Secrets to Injury Free Gardening by Will Harlow Physiotherapist
This month the gardening club talk focused on human maintenance rather than garden maintenance!
We were lucky enough to have Will Harlow from HT Physio in Farnham ( a specialist over 50s physio) to come and speak to us about the Secrets to Injury Free Gardening.
Will isn’t a regular gardener but he certainly knows his onions when it comes to staying fit and healthy!
He had us all trying to stand on one leg for more than 10 seconds, as being able to do this is a good sign as it means you’re less likely to stumble and fall in your garden.
He outlined good strategies for avoiding repetitive strain from too much pruning and also avoiding straining your back too much by alternating between many smaller tasks in the garden rather than weeding one bed for hours.
He also showed us great stretches to keep us all nimble and how to warm up before lifting heavy items such as bags of compost.
We asked a lot of questions and found out that Omega 3 and vitamin D are worthwhile supplements where Glucosamine is no better than a placebo according to studies and ice is great for sore joints but a hot water bottle is better for sore muscles.
Will also video’d his talk which will be posted on his you tube channel shortly for us all to enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/@HT-Physio