact that we, as health care professionals, are often our own worst clients and I started seeing a fellow physio. She worked her magic to the best of her ability but I was still in constant pain. I got an MRI which showed a plantar fascia three times thicker than it should have been, leaving me with a self-induced nasty case of plantar fasciitis.

Last year I had prolotherapy at St. Paul’s Hospital on the plantar fascia - basically, they cause a new injury on purpose in hopes we can make it heal properly this time. Make no mistake - it HURT. But I kept seeing my physio and did my exercises and it worked. Since about 6 weeks after the procedure, I have been completely pain free.

I’m gradually getting my running back. I’m ridiculously slow but I’m doing it. My goal is to play ultimate in the new year but if it takes longer, that’s okay. I’ve learned my lesson - I cannot rush this and I need to do it properly. I’ve also learned to listen to my body, even if I really don’t want to, even when it’s screaming at me to listen to it.