As an osteopath, I see a very predictable pattern of injuries every spring and autumn: the "one last thing" injury. It's rarely the first hour in the garden that causes the damage — it's the last, when fatigue has crept in and judgement about your own limits has quietly slipped.

Warm up first. Gardening asks your body to do things it hasn't done all week — repeated bending, twisting, gripping, and kneeling. Gardening on a slope has been analysed and found to be far more complex and difficult than Olympic rowing! Five minutes of mindful movement (gentle arm circles, wrist circles, hip circles, a few slow squats and some stretches up as high as you can reach and then down as low as you can reach) wakes up the muscles and joints and primes the tissue for load, just as you would before any physical activity.

Dress and equip yourself properly. Long sleeves and sturdy trousers prevent scratches and stings, while well-fitted gloves protect your hands. Blunt or poorly-sized tools force you to compensate with awkward force and posture, so keep the secateurs sharp and choose a trowel or fork that suits your hand and height.

Vary your position. Don't let any one posture dominate for long. Alternate between standing, kneeling on a proper pad, and sitting on a low stool. A kneeling pad or knee protectors keep your knees off cold ground and small sharp stones and changing position regularly stops any single muscle group — especially the lower back — from becoming overloaded.

Take frequent, genuine breaks. Every twenty to thirty minutes, stop, stand tall, and lengthen out your back and legs. You might like to lie down on the grass for a few minutes and have a look up at the sky, appreciating this beautiful world we get to live in.

These easy tips are the single most protective habit you can build, because most injuries happen in the fatigued final stretch of a task — the extra pile of branches lifted with a rounded back, the stuck weed pulled with a sudden hamstring-straining yank, or the thumb strained from an hour too many with the secateurs.

Build up gradually. Treat your body like an athlete's: it needs to train into new, repetitive movements rather than being asked to perform them for hours after months of inactivity. At the end of your gardening session stretch out, just as if you had been to the gym. Then your body will be able to function better that evening and your muscles will be more balanced for your next gardening session. Moderation, not heroics, is what keeps you enjoying your garden season after season.

Further Reading

1. Shahrokhi, H.R., Sheikhmozafari, M.J., Khatibzadeh, F., & Ahmadi, O. (2021). Risk Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Gardening and Landscape Workers of Yazd Industrial Complex. International Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain Prevention, 6(4), 580–587.

2. A novel biomechanical analysis of horticultural digging — using 3D motion capture and musculoskeletal modelling to identify postures during digging that increase joint loads and injury risk (REF 2021 impact case study, cited via results2021.ref.ac.uk).

3. Ziegenhorn, S., Lienert, J.S., Klukowska-Rötzler, J., & Exadaktylos, A. (2019). Gardening injuries presenting to a Swiss emergency department, showing that eyes, fingers, and the head/face were most affected, often from falls or improper tool use, and that many injuries were preventable. Praxis, DOI: 10.1024/1661-8157/a003284.