Tag Archives: easy gardening

Gardening Solutions for Achy Joints

Gardening boosts your mood and fitness, but it can be tough on your body. The right tools and moves can reduce the stress on your joints, says Amy Wagenfeld, associate professor of occupational therapy at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. This spring, tend to your green thumb – and your arthritis – with these simple solutions.  Continue reading Gardening Solutions for Achy Joints

arthritis-friendly gardening hacks

Gardening Hacks

Love fall gardening, but find it painful with arthritis? Try these hacks to avoid straining joints.

If You Can’t Crouch Down

Hack: Go vertical. Wall gardens are easy to tend while you’re standing or sitting up. Buy one ready-made or make your own by hanging plastic pots on a wall. “Keep the plants between waist and shoulder height,” says Julia Henderson-Kalb, an occupational therapist at Saint Louis University in Missouri. 

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air plants gardening with arthritis

Make Gardening a Breeze With Air Plants

Springtime brings out the gardener in us all. But it can be tough on the joints. Air plant gardening requires no shovel, no soil, no watering can, but the results can be spectacular. Just ask Carolyn Kosanouvong-Walker of Fresno, California, who began air plant gardening as a creative way to ease stress and take her mind off the pain of her juvenile arthritis.

“What I love about air plants is that they are simple to manage and come in different sizes and types,” says Kosanouvong-Walker, 45, who was diagnosed at age 3.

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Helpful Gardening Tools for Arthritis

Make Gardening Easier With These Helpful Garden Tools

How does your garden grow? With ease if you use smart gardening gear for planting, watering, weeding and pruning. These helpful garden tools can help you turn on your green thumb.

Planting:

Reduce joint stress and increase leverage when gripping garden tools with the Peta Easi-Grip Long Reach Garden Tools ($139.95 for a set of four). Each tool’s handle is more than 31 inches long to help prevent excessive bending and reaching.

Give plants hands-on attention in comfort with the Garden Kneeler/Sitter ($50). The foam platform cushions knees and a sturdy metal frame with handles helps stabilize your movements while kneeling. When tending to raised beds, flip it over for a bench.

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