With longer days and warmer temperatures, are you starting to plan some getaways? Depending on whether you’re planning hours in the car, or perhaps you’ve got a flight booked, we have some tips to help you stay on track with your wellness journey.
After spending hours in a car or plane, muscles and joints become stiff and sore, making pain an unfortunate consequence of traveling for many people. If you usually spend the first day or two of your trip in pain, these tips will help you avoid travel-related discomfort and possible injury.
Your body wasn’t designed to endure hours of sitting. Remaining in one position for too long affects your posture and may strain your joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. You might notice this now if you’re someone who works in a sedentary job. Traveling or not, frequent breaks reduce stress on bones and tissues and may help you avoid post-travel pain. If you’re traveling by car, stop every hour for brief stretching breaks. If you can’t stop frequently, schedule rest stops at least every few hours. Stopping to stretch gives you an opportunity to take in the sights that you might have passed by without even noticing. Is your travel route taking you near a quirky site? Stop and enjoy it! Not many people can say they’ve visited the world’s largest metal chicken, or rubber stamp. Combining memories with self-care is a combination we highly recommend.
Stretching before, during and after your trip works out the kinks, relaxes your muscles, and increases blood flow to your muscles and joints, helping you avoid neck and back pain. And during your trip, try a few simple seated exercises that won’t take up too much room, but will make a huge difference in how you feel when you reach your destination. Roll your shoulders back and forth, move your neck from side to side, lift your legs, and roll your ankles in small circles. You might hear some cracking and popping, but that’s OK. If there’s room, extend your arms above your head and perform a few vertical punches to loosen things up from a different angle.
When it’s vacation time, your posture is probably the last thing on your mind. Unfortunately, failing to maintain good posture at any time, especially when you’re traveling practically guarantees that you’ll be achy and irritable when you arrive at your destination. Remind yourself to sit up straight in your seat with both feet firmly on the floor. Your back and whole body will thank you!
It’s amazing how much stuff your luggage can hold, even if it looks completely full. Unfortunately, the heavier your bag, the more likely you’ll strain or injure muscles, joints, and tissues in your neck or back when you remove it from the trunk or try to hoist it into an overhead compartment. And if you’re the adult responsible for carrying bags for the kids, multiply that pain by the number of people with bags. It adds up and the result is not good.
Before you leave home, pick up your bag. If you can’t lift it without straining, it’s best to reevaluate which things you absolutely need and which can be removed or placed in another bag. Packing light not only prevents injury, but also helps you avoid additional fees for overweight luggage if you’re flying. Besides, we’ve all been guilty of bringing things along on a trip that we never even unpack. Pack smart and save yourself some pain.
Trips are for making memories. Don’t let back pain be one of those memories. We wish you a safe journey, and will be here for you when you return!