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11 Tips to Avoid Aches, Pains and Injury While Working in Your Garden or Yard This Spring

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Last year a 63 year-old patient (let’s call her Kay) came to my clinic very discouraged. She said she went to the doctor because of back pain and stiffness and was told she had arthritis. She was distraught as she lives alone, is very active and felt that she was doomed to live in pain. Funny thing was, her pain was very minimal and once I asked about her pain, here is what she said.

“It started after I trimmed 17 bushes around my house over a three-day period. I had never experienced back pain before this, but when the doctor told me I have arthritis, I knew I had to stop everything or I would live in pain.”

I smiled and gently assured her that her arthritis had been there for years and that if I trimmed 17 bushes in three days I would feel back pain and aches. I let her know that her life was not over by any means and the fact she was able to trim 17 bushes in three days proved she was far from being done with activities, BUT, I said, “Kay, maybe take a few less bushes a day and spread it out a bit longer and everything would be fine next time.” She left with a new lease on life relieved to know arthritis did not have to slow her down…
SO, with Spring nearly in full swing, it’s time to get your yard and garden prepared for summer. Is YOUR body ready? Many people spend the winter months less active, or hibernating (if you will), so you may be at risk for injury IF you do not prepare adequately. Getting out and working in the garden / yard too quickly can cause muscle pain, back, shoulder, and knee strains and pains.

Here are some tips to help avoid some common aches and pains you might encounter while gardening:

✓ Start slow and slowly progress the level of activity.
✓ Work smarter, not harder. Use tools to reduce risk and strain on body.
✓ Warm up first by walking &/or stretching before beginning yard / gardening work.
✓ STOP at any signs of pains in joints or back, though it is NOT unusual to have
some muscular fatigue or soreness with new activities.
✓ Feel free to use an ice pack for any region of soreness. I recommend up to 20’.
✓IF pain persists > 72 hours without relief, call our office for advice.

To HELP minimize risk of injury during working in yard/ garden, try these simple tips:

✓ Alternate positions frequently to avoid stressing muscles and joints or causing fatigue. Keep plant pots at various heights, on tables, at waist level and on ground to help with changing positions.
✓Drink MORE water than you think you need, many people are dehydrated and do not know it.
✓ Do not be afraid to take breaks to move, stretch and rest a bit each 45-60 minutes.
✓ Use proper tools to avoid stressing your body unnecessarily, e.g. knee pads for kneeling, thick handled spades for planting etc..
✓ When done with activities remember to “cool down” with a walk or gentle stretching activities.

MOST importantly, remember pain is a sign from your body that something is wrong. IT is not worth creating more problems by working through or pushing through pain. Don’t ignore your body’s cries for mercy. NOT stopping may cause more problems than it is worth. IF pain does NOT calm down in 48-72 hours, call our office and ask for help on what to do!! We are always here for you!!!!

Benefits of Yoga from Mint Yoga regulars!

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New to yoga and wondering what some of the benefits are before taking your first class? Mint Dupont yoga teacher, Kelly Tobin asked some of her regular students to share one of the ways they benefit from including yoga into their fitness routine regularly.

Yoga quiets my mind and strengthens my body. I need both. – Melanie

Attending a regular yoga class (Kelly’s) has made me stronger. – Marianne

As a Hindu woman, it’s hard for me to find a yoga class that aligns with my spiritual practice. This class is that for me. I feel my body heat rising, my inner self shedding needed thoughts, and am so grateful to be in a safe space. Not all poses are available to me and that’s OK. That’s what a good yoga class is. Being able to listen to our bodies without compromising where we are in the moment. – Sangeetha

I like the attention to breath and alignment as well as the music and the ideas about yoga woven through the class. I feel like I get out of my head and into my body and I feel awakened and refreshed each time I walk out of class. – Stephanie

If you’re interested in seeing how practicing yoga benefits you we encourage you to sign up for a class this week!

By: MINT Yoga Instructor, Kelly Tobin

MINT Open House

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We are hosting an Open House weekend April 14 & 15. Bring your friends and family to tour the facility, drop in for a free class, and get to know some of our community partners! We will have exclusive offers this weekend only so don’t miss out!

Saturday, April 14: MINT Studios (1346 Florida Ave NW | Washington, DC 20009) noon-3pm
Sunday, April 15: MINT Dupont (1724 California St. NW | Washington, DC 20009) noon-3pm

Free Class Schedule:

4/14 – MINT Studio
Power Playground 1-1:30pm
Coach by Color Technology Cycle 2-2:30pm

4/15 – MINT Dupont
Power Playground 12-12:30pm
Cycle 12-12:30pm

Yoga Pose of the Month: Savasana

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By: MINT Yoga Instructor Bonnie Foote

Savasana might be the most important yoga pose that we do. It looks deceptively simple, but lying flat on the floor gives your body ideal feedback for maintaining neutral, healthy posture. It helps to reverse car-computer-couch slouch, bringing your spine, neck and shoulders into healthy alignment. A good long Savasana is also crucial for calming and regulating the nervous system–and, once you start delving into the meditative aspects of yoga practice, for calming the mind itself. Because of Savasana’s unique potential for supporting mental balance, some teachers will remind you that it may seem like the easiest yoga pose to do… but it’s also the hardest! Taking Savasana seems as easy as breathing, but like the breath, it can take a lifetime to fully explore.

