A new study has set out to answer the age old question of British householders – does gardening improve their health?

It might be one of Britain’s favourite pastimes, but does hours of bending down on one knee or pulling at weeds improve a person’s overall fitness?

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is hoping to find out the answer but launching specific research into the matter.

The Impact of Gardening Tasks and Tools on Physical Health study is being carried out by the RHS in conjunction with Coventry University and will look at the effects gardening tools and various gardening tasks on the physical health of those who undertake them.

Fresh air and being surrounded by nature has long been associated with good mental health. But the study, which is the first of its kind in the UK, will examine the best gardening tasks for promoting strong, healthy bones, joints and muscles.

It will also helpfully measure how well gardening tools perform and whether or not there is room for improvement or redesign in order to lessen the risk of injury among gardeners.

The university’s high-tech ‘motion capture lab’ which is fitted with 12 motion cameras has already been the scene of a hive of activity, with professional and amateur gardeners of all ages performing regular gardening activities such as digging and pruning.

The participants are all being fitted with Lycra body suits fitted with reflective sensors which record their movements to allow researchers to calculate the loads in their bodies during the activities.

The team leaders have previously carried out similar studies including analysis of the England cricket team’s bowling technique and research into the choreography of Riverdance for the purpose of preventing injury.

The university has developed specific software to analyse the way the human body moves and its reaction to different loads and postures. The experiment will test the effect of loads commonly experienced during regular gardening activities.

The findings will hopefully lift the lid on the positive and negative effects of gardening on human health so that different age groups can be advised on how to reduce the risk of injury.

There is no greater satisfaction than spending an afternoon in the garden tidying up borders, pruning hedges or digging out weeds. Few homeowners begrudge this kind of work and most find it a great way of relieving stress.

Prince Tree Surgery welcomes this new study which will give both professional and amateur gardeners more information about how to both enhance their health by getting in the garden a little more and importantly how to reduce their risk of injury.

We hope you found this article on ‘Does gardening improve my health’ helpful, if you would like to discuss any issue in more detail or whether you require a tree surgeon,  then either please ‘ASK MATT’ or call us on 01277 229709.