SPECIAL TOOLS AND ADVICE FOR BACKPAIN SUFFERERS

Gardening With Arthritis

Do You Suffer From Backpain? Can’t Do As Much Gardening?

Before starting fredshed I worked for 6 years as a horticultural therapist, helping elderly and disabled people at The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford, England.

The “Nuffield” is one of the worlds leading Orthopaedic hospitals and is famous for pioneering surgery. As part of my work I helped teach on a course for people with serious back problems.

My job involved researching tools and techniques to help people use gardening as a form of “rehabilatative therapy” often after surgery. During this time I produced 2 books and obtained and tested hundreds of tools from around the world.

My job involved researching tools

Working as a Horticultural Therapist at the Nuffield Orthopedic Centre in Oxford.

On this page I will outline some important principles for working with tools in the home and garden and feature a few special tools that are particularly good if you have a back problem. **

** The advice on this page is written for people with minor back problems such as low grade pain (backache) and difficulty bending. If you have these problems or anything more serious then I recommend that you consult a qualified physician or therapist before undertaking any serious gardening or DIY work.

For detailed and more personal advice,. e mail fred@fredshed.com for details.

	To see my Tools Database for Elderly and Disabled People	www.carryongardening.org.uk

“My Back is done in and I can’t do the gardening anymore!”

How many times have I heard this from desperate and depressed patients in the hospital. Well for what it is worth my own back really is "done in"** so much so that I am paralysed from the waist down and use a wheelchair.

However! I can usually do the gardening, and if I had the time, I could come and do yours too!

The secret to gardening with any kind of back problem is to use your brain, think more, find special tools and equipment to reduce strain and most importantly

PACE YOURSELF - TAKE RESTS – DON’T DO TOO MUCH

STOP BEFORE IT HURTS

Unless you are prepared to take on these ideas in full then, I would recommend that you give up now and hire a gardener or call in the concreters.

Still with me? good! To overcome this type of problem you need to be determined and not be put off. There is a saying, "where there is a will- there is a way".

Firstly, know all you can about your condition, seek advice from different sources, and become your own expert, but part of the team. You could even keep a diary to try to identify what effects your condition.

Before doing any gardening or DIY make sure you do a few warm-up exercises. Gently stretch and move to prepare your body. Wear the comfortable clothes, and try not to get cold.

Think of your garden or work area as a GYM, do the work carefully and properly and you will benefit. Overdo it or misuse the equipment and you may get hurt.

Pace yourself, even keep a timer in your pocket. Don’t be a Turkey and stop when you hurt. Stop before and come back to fight another day.

Think like an athlete, when you stop, cool down, do a few gentle cool down exercises, go and rest, maybe have a cup of tea, (have one for me).

The following tools are some of those I often recommended for people with back problems**

	The grabber rake has been around in various forms for many years and is an excellent time and back saving tool. The one shown above is red but if you would like a green one known as the Rake and Scoop please use the link below to purchase for around Ł20 from one of my recommended suppliers. click to purchase a green plastic grabber rake
A long handled Spork - keep that back straight!	Ideal for weeding, digging over and small hole making

A Soil Miller - an alternative to digging with a fork	Long handled fork and trowel - from Draper Tools

Raised Beds and Raised Planters

If you have difficulty bending and/or digging then growing your plants in raised timber beds may be a good solution. By bringing the plants nearer to your reach and not walking on the soil means that there is less compaction and therefore less cultivation of the soil required.

When I first started researching tools and techniques for gardening with back pain there were no off the shelf raised beds available and most were custom built out of railway sleepers and concrete panels.

Thankfully today kits are available in eco friendly treated timber so that you can build a raised planter to your size and height easily and cost effectively.

For aesthetic reasons and also to accommodate plants of different heights I like to see raised beds of a mixed height as shown in the photograph opposite.

click to see options on raised planters

Raised bed kits - Designed and delivered from a Fredshed approved supplier

Raised bedding is now an established and proven method of growing plants - as well as having benefits for the gardener who cannot bend.

Best Value Ratchet Pruners

Lightweight secateurs for arthritis sufferers

In my work for the NHS as a Horticultural therapist I recommended these amazing little secateurs to hundreds of patients with arthritis or weak hand grip.

These lightweight pruners are very strong and will last years in normal use. These are the original ratchet pruners known as mighty bite and have been in production and used by myself for over 10 years.

The ratchet action will enable you to cut woody stems up to 25mm with 30% less effort and reduce the chance of damage to arthritic knuckle and finger joints.

There are many versions available but these are the ones I know and trust and usually cost less than Ł8.

buy the best value ratchet pruners used by Fred for over 10 years

2 Tools in 1

Grass and shrub trimming!

The Bosch ISIO can be converted from a grass shear to a small shrub trimmer in seconds and is surprisingly efficient. I also like the drop in charger base and metal tin that the tool comes in. Running time is very good thanks to the Li-ion batteries and I get 20 minutes use which included some woody shrub material. The softer the material you cut the longer the battery will last between re-charges.

Watch this space for more details as testing proceeds

price of Bosch ISIO cordless shrub shears

best price on Bosch ISIO shape and edge kit

( this includes both cutting blades)

Geared Loppers- Extra power without the strain

These superb geared loppers are very lightweight, thanks to a new super strong space age material. They are also the easiest to use as they have a simple gearing mechanism that gives you extra cutting power with less strain. Ideal for gardeners with arthritis, and used and prescribed my Fred for over 7 years.

This small pair of geared loppers can be used as an alternative to secateurs if your arthritis effects your hands badly. This way you can spread the effort and strain over 2 hands instead of one!

For more tools or enquiries e mail fred@fredshed.com