Rake It Easy: Why Fall Yard Work Leaves Your Back, Shoulders, and Knees Aching
The leaves are down, the garden has finished for the year, and there’s one more list of outdoor jobs standing between you and winter: raking, bagging, clearing the beds, cutting back perennials, and hauling the pots and patio furniture into storage. With the weather still mild, it’s tempting to knock it all out in a single weekend.
Then Monday arrives with a stiff low back, a sore shoulder, or knees that complain on the stairs. It’s one of the most common stories we hear at the clinic every October, and it’s rarely because of one dramatic moment. More often it’s a few hours of ordinary-looking work that the body wasn’t ready for.
Here’s why fall yard work is harder on your body than it looks, and what actually helps.