Gardening: why your back only hurts the next day

You spent an afternoon working on the garden. Weeds pulled, a border redone, maybe a few tiles relaid. While you were doing it, everything felt fine. It is only the next morning, when you get out of bed, that you notice what it actually cost you.

That is not a coincidence.

Why you only feel it later

Gardening is one of those jobs that loads your body differently than you expect. You bend, crouch, lift and twist for hours in a row, often without a break and without thinking about it. While you are focused on the task, that concentration keeps your muscles active enough that you do not notice the strain. Once you stop and your body settles, it catches up with you.

Your lower back and shoulders usually take the hit. Bending puts far more load on the lower back than most people realise, especially with repeated movements like weeding or raking. Shoulders tighten up from long periods working above shoulder height, think pruning or trimming a hedge.

What helps

Stretching afterwards and building in real breaks next time already makes a difference. For muscles that stay tight, a relaxation massage works well to release the tension before it settles in.

People who spend a lot of time in the garden notice that a timely massage stops small stiffness from turning into a recurring problem. The body gets the chance to actually recover instead of building up a bit more tension every time.

At Masseur Joost in Hoofddorp you can book evening and weekend slots, exactly the moments when the garden usually gets its turn.