Whether the aches are the result of age, injuries or just the awkward positions that gardeners assume to tug at a stubborn weed or harvest a crop of peas, gardening, with all of its pleasures, can still be a pain. Fortunately, reports the Grand Rapids Press, manufacturers are using ergonomics to try to make the pastime a little more comfortable through adaptive gardening tools.

Everything from padded kneelers with handles to help the gardener assume an upright position after gardening, to telescopic gardening tools that allow a gardener to reach borders easily is available to reduce some of the pain of gardening. Companies today even make long handled weeders that permit the tiring task of weed pulling from an upright, and more enjoyable, position. Other garden tools come with handles sold separately so the gardener can choose the right handle length to attach to the tool making it height-appropriate.

But the backyard gardener doesn’t have to rush out to buy new tools just to stay comfortable. Says Deborah J. Read, MOTR/L, owner of ErgoFit Consulting in Washington, using engineering controls in gardening could mean “modifying current tools by building up handles with grip tapes, padded grip tapes, or pipe insulation.” Read, who discussed the ergonomics of gardening in Ergoweb’s July 2003 issue of The Ergonomics Report