- Wear Gloves Garden gloves will help protect you from blisters, fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria, fungi and sharp tools.
- Warm Up Just like an athlete does before a game, you should warm up before digging in the garden. Walk around your garden for a few minutes and do some pre-gardening stretches.
- Avoid Repetitive Motions Prolonged and repetitive motions, such as digging, raking, trimming, pruning and planting, might irritate your skin, tendons or nerves. To avoid this, switch up your tasks every 15 minutes and take between-task breaks.
- Banish Bending Kneeling instead of bending will put less strain on your back. For extra comfort, consider wearing kneepads.
- Check Your Lifting When lifting objects, especially heavy ones, engage your legs and not your back. When you’re carrying heavy objects, hold objects them close to your body to reduce strain.
- Block the Sun Apply sunscreen that provides an SPF of at least 15, as well as ultraviolet A and B protection. Put on a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off your face, head, ears and neck.
- Look for Pests Check your clothes and body for ticks, which can cause several diseases. Better yet, prevent tick bites by applying repellent.
- Clear the Air Wear a protective nose and mouth mask, sunglasses or protective eyewear to help prevention allergy and asthma attacks.
- Stay Hydrated Be sure you’ve got water on hand so that you don’t become dehydrated.
- Use The Right Tool For The Job To avoid injury always take the time to get the right tool for the job and use it properly