Get Fall Yard Work Done Without the Sore Back

Once the heat breaks in Austin, the yard work that got postponed all summer tends to arrive at once. Leaves to rake and bag, beds to cut back, gutters to clear. And because the weather finally feels pleasant, people often do all of it in one day.

The cooler air is easier on you than a July afternoon, but it is also easy to overdo it, because nothing feels hard while you are doing it. The soreness shows up a day or two later, usually in the lower back, and usually from a short list of habits.

We wrote about summer yard work earlier this year. Fall is a different set of jobs, so here are our tips for this season.

The First Big Day Is the Risky One

The pattern we hear most is someone who barely did yard work all summer, then spent four or five hours outside on the first cool weekend. Your back is doing a lot of bending, twisting, and lifting it has not done in a while, for longer than it is used to.

Two things help more than anything else in this article:

• Split the job. Rake the front on Saturday and the back on Sunday. Or work for an hour, stop, and decide afterward whether you want a second hour.
• Warm up for five minutes. Cool mornings can make the first few minutes feel stiff, so give yourself a few minutes to walk around the yard, a few easy hip circles, or some gentle stretches.

Raking

Raking looks gentle, but most people end up moving the same way for an hour. Hundreds of repetitions of the same small twist, always in the same direction, add up. A few changes that can really help:

• Move your feet instead of your spine. Step toward where you are reaching and pull the rake back toward your body, with your hips and shoulders facing the same way.
• Switch sides. Change your top hand every few minutes so both sides of your back share the work. It feels awkward for the first minute and then becomes more natural.
• Keep the rake close. Long reaches out in front of you put your back in a leaning position for the whole stroke. Shorter strokes, more of them, are easier on you.
• Use a rake that fits. If you are stooped over the handle, the rake is too short for you.

Bagging and Lifting

A bag of wet leaves is heavier than it looks, and the classic mistake is the same one that hurts people in every season: bending at the waist, lifting, or twisting to swing the load to one side.

• Bend your knees and keep the load close. Hold the bag against your body rather than out at arm's length.
• Turn with your feet. If the bag needs to go somewhere to your left, take a step to the left. Do not pivot at the waist with the weight in your hands.
• Fill bags less. Two half-full bags are easier on your back than one full one, and wet leaves are worth splitting even further.
• Bring the bag to the pile. Fill it where it stands rather than carrying armloads of leaves to it, and use a tarp to drag big piles instead of lifting them.
• Check your city's rules before you bag. If you're collecting leaves, grass clippings, or branches, check your local disposal guidelines for approved bags and weight limits. For example, Austin requires paper lawn-and-leaf bags or approved reusable containers for extra yard trimmings, while Pflugerville allows securely tied bags of grass weighing up to 40 pounds. Regardless of local requirements, avoid overfilling bags, keeping them light makes lifting and carrying easier on your back and reduces the risk of straining yourself.

Leaf Blowers and Trimmers

Blowers and string trimmers do less lifting, but they get held out in front of the body for a long time, often with one arm doing most of the work. That loads one shoulder and the same side of the back and neck for the whole job.

• Hold the tool close to your body. If it has a harness or shoulder strap, use it, and switch hands or sides when you can.
• Reset your posture. Set your tools down periodically, stand up straight, and roll your shoulders back a few times before picking it up again.

Ladders and Gutters

Fall is gutter season, and later in the season, those same ladders come out again for holiday lights. Given the risk of serious injury, ladder safety deserves its own set of rules.

• Set the ladder on firm, level ground. Have someone hold the base if you can.
• Move the ladder rather than leaning out to reach. If your belt buckle is outside the rails, you are reaching too far.
• Keep three points of contact while climbing. Two feet and a hand, or two hands and a foot, helps with stability.
• Outsource work if needed. If the roofline is two stories, consider whether this is a job to hire out.

Any fall from a ladder, even a short one, with head impact, neck pain, or back pain afterward, is worth a medical evaluation the same day.

When Soreness Is Normal, and When It Is Not

General muscle soreness the day after a big yard day is normal. It is usually a dull ache, gets worse when you first get up, loosens as you move around, and eases over the next couple of days. It is worth getting checked if:

• The soreness is not improving after a week or so, or keeps coming back each weekend.
• Pain travels into the buttock or down a leg, especially below the knee.
• You have numbness, tingling, or weakness in a leg or foot.
• You felt a sudden sharp pain during a lift and it has not settled.

A chiropractic evaluation here starts with how it happened and what you were doing, then looks at how your lower back and hips actually move. If the pain is running into your leg, we check whether it is a nerve pattern or a hip pattern. If what we find belongs with a different kind of doctor, we say so.

Get Medical Help Right Away If You Experience

• Loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness in the groin or inner thighs
• Sudden or worsening weakness in a leg
• Back pain after a fall from a ladder or roof
• Back pain with fever or unexplained weight loss

The Short Version

Split the big day into smaller ones. Move your feet instead of twisting your back. Fill bags halfway. Hold blowers close and switch sides. Use ladders safely. And if the Monday ache is still there by the following weekend, get it looked at.

We are on Wells Branch Parkway in North Austin and the Chicoine family has been caring for people here since 1989. Call (512) 255-1777 or book online. Se habla español.

General wellness information, not medical advice. Loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin area, or sudden leg weakness needs immediate medical attention. For an individual diagnosis, see a provider.