Landscape gardener here 😊👋🌿 how can I lessen pain while continuing to work in physical work

Jrawle

Hi there from 38yo from New Zealand.

I've recently been diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome.

are any other Physical Labourers like myself (🌿owner of biz and worker as landscape gardener) that are suffering chronic pain while working on site, and what has helped.

Currently experiencing sever pain and rigidity around hips.

Osteo helped a bit...

I'm giving myself 6 month of pilates, walking and swimming routine to help, otherwise a career change may be in order!

Ellen

Hi @Jrawle

Welcome to the Versus Arthritis Online Community. I see you are from New Zealand and at 38 have recently been diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome. With your job I can imagine this has not been easy for you.

I am presuming you have already researched Hypermobility Syndrome, but just in case I attach this information:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/joint-hypermobility/

In addition here is a link about gardening with Arthritis - possibly not in your league, but still worth a quick look I think?

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2020/april/tips-for-gardening-with-arthritis/

We certainly do get people on here who have physically demanding jobs like yourself. I'll leave them and others to reply to you and you to have a look around the site.

Best wishes

Ellen

frogmorton

Oh crikey! @Jrawle

That has to be one of the most physically jobs out there! Maybe you'll have to do the designs and get someone else to do the labouring.

If you put hypermobility into the search (above new discussion on left hand side of page below the photo) you can see other threads on the subject.

We do have a gardening thread - possibly to amateur really for you, but lots of us on here love being outside and have spent years working out how to keep it up.

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/51827/gardening-whats-going-on-in-your-garden

anyway good to meet you

Lilymary

Hi, and welcome! A few rules, don’t overdo it, find easier ways to do things that hurt (buy gizmos, or delegate) and allow your body to recover when it needs to. Hard I know, but important. Try to maintain muscular strength, particularly around the joints you use most to avoid overstressing the joint.

find a good physio who can give you exercises specific to your weak points and stuff joints.

And finally, find some good painkillers. There comes a time when you just need to get on with stuff. But so remember to let your body recover if you’ve been overdoing it.

YogaJones

Hi Jrawle!

Another thing that might be worth considering is some treatments such as acupuncture. I’ve suffered with hyper mobility since I was a child and I’ve had it following surgery; I was really sceptical at first but my experience was it did lessen pain and promote healing of the soft tissue.

Yoga

YogaJones

Also, as an add on, and I don’t know what the weather or the options are like in NZ, but I’ve done some open water swimming this summer and that really helped relieve my sore joints. Could be the slight cooler water or the exercise or both, but it definitely helped!

Yoga