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Individuals with osteoporosis or low back pain and people recovering from either a hip replacement or knee replacement need to pay special attention to their movements when mowing the lawn. I cover these safety tips and more in this blog post on cutting grass.

Safety Tips for Cutting Grass

cutting grass

Those of you with low bone density, osteopenia, or osteoporosis need to pay special attention to how you cut your grass.

Individuals who have not followed a regular conditioning program need to be careful not to cause back, shoulder or neck problems.

If you have osteoporosis, osteopenia, or low back pain, you should follow these six safety tips on cutting grass:

  • Establish a power position behind the lawnmower.
  • Push with your legs, with both hands placed shoulder-width apart on the mower handle.
  • Make sure the height of your lawnmower is adjusted to your height.
  • Look back before you start moving backwards.
  • Use a double-arm pull-back technique rather than a single arm.
  • Trim low-hanging branches before you cut grass to avoid bending under the branches.

Later in the post, I provide guidance for people who are recovering from either a hip replacement or knee replacement and want to get back to mowing their lawns.

Lawn Mower Position When Cutting Grass

It is important that you establish a power position behind the lawnmower. This will allow you to push through with your legs and torso and not rely exclusively on your arms and back while cutting grass.

Mid waist is an ideal power position.

Get your elbows in and push the lawn mower from the legs.

In the power position, the handle should be sitting above the height of your hips and below the height of your chest. Somewhere mid-waist is a really good power position.

The power position is especially important when you’re initiating the push of the mower. For example, if you start from a standstill position or if you encounter an uphill grade with long grass, you need to get more power behind the mower.

Make Sure the Height of Your Lawn Mower is Correct

Before you start cutting grass make sure that the lawn mower height is correct for you. Someone may have used the lawnmower before you and the height could be too high or too low.

The correct height should align with your power position.

Get your elbows in and really push from the legs.

For a tall or short individual, move the handle bar setting so that the whole handle gets moved up and allows your hand position to be in a much safer and better position for your height.

Walking Forwards and Backwards When Cutting Grass

If you want to reduce the strain on your back, you should use a double hand pull back instead of a single hand while cutting grass.

Also, make a point of looking behind you before moving backwards. You could easily trip on something and cause a fracture.

Low Hanging Limbs and Cutting Grass

Consider trimming low hanging limbs before you cut the grass. Many people have the habit of bending down and going under low hanging tree branches to access parts of the lawn below the branch.

Put your spine health ahead of your tree health.

Instead of continuously ducking underneath the low-hanging limbs, save yourself a lot of grief and save stress on your back by eliminating the low hanging branches.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?

A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health — one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

  • Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
  • Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
  • Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
  • Key principles of bone building.
  • Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
  • Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
  • Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Enter your email address and I will start you on this free course. I do not SPAM or share your email address (or any information) with third parties. You can unsubscribe from my mail list at any time.

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Mowing the Lawn After Hip Replacement Surgery

I often work with patients after their hip replacement surgery. Many are anxious to return to an active lifestyle that includes garden work, mowing the lawn, cutting grass, and house work. Here are a few things to consider before mowing the lawns after hip replacement surgery.

Anterior or Posterior Hip Replacement Surgery

Pay special attention to whether you have had an anterior or a posterior hip replacement surgery. The type of contraindications during the six week period after hip replacement surgery are determined by the type of surgery.

Here are the two type of hip replacement surgeries:

  • Anterior approach involves an incision in the front of your hip. Your buttock muscles are unaffected.
  • Posterior approach involves an incision through through your buttock muscles and occurs behind your hips. Your buttock muscles are affected.

If you have had a posterior hip replacement surgery, your list of activities to avoid may include the following:

  • Bending your hip further than 90 degrees.
  • Crossing your legs.
  • Lifting your leg to put on socks.

It is important that you follow the guidelines given to you by your surgeon and rehabilitation team in order to protect the new hip from dislocation.

I believe that mowing your lawn after hip replacement surgery is not important enough that you join the 3% to 4% of people with hip replacement that have a hip dislocation. (1)

When Can You Mow the Lawn After Hip Replacement?

Eight to twelve weeks after a successful hip replacement, you should be able to safely mow your lawn. This assumes that you:

  • Can walk without any external support.
  • Have been diligent and done your prescribed therapeutic exercises. Your hip muscle strength and balance should be good enough that you can push a lawn mower on level ground with little resistance — as shown in the video.

I recommend you avoid pushing the lawn mower on steep inclines — at least until you have fully your strength, balance and mobility.

If you had complications from your surgery, are still challenged walking without support, or have poor balance I recommend you to seek further advice from a Physiotherapist on how to improve your strength, balance and gait before you mow your lawn.

Cutting Grass with Riding Mowers

The physical and cognitive demands of operating a riding mower are much greater than driving a car. Avoid operating a riding mower until at least two weeks after the period when your surgeon or rehabilitation team gives you the green light to drive a car.

mowing lawn after hip or knee replacement surgery guidelines

On another note, riding a mower has more contraindications to a posterior approach than pushing your mower on level ground.

If you had a posterior hip replacement surgery, be aware of your seat position. Seat position affects the position of your hips relative to your knees. You should speak to your surgeon or Physiotherapist before jumping on your riding mower.

Also, be aware of the effect that pain and pain medication can have on your ability to safely drive.

Cutting Grass with Gas Mowers

To fuel the gas mower you need to knee down on the ground. I recommend that you not do this after either hip or knee replacement surgery. This might be a good time to consider an electric mower for both you and the environment.

cutting grass knee replacement surgery guidelines

Mowing the Lawn After Knee Replacement Surgery

Like hip replacement surgery, it is important that you follow the post-operative guidance given to you by your surgeon. If you can walk without any external support, you have been working on your hip and knee muscle strength, and your balance is good you should be able to safely push a mower on level ground with little resistance — as shown in the video.

Once you have mastered mowing your lawn on level ground, you can graduate to low inclines. It is wise to avoid pushing a lawn mower on steep inclines until you have regained your full strength, balance and mobility.

It is common for individuals to have a partial or medial compartment knee replacement rather than a complete knee replacement. Generally the recovery is much faster. In addition, the return to household and garden chores, such as cutting your grass, occurs with more ease.

Conclusion

I am confident that these six lawn-mowing tips will help you to avoid undue stress on your back and reduce your risk of a compression fracture. I encourage you to consider your posture and body mechanics throughout your work and play life.

Individuals recuperating from hip or knee surgery need to be especially attentive before mowing their lawn or doing other garden work.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?

A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health — one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

  • Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
  • Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
  • Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
  • Key principles of bone building.
  • Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
  • Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
  • Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Enter your email address and I will start you on this free course. I do not SPAM or share your email address (or any information) with third parties. You can unsubscribe from my mail list at any time.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

References

  1. Blom AW, Rogers M, Taylor AH, Pattison G, Whitehouse S, Bannister GC. Dislocation following total hip replacement: the Avon Orthopaedic Centre experience. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2008 Nov;90(8):658-62. Epub 2008 Sep 30. PubMed PMID: 18828962; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2727808

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Comments

April 23, 2018 at 1:10pm

Gloria

I had a T12 fracture in Oct. 2017..still in pain. but wondering if it is safe to use a old fashioned push mower..