Ergonomic Garden Tools

Ergonomic garden tools are a rapidly growing market area as retirees live longer and spend more of their extended life in the garden and gardening.

The premise behind all ergonomic products is to enable the attainment of a goal, or the completion of a task with a minimum of “safe” physical effort. This effort should also be controlled in such a way as to require the body to make healthy and controllable movements that do not create strains, stress or physical damage.

Naturally, gardening equipment seems an ideal target for this design approach as many tools have their origin in agriculture. Furthermore, the evolution of these tools did not benefit from modern thinking, computer design or ergonomic approaches. Modern ergonomic thinking and design seeks to correct these “wrongs”.

So which gardening tools reap the benefit of ergonomics?

The answer is pretty much all of them in some way or other, however the more physically demanding activities like cutting a hedge, trimming grass and digging see the greatest innovations.

Most ergonomic garden tools see changes in the shape, size, weight and mechanisms of garden tools and these are most prominently noticed in handles, grips and parts that move or require manipulation. Many ergonomic tools have larger, easier-to-grip handles and the balance and weight spread of some tools is changed to make them easier to use.

Items like pruners (securers) see handles designed around the grip characteristics of the hand. This can result in some unusual shapes and frequently larger diameter handles. However these tools can be used for longer with less strain and more comfort.

Many small garden hand tools like trowels feature grips that are turned through 90 degrees to allow the (optimum) fist grip with the wrist held in a straight alignment. This can help to prevent stress injuries and reduces strain on the muscles bones and ligaments of the hand, wrist and lower arm.

Spades, shovels and forks may feature extra wide grips to allow two hands to hold the tool, and handles can be curved or shaped to the grip of the fingers to facilitate holding without the need for excessive pressure.

Reducing weight and using new lightweight materials is another way of enhancing the ergonomics of garden tools, so very few items of garden equipment are manufactured from wood or steel.

Choosing to buy these tools is of course a matter of choice, but their ease of use clearly offers advantages to those who are not as strong or as able as they were and they will ultimately benefit anyone who uses them.

You can see this link for some examples - http://www.lifewithease.com/garden.html.