If your low back feels tight or sore during Savasana, try adding a blanket roll under your knees–or, for the deluxe version, stack up blocks and blankets under your lower legs as if you had them up on an ottoman. You can also play with legs up the wall (a.k.a. Viparita Karani)—taking Savasana against a wall with your legs elevated, which is very calming for the nervous system. For another calming variation on Savasana, try lying belly down; if you like you can add a short stack of blankets under your torso, from just above your hip bones to the top of your head. You might listen to meditations or Yoga Nidra, you might focus on relaxing one part of the body (try the space between your eyebrows, your temples, or the base of your thumbs where they meet the hands), or you might just notice your shifting bodily sensations or the waves of your breath. In any case–enjoy! And know that, lazy as you look, you’re actually receiving all of the benefits of one of the most powerful yoga practices out there. Namaste.

ROCK N ROLL MARATHON – How did it go?

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Why do I keep getting the same injuries when I run? – Part 3

Part 2 of this article series we discussed the ways the foot can have a big impact on all the joints above and cause various forms of running injuries. In part 3 below, we will discuss the critical role of the hips and pelvis, and their importance to running without pain and injury.

The hip, or coxofemoral joint, is a classic ball-and-socket joint that attaches to your pelvis. It is inherently a very stable joint due to the depth that it possesses, but hip muscle weakness is incredibly common problem among runners. One of the distinct signs we look for as bio-mechanical experts is a hip drop or, “Trendelenburg sign,” during stance phase (when the foot is on the ground).

What that means is that when you are on one leg while running we are looking if that opposite hip drops (see image below). If it drops significantly compared to the other side we know that hip weakness is present. Hip weakness can be attributed to back, hip, knee, and foot pain.
That’s how important it is!

At Manual Medicine Spine & Sports Physical Therapy, we perform “Running Analysis” to evaluate our runners’ strides to get to the root cause of their pain and provide corrective exercises to not only eliminate your pain but also prevent it from coming back. We video tape and perform a gait analysis to look at every aspect of your running.

Another key area we look at here at Manual Medicine Spine & Sports Physical Therapy is the connection of the hip which is at the pelvis. Making sure your pelvis is level and balanced is critical to keeping you pain free and running well. We do this in a variety of ways such as soft tissue mobilization & massage, joint mobilization, corrective exercises, muscle energy techniques, clinical kinesiology, and even trigger point needling.

We are experts at balancing the pelvis to make sure that your hip muscles are firing well. As we are balancing your pelvis, we will prescribe exercises to help address those specific issues that we found. These corrective exercises will help you hold the work we have done and allow you to build strength on a more solid foundation.

If you’re having any pain on your runs, contact us to see if your hips/pelvis could be the root cause of the problem so you can get back on the trail and start running without pain again. 202-670-8874

ROCK N ROLL MARATHON – 1 MORE WEEK to GO!!

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Why do I keep getting the same injuries when I run? – Part 2

In last week’s blog post ( week of February 25, 2018), we discussed how your knee is usually not to blame when it hurts during runs. And we specifically addressed how often over-pronation issues can really impact the knee.

There is an old saying that is ‘as the foot goes so does the knee.’ This is very true.

Pronation is not inherently a bad thing. In fact we need to pronate through our feet. It is how we properly transfer forces through our body.

Pronation is the foot movement in which your foot rolls in causing your arch is getting to get lower. But when we over-pronate we put our other joints as risk for injury…including our feet.

But how do you know if you pronate too much? Do you know if your shoes are enough to provide the support you need?

Try this: Get the bottom of your feet damp and then step on a piece of paper. If your footprint has no gaps/indentation in it, you most likely have flat feet and need more support than you could get from most shoes.

[Aside: if you read Born to Run and think everyone should be running around barefoot, we have about 100 past patients that were injured
by running in minimalist shoes who would tell you differently. Barefoot running can be appropriate for some runners, but certainly not all of them.]

Over-pronation can often be caused by having flat feet. The arch is NOT meant to be a weight-bearing surface of your foot. When your arch becomes a weight-bearing surface, problems begin to happen. The knee collapses and the hip begins to rotate inward. If you repeat this enough, injury is not far off.

So what can you do if you over-pronate and are at risk of injury (or already hurting)? A good pair of supportive shoes is a great place
to start. Since every foot, body type, and running style is different, we can’t suggest specific shoes here in this article without evaluating your feet. So our best advice is to make sure you choose your running shoes with the assistance and guidance of a professional who has a lot of experience working with runners and shoe selection.

Though strength is very important, when your full body weight is coming down on one foot during your running stride, there’s only so much that the muscles in your feet can do. For those who severely over-pronate and collapse through the arch, even strong feet and supportive shoes may not be enough to avoid running injuries at the foot, ankle, knee, hip, or low back.

In this situation, Custom Orthotics are your best bet. They are an assistive device that are placed in your shoe to provide the exact level of support you need and to help distribute forces more evenly through the foot and up the leg. We have seen people with debilitating foot, knee, hip and back pain get amazing relief and the ability to return to running once they started using custom orthotics.

The market is filled with many options of what to put under your feet. Most over-thecounter shoe inserts and arch supports do not provide the support needed by someone who has significantly flat feet.

At Manual Medicine Spine & Sports Physical Therapy, we are experts in evaluating the foot and in the creation of custom orthotics. If you have any foot, knee, hip, or back pain when you run, it may have something (or everything) to do with your feet. If you’d like to have a free assessment of your feet and whether or not you would have less running pain with custom orthotics, call me at 202-670-8874.