Heidi Sibert knows the joys of a garden. She also knows about all the aches and pains that blossom in every gardener's joints and bones, especially those who've got arthritis.
A landscape architect with James Martin and Associates in Vernon Hills, Ill., Sibert has struggled with arthritis herself. But the 49-year-old isn't willing to let her battle with psoriatic arthritis keep her out of the garden.
In March, Sibert's design for the Chicago Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation's Enabling Garden won best in show at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show. While the honor was nice, even more fulfilling for Sibert was showing other arthritis sufferers -- or those hampered in other ways -- that they could continue to experience the pleasure of gardening.
Sibert remembers one woman in a wheelchair who thought gardening was just one more activity she could no longer do. But when the woman saw an old, cracked birdbath that Sibert had used as a raised planter for masses of flowers, the woman wheeled right up to it with tears in her eyes. "Oh, my God, I can do it, I can garden again," she said.
"Here was a woman who had totally given up gardening because she didn't think she could do anything from a wheelchair. But this old broken bird bath showed her that she could still enjoy gardening," Sibert said.
Arthritis limits daily activities for more than 16 million Americans, says the Arthritis Foundation. And that includes exercise or outdoor pursuits. A study reported in this month's American Journal of Preventive Medicine revealed that people with arthritis don't exercise enough, and more than a third of adults with arthritis don't exercise at all. Even though exercise has been shown to decrease pain, delay disability, and improve gait and function, people with arthritis are more likely to be inactive than adults in the general population.
It turns out that gardening is one of the best forms of exercise available. As every seasoned gardener knows, it's a real workout. One hour of gardening can expend 350 calories. Your garden workout helps increase endurance, flexibility and strength.
It's all a matter of cultivating not just that garden bed, but the right moves, says Pam Wesner, an occupational therapist with the North Shore Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago in Northbrook, Ill.
"Sometimes it's just a matter of learning new ways of doing things," Wesner said. "Kneelers are great, lightweight tools are helpful, container gardening makes it easier to work. It's usually a combination of techniques that brings good results."
Next: Creative approaches and ergonomic tools >
