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Working as a Horticultural Therapist at the Nuffield Orthopedic
Centre in Oxford.
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Do You Suffer From Arthritis? 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.
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Working as a Horticultural Therapist at the Nuffield Orthopedic
Centre in Oxford.
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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
arthritis or conditions that affect the dexterity and strength of grip. 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. UK enquiries only please
| To see my Tools Database for Elderly and Disabled People | www.carryongardening.org.uk | |
The secret to gardening with any kind of
disability or mobility 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 - Do a little often - work gently and slowly.
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.
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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
arthritis**
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Bosch launch first domestic powered Secateur Some years back I tested powered secateurs but they were designed for use in vineyards and cost about £900! Now Bosch have taken the concept further and using the new, ubiquitous Lithium Ion Batteries have produced an effective powered pruner for around £60. If you do a lot of pruning on stems up to about 14mm or you suffer with arthritis this tool could great for you. It will not replace secateurs completely as it is relatively bulky and wont fit in confined spaces between stems.
So far preliminary testing is going well and the battery has a surprisingly long duration before needing recharging. Cut quality is good and the weight and comfort of the grip will be ok for anyone but those with very small hands. Even so it could be used with two hands if necessary. The Bosch Ciso retails at £60 in most stores so if you want one use the link opposite for an unbeatable price. If found my site useful and want to go away and think about your purchase please come back and use my links when you have made a decision as the use of my links helps pay my costs and enable me to provide honest unbiased advice.
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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 £8.
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buy the best value ratchet pruners used by Fred for over 10 years
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Peta Easi Grip Tools Pistol grip tools for reduced wrist strain I got to know the inventor of these tools and recommended them to many gardeners with arthritis. The pistol grip and arm support really reduce the risk of strain and can give you extra leverage.
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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
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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. |
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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)
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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! |
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For more tools or enquiries e mail fred@fredshed.com
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© Fred Walden 2010
