Gardening with Arthritis

Gardening is often recommended for arthritis sufferers. Not only does it encourage exercise and help with weight management, but creating a well-tended vegetable or flower bed may provide a substitute distraction for pain.

Enabling techniques and adaptive tools can help take the strain off of your fingers, hips, knees, and other joints while gardening. The goal is to gently move joints and stretch muscles, not to punish your body to the point of pain or exhaustion.

Enabling Garden Layout

A well-thought out garden can help minimize wear and tear on joints for arthritis sufferers. When laying out your garden, keep in mind what care plants will require and place them accordingly. A flowering annual that requires quite a bit of grooming, for instance, could go near a bench so that you could sit if needed while you removed spent flowers.

Raised beds and container gardens require less bending and kneeling, so use them for plants that require much care. In areas of the garden where you must kneel, install handrails and benches that you can use to lower and lift yourself. The rails will help take some of the weight and stress off of your knees. Be sure to include a few benches with supportive backs in your landscape for frequent breaks and comfort.

Plan wide, smooth walkways throughout your garden to make it easier to access your plants and bring in tools. Several small beds are usually easier to manage and more attractive than one large plot.

Place a small shed or yard bin where you work to store your most used tools. The less energy you spend lugging equipment from the garage to the garden, the more you have investing in your plants.

A water supply in a central location will keep you from having to carry heavy watering cans, which can stress the forearm, wrist and fingers.

Tools for the Job

Thin wooden or metal handles can be painful to grip for arthritic hands. Instead, choose lightweight tools with thick, padded handles. You will find them more comfortable to hold and maneuver. Ergonomic hoes, shovels, spades and cultivators are available with cross bars to make handling easier.

Wear gloves to help cushion your finger joints and help you grip tools and weeds. If you require extra support and padding, wear a thin, knit glove inside a bulkier canvas work glove. To make kneeling and rising gentler on the joints -- use a kneeler with side bars and wear kneepads.

Invest in a 4-wheeled garden cart and make it do your heavy work. Use it to tote bags, plants and tools.

Before You Begin

Start each gardening session with some gentle stretches and range of motion exercises. Your doctor or physical therapist can help you design a routine specific to arthritis sufferers.

Put on your gloves and kneepads and gather your equipment. Stash seed envelopes and small hand tools in the pockets of your jacket, gardening smock or carpenter’s apron to keep them close and reduce the number of times you will have to get up and down.

To prevent arthritis from setting in, plan to alternate between tasks that use different sets of muscles, for example cultivating soil and deadheading flowers.

Remember that gardening should be enjoyable. Stop before joints are tender, swollen or painful. Switch tasks often, before muscles have a chance to become fatigued. Arthritis does not have to hinder gardening enjoyment.

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