Hand injuries are a common side effect of certain occupations and hob -bies. Tennis elbow or wrist and even carpal tunnel syndrome are well-rec -ognized injuries. But ergonomic tools can help alleviate injuries due to repetitive motions.

The term ergonomics is derived from the Greek words “ergon,” which means work, and “nomoi,” which means natural laws. In the simplest terms, ergonomics is the study of how work is done and how to make work better. It has led to an entire subset of ergonomicsincluding products that can make work better and are safer for the body. This is done by designing items that increase utility of the item,are more comfortable to use, and reduce injury through frequent use.

Ergonomic products are most readily associated with items of the workplace, including ergonomic key-boards, computer mice, office chairs,and lighting. But many industries have reevaluated operations to include tools that are ergonomic in design. Gardening is one area where ergonomics has become especially popular.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health esti -mates that the rate of hand injuries in the workplace is 25 hand injuries for every 10,000 full-time employees. However, hand,back and injuries of other areas of the body are also commonplace due to hob -bies like gardening. Manypeople have considered giv-ing up gardening due to the pain that ensues from using the wrong tools. Here are some ergonomic tools to consider for use while gar - dening.

• Extend a Hand Ergonomic Gardening Tool Set: These garden tools help individuals continue gar -dening tasks with ease and joint protection. The tools attach to the forearm and feature a right-angled grip to promote strength and leverage. Interchangeable heads turn the tool into a hoe, trowel, cultivator, or pruning saw.

• Radius Garden 102 Weeder Hand Tool: This device alleviates wrist and hand fatigue from gripping and pulling out weeds the traditional way.The weeder features a patented hand grip that provides more leverage with less wrist stress. The aluminum blade helps to cut through weed roots and lift out weeds with minimal effort.

• Garden Works Ergonomic 7 Pattern Sprayer: Instead of squeezing a hand grip to activate the hose noz -zle, this sprayer features a sliding thumb valve that controls water flow while reducing hand strain. The seven different water flow patterns allow gardeners to choose from misting to streaming water flows.

• Bond LH029 Ergonomic Handle Garden Spade: The handle and length of the tool is designed to create maxi -mum comfort and leverage when dig -ging in soil.

• Miracle Gro (R) Ergonomic Garden Feeder: This feeder has an ergonomic handle for an easy, stress-free grip. The trigger lock allows for one-handed control and three spray patterns.

Gardening doesn’t have to be painful when you use tools that are specially designed to fit the hand.They help alleviate strain to the wrist and elbow while maximizing leverage.

Ergonomic tools make gardening easier

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Spring is here at last! Most of us can’t wait to shake off the winter blues, to get out into the sunshine,walk the dog, play catch with the kids or just take a stroll in the park. For homeowners, it’s the first chance to work on the yard, restore a lush lawn and, for a n i n c r e a s - ing num - ber of gardening a f i c i o - n a d o s , create a h o m e vegetable g a r d e n . Inner city urbanites, e v e n those with a postage stamp size yard,have been swept up by the ‘grow your own’ movement.

Victory Gardens, first introduced by Eleanor Roosevelt during the Great War, were the original community raised gardens. People were encour -aged to grow their own veggies in support of the war effort. Today, raised garden beds have replaced them as the eco-friendly solution for eating healthier without adding to the car -bon footprint caused by trucking pro -duce from the grower to the store.

Thanks to the Frame It All (TM)

raised bed gardening system, it’s nearly effortless to assemble a raised garden bed and easy to maintain with minimal weeding and back-breaking bending to water and maintain it -- a boon for seniors! Gone are the tat -tered, rotting wood frames or hulking ugly railroad ties that can overpower the aesthetics of even the most beau -tiful yard. Manufactured with 40 per -cent wood fiber and 60 percent recy-cled post-consumer plastic, the Frame It All (TM) rigid, ‘green’ composite tim -bers are attractive with a wood grain finish that is UV protected. The raised garden bed timbers will never rot,splinter, warp nor become infested and are recyclable. The patented heavy duty, corner joints and brackets make it simple to increase the size and height dimensions at any time. It’s like ‘Lego’ for gardeners!!

“I have a small back yard which is used by my entire family and dog,” says Nicole from Spring, Texas. “So I like having an area set apart from the rest of the yard in which I can garden.This system is so easy to put together,and it looks great! I’m not a very good construction person, but I found the

Harvesting a healthier garden

assembly instructions were easy to follow, and all I needed was a screw -driver and a mallet.”

Home vegetable growers control the quality of the soil, nutrients and other additives so veggies and fruits grown in a raised garden bed taste

better, are healthier and cost much less than those f r o m bought at the local m a r k e t . Of course, the icing on the cake is the s e l f - s a t - i s fac t ion

and joy of serving up delicious toma -toes and veggies picked fresh from the garden.

• Think vertically. Adding the Veggie Wall trellis from Frame It All (TM)

to a raised bed vegetable garden greatly increases the amount of ver -tical growing space and provides the needed support for cultivating squash,beans, tomatoes and other vines. As well as giving a viable option for those without a lot of space, a vertical grow-ing system also pays numerous divi -dends to the garden itself. Plants on the vine enjoy greater air circulation and so are healthier and not as sus -ceptible to disease.

“I just put mine together with my13 year old son, and it was a breeze,” says Paula from Valley Forge, PA. “We had lots of rain last night, so it was very easy to get the corners into the soil. We filled it with compost,chopped leaves, manure, and top soil.I think this is a great raised bed frame.We plan to plant onions and garlic in this one, and will be putting more of these in the veggie garden within the next few weeks.”

• Add compost and mulch to the garden. If weeds are a gardener’s worst enemy, compost and mulch might just be a gardener’s best friend.Compost adds any number of micro -organisms to the soil, strengthening a plant’s roots and enabling it to pick up more nutrients in the process. Mulch,meanwhile, can help keep down harmful weeds, thereby reducing the competition a plant will have for valu -able water and nutrients.

To view the entire Frame It All prod -uct line and locate a Garden or Home Center near you, visit www.frameitall.com or your local Home Depot store.

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