Gardening Can Relieve Your Arthritis Pain
Gardening is a physical and mental way to keep you moving and thinking. Stress is very high among arthritis sufferers, so gardening can help get your mind off of your pain. Following the listed tips and advice can make gardening a great experience for years to come.
Light Physical Activity Reduces Pain
When you have arthritis, moving can feel like a nightmare, but that is exactly what you should do. Exercise is the best thing you can do for your body. Without light exercise, your joints and muscles may become stiff and your bones can become brittle. Regular, light physical activities like gardening can reduce arthritis pain and keep inflammation in check. Gardening includes movements such as walking, reaching, light stretching, and pushing and pulling. All of these activities are perfect to ease joint pain; just make sure to use good posture when doing them. Whether you have osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, the gentle but persistent movements of gardening can help.
Gardening Reduces Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and depression are common among people with arthritis. It’s very disheartening when someone can’t move or do the things they used to do. Gardening is a very good tool to combat stress. Working in a garden is calming, relaxing and engaging. A person must plan when they will plant and harvest their crops, this may involve someone to think technically about their garden, which can help a person not think about the pain they’re having. At the same time, gardening is very gratifying for most people, so they may enjoy being outside in the open air and feeling the breeze while tilling the dirt and caring for their plants.
Ways to Make Gardening More Comfortable
Some ways that people with arthritis can adapt their gardening approach to reduce strain on their body and further reduce arthritis symptoms are using a bulb planter when digging small holes, raising planting beds and using sprinkler systems to water the garden. If you choose not to use a sprinkler system, then a water hose with a soaker handle is the next best option; this will reduce strain versus using a watering can. Scattering mulch around the base of shrubs, bushes and other areas of the garden is a great way to reduce strain on your back when trying to clear weeds
It’s important to get at least twenty minutes of physical activity a day to keep your body physically fit, your health good, your mental agility strong, and your stress low. Try to make gardening as pain and stress-free as possible, that way it will continue to be a joyful experience for you.
Even if you enjoy gardening personally, sometimes it is useful to have help to maintain your yard and your gardens. If you find that you need an extra hand for law maintenance, spring cleaning, attending flower beds, and more, GreenWise Grounds Care can assist you!
