Your lawn does not care about your spine. You have to.

Mowing, weeding, and hauling bags of mulch all involve the same combo: bending forward, twisting, and lifting, sometimes all at once. Your body can absolutely handle these movements, that is exactly what it is designed to do. The problem is most of us do not train for them anymore.

A lot of injuries do not happen because the task was too heavy. They happen because your body went from mostly still all week to suddenly doing hours of physical labor. If you spend your weekdays at a desk or behind the wheel, your muscles and joints simply are not warmed up or conditioned for what you are about to ask of them on Saturday.

Spend five minutes doing light movement before you grab the mower. Walk around the yard, do a few bodyweight squats, and stretch your hamstrings and lower back. This wakes up the muscles you are about to ask a lot from.

• Bend at your knees, not just your waist

• Keep whatever you are lifting close to your body

• If twisting while holding weight, ease into it, especially if it is not a movement your body is used to

• Take breaks every 20 to 30 minutes

If you push through pain, your body often compensates in ways that create bigger problems somewhere else. A tweaked lower back is usually your body telling you it was asked to do more than it was ready for that day. Addressing it early gives you the best shot at getting back to normal quickly.

If your back is already talking to you after a weekend of yard work, chiropractic care can help address joint restrictions and calm down tight, overworked muscles before things get worse. Most people are surprised how much better they move after just one or two visits.

Do not let a Saturday project turn into weeks of pain. If your back is feeling it, come see us at Kinetic Chiropractic in Pleasant Grove and let’s get you back to normal.