Most people love traveling during the summer months. Fun as it is to spend time with your loved ones in beautiful locations, back pain while traveling cuts into that enjoyment. Fortunately, there are things that you can do in order to prevent back pain while traveling.

Here is what you need to know about common factors that can contribute to back pain while traveling and what can be done to prevent it. Let’s get into it!

Factors That Can Contribute To Back Pain While Traveling

Injuries

This one’s a no-brainer, but still worth mentioning. If you’re injured or currently experiencing back pain, it’s only natural to expect to continue to suffer from this pain while cavorting around. It’s a good idea to talk to your chiropractor about things that you can do in order to alleviate your back pain while you’re traveling. 

Obesity/Being Overweight

According to the CDC, approximately 42% of adult Americans have obesity. Not only can obesity increase your risk of health conditions like heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, it also makes you more likely to suffer from back pain. This can be especially true while traveling, due to the discomfort of sitting in car or airplane seats that are too small and moving around when you are not used to it.

Obesity is a serious chronic disease both adults and children can suffer from. Obtaining help can improve your quality of life, such as by making it easier to travel with less likelihood of experiencing back pain. 

Pillows And Mattresses

At home, you’re probably able to sleep on pillows and mattresses that you selected to suit your preferences. However, when you’re traveling, you don’t have this luxury. While some hotels may have pillows and mattresses that are the pinnacle of comfort, this isn’t always the case. 

As such, you may end up sleeping on a mattress and with pillows that are either too soft or too firm to provide your body with proper support. If you’re staying in a hostel, motel, or someone else’s house, the mattress and pillows could also just be old and in need of replacement. 

If your mattress and pillows aren’t supportive, you could end up suffering from back pain, due to how they’re not helping your body to keep your spine in neutral alignment while you sleep. 

Stain

If you’re not an active person and now you’re trekking all over these new cities and countries, it might end up hurting your back. You may find back pain flaring up if you’re taking on a lot of hills, like in a mountain hike or going up streets in a city like San Francisco. If you’re toting around a backpack, this can also contribute to your back pain if you’re not wearing it properly. 

Sitting Still For Too Long

Whether you’re on a road trip, taking a train, or jetting off somewhere, you’re probably going to be spending a lot of time sitting down while traveling. This can lead to back pain, especially if you have a tendency to slouch. Try to get up and move every half an hour or so. If you’re driving, see if you can stop every hour or so in order to get up and move around. 

These are just a few of the different things that can contribute to back pain while traveling. 

What You Can Do To Prevent Back Pain While Traveling

Depending on whether you’re prone to back pain from simply sitting still for too long or another reason, you may need to adjust what you do in order to prevent back pain while traveling. For instance, if your back pain results from having an injury or obesity, that’s not as simple a fix as simply sitting in one spot for too long.

Some of the things you can do to prevent back pain while traveling are as follows.

#1. Move Around Often

If you’re driving, aim to stop every hour or so for a 15 minute long break to stretch and move around. Motion is lotion, as the saying goes. While moving around may seem counterintuitive if you’re stiff, simple exercises and stretches can prevent stiffness. 

If you’re flying, keep an ear out for when they say that you’re free to move around the cabin. Sure, you can’t move around much in a plane, but getting up and being at to stretch your legs at least a little bit is better than sitting down the entire flight. 

If you’re on a train, you can get up and walk around the cabin as needed. 

#2. Manage Stress

Traveling can be stressful, especially when something unexpected happens, like the airline not putting your luggage on the plane with you. Stress can contribute to back pain while traveling due to how it makes your body tense up.

Managing stress is a lot easier said than done, we know. If you’re traveling with others, don’t hesitate to lean on them for support or ask for help. If you’re traveling alone, call or text one of your loved ones. You can practice mindfulness and techniques like deep breathing. 

Planning ahead is one of the best ways you can manage stress. Always better safe than sorry, as the saying goes. For instance, if you’re flying and you’re checking luggage, make sure that one of your carry-ons has your essentials and at least one change of clothes. That way, if your luggage gets lost or left behind, you’re not in a worse situation.

#3. Be Careful To Avoid Habits That Contribute To Back Pain

You may not even realize that they’re doing this! It’s common to get back pain while traveling due to habits you adapt in an effort to be more comfortable, like slouching in a seat. 

Some habits to avoid include:

• Slouching
• Not using neck support while sleeping in a car or plane
• Picking items up improperly
• Improper lifting techniques
• Not moving around enough (as is possible)

#4. Adjust Your Pillows And Mattress If Possible

If the mattress is super firm, you can try to use blankets or pillows to cushion it and make it softer. You can also put a pillow under your knees if you’re lying on your back or between your knees if you’re on your side in order to help keep your spine in neutral alignment while sleeping. 

