OT Month Guest Post: Tips for Gardening

Anna-Marie at Buckingham palace garden

 April is Occupational Therapy Month! 

I worked for 15 years in this field and still identify it as part of who I am.  I loved the job!  During those 15 years, I worked in many settings including nursing homes, rehabilitation hospitals, work hardening facilities, pain management clinics, acute care hospitals and pediatrics.   I worked my way up to become a Director of an OT department with a staff of 6.  Then I got married, had children, and gave it all up to be a stay at home mother and for the last 2 years a home schooling parent.

gardening  is one of our homeschooling projects

The American Occupational Therapy Association has a long and wordy definition of OT which you can find here.  I prefer this one because it is short and simple “Helping people help themselves at home, work, school, or in recreational pursuits.”

When Jennifer asked me to be guest blog on an OT topic for the month of April I was a bit hesitant because I haven’t thought in OT terms in nearly 8 years.  But after a quick search I became excited to be reading up on OT again.  It didn’t take long for me to decide on a topic either.  One I think a lot of people are getting ready to begin and one that I could use a refresher on!

 2 pictures of my children and our garden from last year

Occupational Therapy Tips for Gardening:

Use Good Body Mechanics  
*Lift with your legs - bend at the waist not the hips
*Do not twist your back to reach for items on the side
*Do not over reach for items bring items closer to you when working
*Changes positions frequently to prevent fatigue, if you have been bending over stand up and stretch out

Energy Conservation

*Sit while working if possible

*Work in the early mornings or late afternoons to avoid the heat of the day.
*Drink plenty of water.
*Take frequent rest breaks.
*Lift planters before watering as watering will make it much heavier.
*Add wheels to planters that are heavier for ease of moving containers around your garden

Accessible Gardening

*Consider raised garden beds.
*Use proper tools for each job such as a wheelbarrow, longer or shorter handles on tools, lighter weight tools.
*Buy smaller bags of fertilizer or soil instead of the larger bags so you are not carrying heavy bags or use a wheel barrow.
*Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands

Happy Gardening!!

Anna-Marie blogs as The Adventurer here: