Canadian Gardening Garden of Ease December 1998/January 1999 Well-designed ergonomic tools make gardening easier: Here's the pick of the crop." By Kathy Vey "Regrettably, even gardening itself can cause damage. In January 1995, The Physician and Sportmedicine magazine listed it among 10 occupations with high rates of carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful inflammation near the base of the hand caused by stress of repetitive actions like pruning. Trifling ailments like aches and blisters pale in comparison to slipped discs and torn muscles. Do you really want to spend the rest of your days nursing a chronic back injury because you lost an argument with a jumbo bag of peat moss?" "Sensible practices in the garden, - stretching and warm-up exercises prior to strenuous activities, taking frequent breaks from uncomfortable positions and tasks, lifting your legs and not your back - will help you avoid debilitating injury. So will specialized tools made with an eye toward ergonomics, the study of people's efficiency in their work environment." Good ergonomic design makes the job easier by reducing sources of stress and fatigue. The tools are tailored to the person, rather than forcing the person into unnatural positions in order to use the tools. But ergonomic design has been slow to take root in the horticultural field, and until recently, thoughtfully built garden gear has been a chore to find." "Garden tools with a twist, Fist-Grips are designed specifically to relieve stress on the hand and wrist by keeping them in a neutral position, the angle in which they'd be if they were at rest. In order to do this, the handles are set upright at a 90-degree angle to the tool head. Conventional hand tools have handles that are in line with the head; gripping the handle stretches the muscles and tendons on the thumb side of the writs, and compresses the tissues on the underside. In order to push an ordinary trowel into the soil, for instance, you must bend your wrist forward and apply pressure with your palm - not a terribly efficient use of energy." "'While this is tolerated by able-bodied gardeners, it's painful for those suffering with arthritis and for people with weak wrists,' says Fist-Grip creator Lionel Crockett, who has been designing ergonomic hand tools and scissors for children and adults for the past 20 years at his family business in the English countryside of Essex."... "When choosing hand tools, look for textured grips that can held securely without slipping. Contoured handles, especially those moulded to fit the hand, are more comfortable than smooth, straight ones. Soft grips made of cushiony plastic reduce blisters, hand fatigue, and wide, chunky handles, up to about 1 1/2 inches (four centimetres) in diameter are easier to hold, unless your hands are very small."... "Add-on grips and handles can be retrofitted to any straight-shafted tool in order to improve the efficiency and encourage healthy posture and movement. Most heavy garden work involves three main actions: lifting (as with spades and forks); pushing and pulling (garden rakes and hoes); and twisting (brooms and leaf rakes). Done incorrectly , any of these can be dangerous. But add a D-grip handle toward the head of a shovel and your leverage will be vastly improved and your bending diminished. When hoeing or sweeping, place a D-grip on the shaft to keep your stance vertical and attach a straight handle at a 90-degree angle on the end to keep your wrist in a neutral position." ... "Long-armed grippers are another nifty device that do away with the need to bend over when picking up things like leaf litter. A trigger-grip handle controls a set of pincers tipped with rubber suction cups...." Available at Gardenscape Tools, 416-698-5339 or 1-888-472-3266 www.gardenscape.ca

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