#5. Use Heat And Ice

This can alleviate existing back pain while traveling, such as if you already had it and traveling makes it worse. Heat reduces muscle and joint tension while ice helps to temporarily numb the area. Alternating as needed can provide you with relief.

#6. See It All – But Not All At Once

This is especially true if you have an injury or aren’t accustomed to a lot of physical activity. Planning ahead can help with this. While you want to see as much as possible, listen to your body and don’t try to plan on more than it can handle. 

Adjust travel plans as needed – for instance, if some of your party want to go hiking but your back is killing you, you can stay back and relax, maybe even get a massage. If others choose to stay back too, you can have some nice bonding time by sitting outside or watching a movie or something.

#7. Talk To Your Doctor Or Chiropractor

They’ll be able to give you personalized advice on what to do about your back pain while traveling. If you have an injury, are obese or overweight, or you’re just prone to back pain while traveling and would really rather not deal with it, they’ll be able to help you.

Do You Need Help Preventing Back Pain While Traveling?

Ogden Chiropractic is here to help! We can give you exercises and stretches to do to lessen your likelihood of back pain while traveling. We can adjust your back so everything’s in alignment before you go, and realign you after you come back.

Contact us today to learn more about our chiropractic services and how we can help you avoid pain and deal with existing pain. 

Chiropractic care gets a bad rep. While every profession has bad eggs that make certain myths true in those individual cases, this is not the case for the profession as a whole. Chiropractic care is no different. The vast majority of chiropractors care deeply about helping people regain functionality so they can live fuller, happier, healthier lives.

Here is what you need to know about some of the most persistent myths about chiropractic care. 

#1. Chiropractic Care Is Pseudoscience

People definitely used to think this before chiropractic care was fully understood. However, chiropractic care is a legitimate profession backed by a large body of research. Chiropractors must earn their Doctor of Chiropractic before they can practice. Just like a medical doctor, chiropractors need extensive schooling, training, experience, and to pass examinations and board reviews in order to earn their certification.

#2. Chiropractors Will Hurt You

It shouldn’t! Chiropractic care may cause some initial discomfort, but people go to chiropractors in order to relieve their pain. Most people feel better after a chiropractic adjustment. You may feel a bit sore after your first few adjustments, the same way you can feel sore after working out. However, once the soreness subsides, you should feel better than you did before. 

Bear in mind that complications are possible in every profession, even with the most experienced providers. There are instances where something may go wrong and you get hurt, but this shouldn’t happen – and more often than not, it doesn’t. 

If you have any concerns about your care, don’t hesitate to communicate with your chiropractor. Their goal is to help you, not hurt you. They’ll adjust your treatment as needed to ensure that they do just that. 

#3. You Can Adjust Yourself

So, technically, you can adjust yourself – it’s just a matter of whether or not you really should. Trying to adjust yourself could lead to worsened injury. This is dangerous and not something you should ever do. It’s best to leave the adjustments to the experienced professionals who have earned their Doctor of Chiropractic and know how to do this safely. 

#4. Chiropractors Will Tell You To Keep Going To Them Forever

Unfortunately, this isn’t so much a myth about chiropractic care as it is something that chiropractors who want money do. Every profession has its bad seeds, and chiropractic care is no different. There are indeed chiropractors out there who will tell you that you need regular “maintenance” appointments for the rest of your life.

However, know that once you start chiropractic care, this doesn’t mean that you have to keep going forever. Chiropractic care is like physical therapy: the goal is for you to not need it anymore. Good chiropractors want to help you. They want to get to the root cause of your pain so that you can feel better and go about your life in peace. They don’t want you to keep coming back to them. 

As such, this is an easy way to tell a good chiropractor from a sketchy chiropractor. If your chiropractor claims you need maintenance appointments, continue your search. However, if your chiropractor is willing to work with other medical professionals, is actively tracking your progress, and can give you an estimated time-frame of how long you can expect to be in chiropractic care, they likely have your best interests at heart, rather than trying to trap you for your money. 

#5. Chiropractors Don’t Like Doctors And Vice Versa

Like the above point, this is a myth about chiropractic care that is indeed a myth in some cases and not in others. Chiropractors who claim that chiropractic care can help with all sorts of different health issues that it really can’t tend to not like doctors much because they see them as competition. Doctors may not like chiropractors because of the bad seeds like this. 

However, many chiropractors and doctors have a healthy respect for each other. When chiropractors and doctors alike recognize the limitations of their respective professions and work together in order to see to the patients’ best interests, everyone wins. 

As a matter of fact, many hospitals have chiropractors on staff. Chiropractors and doctors can work together in order to figure out the best treatment plan for a patient.

Do You Need Chiropractic Care?

Ogden Chiropractic is here for you! From regular chiropractic adjustments to spinal decompression and more, we offer comprehensive chiropractic care personalized to your unique needs. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule a consultation.