If you love your garden as much as I do and you have backache, pinched sciatic nerve symptoms, sciatica or one of the many back pain issues you may be wondering if you can ever garden again. Gardening can be hard on the back and I thought I would have to give it up forever. However I discovered that is not necessarily the case...

&bull Gardening is a very physical activity but there are lots of things you can do to make it easier. Even if you really cannot do the physical work you can still take a very active part in your garden. Also gardening is a great motivator. If you want to do your garden and you are dealing with back aches and pains you are much more likely to keep up with any back pain exercises and be diligent about looking after your back.

&bull First do check with your healthcare professional to make sure it is safe for you to do gardening activities and if there is anything you should absolutely avoid doing.

&bull It is vital if you have back pain and pinched sciatic nerve symptoms that you try to get to the root cause of your pain and treat that along with the symptoms to get lasting relief. Learn as much as you can and ask lots of questions. Feel free to visit my website at www.mypetback.com for back pain solutions, information, suggestions and inspiration. Never give up looking for your solution.

&bull Look at your garden with a critical eye from your "bad backs" perspective and if necessary consider a redesign. This is something everyone can do and many gardeners do anyway once in a while. If you have persistent backache, back pain or disc problems you just need to take a few more things into account. You know your back like no one else does. Evaluate what jobs you find difficult and will hurt you and which are fine for you. Listen to your body and let that be your guide.

&bull Consider a low maintenance garden. Plant so that there are no bare patches of earth where the weeds can grow. Less weeding equals less bending and less backache. Go for low maintenance plants and shrubs. Concentrate plants needing more attention in one area and consider a raised bed for them so less stooping for your back. Place the area nearer to your house or your garden shed. Your tools will be closer to hand that way.

&bull Scented plants are fantastic in raised beds for everyone to enjoy. You can even grow great vegetables in large raised beds and have more control over the environment and soil. Raised beds at waist height mean little or no bending for a bad back. If you have a small lawn, consider gravelling it or using chamomile or other lawn plants.

&bull When you first get back pain your garden can suffer as you deal with the initial pain. If your garden has done its own thing for a while you need to take it in hand. If family or friends cannot help, consider getting a company in to do the hard graft for you then you can concentrate on doing the finishing touches. If you share a garden or have an allotment consider asking if people would swap tasks with you so you do more of some things for them and they do more of say digging for you, it's worth a try!

&bull Consider a series of raised beds with paths in between so you can move easily between them to tend your plants without too much bending or overreaching your back. Don't make the beds too wide as you need to comfortably reach them.

&bull When gardening with back pain issues warm up first. Do any back pain exercises you have been following, go for a short walk and treat it like you are getting ready for some real physical activity ...which you are. If it helps you use a heat pad while you are gardening to keep the muscles in your back warm and less prone to injury. After gardening do your stretches again and get into a warm bath or shower as soon as you can.

&bull Frustrating as it is, do a little, rest then do a little more. I used to be an all day gardener but now I respect my back and listen to any little aches and pains and stop before it needs to shout at me! Vary the activity so you don't do repetitive tasks which put a strain on your lower or upper back. So mix it up with a little weeding, trimming, pruning etc.

&bull What a pain it is when you just want that big pot moving a couple of yards. Do wait until you can get someone else to do it. It is not worth aggravating your recovery from back pain for the sake of a little patience.

&bull Let someone know you are in the garden working. If you do overstrain your back you will want the comfort of knowing someone will be checking on you from time to time if necessary.

&bull Consider some of the many tools you can buy to help you if you have general backache, pinched sciatic nerve symptoms, upper or lower back pain. A small investment in some good quality tools will ease strain on your back and mean you can be independent in your gardening

&bull If the physical work is really too much for your bad back at this stage you can do all the design, planning, ordering and task list. Teach others how to do what you know so they too can grow from the experience and learn to love gardening. Visit gardening forums and pass on your knowledge. For the year I could not do any gardening due to my low back pain and sciatica symptoms I taught my husband, following him round every inch and he went from being not at all interested to now loving it. Now I just need to get my garden back!

&bull Always think what you CAN DO not what you can't do. Just because you have back pain and pinched sciatic nerve symptoms you do not need to give up your garden. Work out a way you and your back can enjoy it together...