During travels, if you sit on a plane, car, or train for prolonged hours, you may end up getting pain in your back, spine muscles, and joints. It happens because of the excess pressure applied to those parts. Travelling will become a massive problem for people with back pain since it may increase their pain. But you can travel though you are a person with back pain by following the below-mentioned tips.
1. Try to be active when you travel: Movement is the best tip to avoid back pain when you are travelling. Try to walk at least once an hour. This can avoid the pain that occurs because of sitting for long hours. Changing your sitting position frequently and doing some simple neck exercises or pelvic tilt exercises can help you to avoid a surge in your pain.
2. Keep stress levels low to keep back pain low: Stress is also an essential factor that can increase the intensity of back pain. By managing your stress better, you can prevent back pain.
- There are ways to avoid stress while travelling. Like many people around you can help you lift your luggage items. So don’t hesitate to ask for help. You can find attendants on the flight and porters on the train to help you with this job.
- Planyour trip to avoid some last-minute surprises like standing in a long queue or being stuck in a traffic jam. This could prevent stress levels. Of course, you will get extra time to relax if nothing goes wrong.
- You can also do some mindful practices like deep breathing, pranayama, or meditation to avoid back muscle aches.
3. Take some precautions while doing some activities on travel: When you are driving a car or flying, some activities will cause pain in your spinal column. So make some simple changes mentioned below to what you do to avoid this pain while travelling.
- When sitting for long hours in a car or train, try to place objects like rolled-up towels, water bottles, or sweatshirts just below your back and your hips. This can give you proper back support and can help you in reducing your spine pain.
- If you sleep by resting your neck upright, your neck will be stressed. A neck pillow can help you if you are really in need of sleep during your travel. You can give a better alignment to your spine by having a neck pillow.
- Avoid putting your entire body weight on one foot when standing in a queue. Try to put your body weight equally between both feet, or you can do this by shifting your weight back and forth. This situation of standing in a long line will happen when you travel on a flight. You can also support by placing your foot on your bag to avoid this pain.
- When lifting heavy luggage from the ground, keep your butt back, so the body weight will fall onto your heels.
- Practice a “Golfer’s lift” technique while picking any small objects from the floor. This can be done by kicking one leg behind you and bending at the hip like a pendulum. You can maintain your lower back in a straight position. Another way is to pick the object with the help of one hand by resting the other hand on a stationary object for support.
- When you sleep on a different mattress, keep your spine in a proper position to avoid pain in your lower back. This can be done by putting a pillow for support under your knees while lying on your back. Or put a pillow between your knees when lying on your side. Try some additional blankets to get a cushion effect on the bed if you prefer to sleep on softer surfaces.
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Conclusion
Don’t stop your travel fun and excitement because of your spinal pain. By improving blood circulation in the spine, you can eliminate the spine muscle and joint pain. Also, by eating healthy food, you can get the required nutrients for your body. Let the spinal cord move more comfortably by keeping the healthy blood flow to the intervertebral discs, back joints, and muscles. This can help reduce pain and stiffness that commonly occurs when travelling.
FAQs
You can have a helper if you want. But by following these tips, you can travel without a helper also.
Please consult your doctor before taking any painkillers.
Yes, you can eat the food of your choice.
If you have a regular back pain, please take advice from a doctor before travelling.
Try to minimise your luggage so that you can have hassle-free travel.
Read more:
7 Back Exercises For A Healthy Life