TLDR: The worst thing to happen when you are traveling is to have pain because of the heavy luggage, crappy seats, limited leg room, extra sitting, and just poor travel accommodations in general! The good news is there are SO MANY things that you can do to help to prevent those aches and pains, even when dealing with those accommodations so that you can enjoy the travel experience and then enjoy your trip too!
Let’s face it. Traveling nowadays is not always the best. Whether you are on a train, a plane or going on a long (or even short) road trip, the accommodations are not usually the best and can cause aches and pains and difficulty for a lot of people. Whether the trip is for fun or for business or for any other purpose, it doesn’t change the fact that many times the traveling part of the trip can be pretty rough sometimes! The worst thing to do is start off a trip by being in pain!
I am going to see one of my best friends in Seattle, Washington in a few days for the long weekend! I’m in Connecticut and there weren’t great flight options from any of the airports around here, so I will have about a 12 hour trip on the way to WA and back to CT, with a total of 4 different flights! I am SO excited to go and see her (we grew up together from the time we were born - only 4 months apart!) but the worst part for me is definitely the long travel. It is just exhausting in general and with the limited leg space on the long flights and just having to sit for so long, I get antsy - plus I have really long legs, so not the best combination!
Because of this trip, I wanted to share some of the things that I know and have learned about traveling that can help make some of these things better! These aren’t all of them and if you follow me on Instagram, I’ll share more as I go along with my trip, but here are some basic ones!
Use luggage with wheels! Generally we are carrying a lot of things with us. If we start off the trip by carrying giant luggage through the airport or train station, we are more likely to start off with stiff and aching muscles or even manage to injure a muscle. Get some luggage with 4 wheels and a handle that is adjustable so that you can put it to your height so that you can push it alongside next to you! Instead of the ones with 2 wheels where you have to pull it behind you, ideally you are pushing it right next to you instead! If you do have to lift it, keep the luggage close to your body, keep your stomach muscles tight, and lift with 2 hands!
Stretch and walk before and after all of your flights and on any layovers! The more you are moving before and after your flights, the less stiffness you will experience. Be sure to stretch your legs, your back, neck, and shoulders and just get loosened up!
If you have areas in your body (shoulder blades, glutes, or anywhere) that you know get tight or feel like there’s a knot in it when you sit for long periods of time, bring a tennis ball or a lacrosse ball with you and lean against the ball while you are sitting to help to loosen up those areas and give yourself some relief!
Use a neck pillow! The neck pillow will help you to be able to position yourself a little bit better for a long flight or ride and keep your neck from ending up in weird positions if you fall asleep that can cause some aches and pains.
Use any trays or electronic holding devices that are available for you on the plane so that if you are reading or on your phone or computer, your device is directly in front of you and you are not looking down at your lap the whole time. This will help your posture in general and you won’t get stiff as much and are less likely to end up with those uncomfortable knots from being in a poor position for too long!
Use a pillow or a rolled up piece of clothing as a low back support! Roll up your sweatshirt if you aren’t using it and place it behind your low back so that it helps you to stay in a better position for longer sitting times so that you don’t get that low back pain!
Get up and move! Move and change your position as much as you can while you are on a long flight. Even if you are just making tiny shifts and changes while you are sitting, it will still help if you don’t stay in one position for too long. You may think you will drive your seat neighbor nuts, but honestly, they should be doing the same thing, so adjust your position and get up as you are able to and don’t sit the whole time, and tell them to do the same!
Hydrate! Keep yourself hydrated with water or your favorite non-caffeinated beverage! Drink plenty of water before your flight, have plenty on board, and drink extra when you are off the flight as well! This will help with fatigue, headaches, and other stiffness as well. You may have to go to the bathroom on the flight but that’s okay - see tip #7, because you have to get up and move anyways!
Take a hot shower! Once you are to your destination and you are at whatever hotel or home or location you are staying at, take a few minutes and take a hot shower! Let the hot water beat down on your muscles and just stand there for a few extra minutes and then stretch out any muscles that feel stiff or sore while you are still standing under the hot water! Give your muscles a little extra TLC! The heat can help!
Rest! Get enough rest the night before your trip and get some extra rest once you get there as well if you are able to! Traveling, even in the best of conditions, is exhausting! Give yourself time to rest and relax and take care of yourself and those muscles!
Most of these tips are more specific to if you are taking a flight or even a ride on a train! But the same concepts apply to road trips too! You can do a lot of these things and always take breaks for road trips! Get out and stretch and don’t sit for too long! Otherwise you’ll be stiff and uncomfortable by the time you get to your destination!
What other tricks and strategies have you found that work for you when you travel?! The more we have, the better!
Stay tuned in the coming weeks and I’ll share how my trip went too!
I hope these tips are helpful for you for your next trip you have planned!
If there is anything specific that you would like to learn about, comment or email me and I am more than happy to talk more about it!
Thanks for being here!
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Dr. Katie
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