The Gardener Sore Muscles

Environmentally Friendly Leg Recovery-Michael Gillan Ultra Marathon Recovery Specialist

Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan http://www.aching-legs.org/gardener_sore_muscles.html

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The gardener and sore muscles

Which gardener has not spent too long out in the garden and finished up with burning shoulders and neck and barely able to walk from too much kneeling and standing and carrying plants, weeds and soil

Before going any further it may be wise to cover a little accident prevention so here are some suggestions which may also prevent a bit of soreness Some Ways to Avoid Aching Legs and avoid injury Before starting and finishing work, warm up and warm down

• Stretch the muscles

• Wear sensible footwear

• When lifting bend the knees and keep the back straight.

• Do not bend down to pick things up-go down with the knees bent and back straight. (See ‘Circle of Tightness’ tight calves-back of the legs)

• Use a kneeler with handles at the side to help you up and down. (See lower back and knee problems caused by tight Illiopsoas and Illiotibial band)

• Do not stay in one position for too long. (See muscle memory)

• Do not move suddenly to reach for something. (See brain and muscle message confusion)

• Do not move loads that are too heavy for you

• Split the load or wait until you can get help to move it.

• Think before you do something how you are going to move it, how are you going to get it there, what are you going to do with it once you get it there?

• Try to avoid double handling

• When you sit down for a break, and want to stand up do not move suddenly, let the brain know what you are going to do and move slowly.

• This way, there is no confusion between the brain and muscles as to what is to happen, so risk of pulling something is reduced (See Muscle Apprehension/anticipation ad injury)

• Do not bend down to pull up weeds. (See ‘Circle of Tightness’ tight calves-back of the legs)

• If you have to bend over, bend the knees and keep the back straight

• Use a kneeler with handles at the side to help you get up and down. • Use long handled tools as mush as possible to save bending over.

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• Do not stay in one position for too long. (See muscle memory)

Do not move suddenly to reach for something

When you sit down for a break, and want to stand up do not move suddenly, let the brain know what you are going to do and move slowly. This way, there is no confusion between the brain and muscles as to what is to happen, so the risk of pulling a muscle is reduced.

Do not move loads that are too heavy for you Think before you do something how you are going to move it, how are you going to get it there, what are you going to do with it once you get it there?

• .When lifting bend the knees and keep the back straight. • Wear garden gloves • Split the load or wait until you can get help to move it. • Try to avoid double handling

Avoid hand trucks with one wheel at the front; they are very unstable when being wheeled.

Most people fill them up with too much material, and then go for the 'snatch and grab' weightlifting movement; then pushing against the handles to move the load.

In hot weather wear a sun hat and sunscreen Take frequent breaks, while you plan the next job, if it is a hot day, have frequent drinks and take them before you feel thirsty. It is very easy to become dehydrated and you are going into this before you feel the thirst.In hot weather do not have the neck and shoulders bare. During the 1000 Mile walk, Sandra Brown and her husband raided all the local clothes shops and bought all the cheap cotton pyjamas they could find. They cut holes in to let air in; everyone else suffered from the heat, they were quite cool.

In cold weather • Wear something light but warm to work in. • Do not let the back become cold. • Do not kneel on damp grass. • Keep the arms and legs covered. • When you have finished in the garden, do a stretching session and warm down. • Do not sit down straight away when you go inside, you will find it difficult to move when the

muscles have cooled down. • Go and have a shower or bath first.

When showering and everything is sore, do not have the shower hot, but just warm

When cutting the grass with a motor mower- • Check the area for loose stones or anything that may fly up and hit you if it bounces off an hard

object. • Wear Gloves • Long trousers • Preferably steel toe capped shoes or boots • Wrap around safety glasses




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• Ear muffs • Gloves • Do not put gas in while the motor is running • Do not have the motor running while taking the mower over a gravel path. • Make sure there is no one around while mowing.

