5 Natural Ways to Ease or Prevent Pain while Traveling this Summer

Traveling this summer? Worried about pain ruining your vacation? For many, when suffering from back, neck, or even shoulder pain, the thought of driving or flying fills them with dread over how they’re going to feel especially when they arrive. With so many people suffering, I wanted to share 5 natural ways to ease and even prevent pain while traveling. But, first, why do these natural ways actually work?

The first answer is that pain is so much more than just damage. This is especially true if you’ve been suffering for a while. So, what’s actually going on when you’re experiencing pain. The simple answer is that pain is your body’s alarm system going off. You’ve got sensors all over your body looking for anything that might be dangerous. When these sensors are “tripped” like if you were to smash your shin into the coffee table, this sensor zips a message off to your spinal cord and further up to the brain to decide if what it just felt was “dangerous” and needed you to do something about it(because the purpose of pain is protection). Other articles in the “recent posts” section below dive more deeply into this(if you’re interested). But, in brief, if your pain has any predictability, any pattern(even if you can make it worse with certain movements or sitting too long), then specific movements and stretches should be able to help you get control over your pain. Now, if you are on a super tight timeline, these tips are things I would tell my mom if she couldn’t get into the clinic to see me before traveling.  What these tips all have in common is their ability to reduce the biggest drivers of pain. Those main drivers of pain are pressure and stress. Pressure from sitting too long, having to always adjust to get comfortable, or from having to lug around bags. Stress can make your alarm system more sensitive so taking time to address that often helps massively. So, here are some tips I would tell my mom. 

Tip #1: Homemade Lumbar roll

If you don’t have a low back roll or your car or airline seat doesn’t have any support, you can make your own lumbar roll to help support your posture and limit the irritation that you get from prolonged sitting.

Step 1: Grab a thick towel(or if on a plane-sweatshirt/jacket) and fold it to roughly your waist width.  If you have a smaller frame, you may need a smaller towel as a thick beach towel may be too much

Step 2: Roll tight so that it is fairly firm. 

Step 3: Place in the small of your back(you may need to adjust up or down to find the “sweet spot”). A common mistake is to place it down by your tailbone, it won’t support you here

Step 4: With your hips all the way back in the seat, sit back against the roll and try to have your shoulders also touching the seat. 

Having the roll should allow your back and neck to have a more natural curve and take tension off your muscles-but don’t just rely on this roll, use the next options as well because when it comes to posture, the best position is the next position. 

Tip #2: Understanding your pain cycle

One thing you might have noticed is that your pain has a pattern(even if going from bad to worse). Patterns like, it gets worse when you sit for more than 30 minutes or an hour or gets worse if you’re on the wrong kind of chair or couch. As a physio, when I see a pattern like the pain going down the leg after 30 minutes or an hour is figuring out how we break that pattern. But first we need to talk a bit more about why pain happens(and why sciatica spreads down your leg).  So what exactly is happening when sciatica spreads down your leg? Its all about your alarm system(your nervous system). The coverage of pain down your leg is a reflection of how irritated your alarm system is. The longer we sit(when dealing with low back pain) the more the alarm is tripped. Now, since the purpose of pain is protection, our alarm going off over and over(in the absence of new damage) will actually make the alarm get “louder”. Pressure on the hips and legs(as their nerves are connected to the spine) pokes/trips the alarm even more causing the pain to spread down the leg. So, when we get up, move around a bit, we usually notice that the getting up is miserable, maybe the first couple of steps as well, but the pain often eases for a little while while we’re up and walking(even if we can only stand for a little bit before the pain returns). Well, that little break is all we need to calm the alarm system and get further down the road. 

Tip #3: Posture break 

Once we understand our pain cycle, we then try to interrupt it with either getting up and walking around the plane for a minute or two or planning a stop at the rest area. The key is to not let it get sooo bad that we can think of nothing else. So, if our cycle is we can sit for 30 minutes before the alarm goes off, we then take our posture break around that 30 minute mark. The same applies for if your pain takes an hour or 2 before it gets really bad(we just want to get out in front of it). So, what happens if you can’t get out of your seat(like if the screaming baby next to you finally fell asleep and their parent is threatening bad things if you wake the baby up)?

Tip #4: Seated posture reset

If you’re in the car, this one is a bit easier because you can use the steering wheel, dashboard, or seat in front of you as your prop. Using the steering wheel, dashboard, or arm-rests, with both hands on it, slowly pull yourself forward like you’re sticking out your chest while arching your back backwards. Don’t push into pain. Release. Perform 3-5 reps every 30 minutes(same rules apply if you’re not the driver). 

Tip #5: Does the stress of travel make your pain worse? Try this

When stressed, the “fight or flight” side of our nervous system takes control. We start pumping stress hormones, we tense up(and we are usually unaware of this tension), and our alarm system gets even more sensitive than it already is. But, did you know that belly breathing(diaphragmatic or yoga breathing) can help reduce pain by up to 2 points just by calming your nervous system down? So, here’s how to do it. First, place one or both hands on your belly around the belly button. This is key because you want to feel your belly expand into your hands when you breathe in(imagine filling your belly with air). Next, slowly pull air into your “belly” for 2 to 4 seconds, not pushing into pain(the first couple of breaths may be smaller just because your neck or back may be sensitive). Hold for 1 second then let it leak out(don’t blow out) for 4-8 seconds and repeat. At first, this will be super hard but work up to 10 minutes twice a day to activate your “rest and digest” side of your alarm system, feel the relaxation, and even lower the temperature of your alarm. 

As always, thank you for reading this post. Confused about where to start? Book a call from the comfort of your home or office and  on your schedule with one of our Back Pain and Sciatica Specialists. You can schedule your call here.  Need help now? Come by and talk with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy at no charge. We offer FREE consultations, which give you the opportunity to come in and meet us and see for yourself how we can help you.

Here are just a few of the things you will learn in one of our free consultation:

• What is the underlying cause of your pain? (hopefully nothing too serious!)

• Roughly, how long will it take to fix the problem?

• What to do to help – which doesn’t include painkillers, resting or surgery etc.

• What other, natural, drug free methods are there to speed up recovery alongside treatment?

Our consultations are great for anyone that may be “unsure” if physio is right for them, and they give you the opportunity to ask questions and see for yourself if we can help you.

If you’d like one of our limited free consultation sessions, please click here to schedule your free consultation or CALL us on 850-765-2779 to make a no-obligation enquiry.

About the Author

Dr. Brandon is the owner and a Physio at Body Mechanix Physiotherapy and Fitness. Four of his favorite people call him daddy while he's been married to his other favorite person for 20 years. He enjoys teaching martial arts and is a Mestrando in Capoeira while in the mornings, he can be found working out with the guys in F3 around town.  He's the author of 4 pain relief guides for sciatica, low back, shoulder, and knees and the lead contributor to the Active Tallahassee Blog.