For security- If you are working out in the back ga rden make sure your front door is locked

Having followed all that and you have still pushed things too far

You can feel you have overdone things when you go f or a shower or bath after gardening and sit down to rest-when you try to move -oops! You are frozen in the sitting position and the pain is intense on trying to stand and walk How easy is it to relieve the aching legs after gar dening? There are 2 main ways of relieving them of soreness -passive and active

This is the passive way-waiting for the legs to recover themselves

The reason for having the legs elevated is to let the fluid and used blood that may have built up in the lower legs and ankles flow back to the body through the veins-this allows fresh blood to be carried into the muscles through the arteries

Or use an environmentally friendly pro-active leg recovery system

Easier than you think when you learn how to use the muscles to work on themselves

Look at the photo above-how many towels and bottles of oil do you see?

None because the latest in non-polluting , non-technical method of leg recovery techniques is being used




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A local survey revealed that most people who suffered from leg stiffness would use an ‘environmentally friendly’ method of recovering their legs after the legs became fatigued but they were unaware that any method other than laying down with the legs elevated existed

The secret to leg recovery

The calf muscle pump The calf muscles act as the motor for a pump to take it from the feet back to the body against gravity through the venous system where it is re-nourished and recirculated-but to be working they have to move.

Once you figure out how it all works you have an environmentally friendly recovery system

Once you have done that you can achieve the kind of results as shown by the chart above without enlarging your environmental footprint

The active way to help the legs recover is to learn how to work with the muscles If you can use your hands you have the tools to do the job of recovery

Quickly-easily and in an environmentally friendly way!




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Results from 1995 Coburg 6 day footrace

Name Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6A Krouglikov 237.2 113.6 130 106 126 108 Kilometers

539 284 325 365 315 270 Laps

T Rusek 215.2 98.8 98 139.6 138.4 122.4 Kilometers538 247 245 349 346 306 Laps

M Taylor 174.4 128.8 143.6 123.6 138.4 122.4 Kilometers436 322 359 309 302 223 Laps

B Beauchamp 180.4 133.2 124 117.6 110 93.2 Kilometers451 333 310 294 275 233 Laps

P Gray 150 134 105.2 94.8 111.6 106 Kilometers375 335 263 237 279 265 Laps

D Parris 138.4 108.4 106.8 116.4 106 107.2 Kilometers346 271 267 274 265 268 Laps

I Davis 168 119.2 90 116.4 106 107.2 Kilometers420 298 225 291 180 247 Laps

G Watts 132.2 96.4 99.2 104.4 92.8 133.6 Kilometers328 241 248 261 232 334 Laps

C Young 142 91.2 90 97.6 88 92 Kilometers355 228 225 244 220 230 Laps

D Kettle 138.2 86.8 90.8 95.2 94.4 84.4 Kilometers332 217 227 238 236 212 Laps

R Hill 128 80.8 99.2 70 95.6 96.6 Kilometers320 202 248 175 239 241 Laps

K Fisher 164 91.6 50 115.2 49.6 81.2 Kilometers410 229 125 288 124 203 Laps

G Pollard 120 74.8 73.6 68.4 69.6 61.2 Kilometers300 187 184 171 174 153 Laps

The above group came in for Light Manual Muscle Relaxation The below group did not or had their own recovery people

T Rafferty 141.6 112.8 104.8 101.6 98 96.4 Kilometers354 282 262 254 245 241 Laps

G McConnel 145.6 110.8 126.4 113.6 108.4 106 ki lometers363 277 287 284 271 265 Laps

G Audley 152.8 110.8 126.4 113.6 114.8 95.2 ki lometers

S Scanlon 140.8 82 84 34 0 0 Kilometers352 205 210 85 pulled out-blisters Laps

J Timms 127.2 98.4 74.8 0 0 0 ki lometers




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Why have I included the chart above? Because it demonstrates figuratively how working actively with the muscles pro-actively can improve the rate of recovery to get you walking again faster than trying to recover them passively The successful gardener uses the right tools to get the job done I am a terrible gardener but I am a successful ultr a marathon recovery specialist and the tools that I use to recover my long distance ru nners are what every gardener has at their disposal If you can use your hands you may be able to walk m uch easier and get back out to do more gardening faster

For more information on how I did this please go to http://www.aching-legs.org/gardener_sore_muscles.html



The Gardener Sore Muscles

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