How to Prepare to Travel with Pain

Simple steps can prevent you from missing out on your vacation due to pain.

To travel is to walk. Remember those five words when travel planning so you're not sitting out your own vacation or business trip. Five to10 minutes of stretching exercises at night and during the day may help stop pain from either an accident or chronic condition. Instead of struggling with sensations that can feel like tectonic plates colliding along your spine or elsewhere, think holistically, says Dr. John M. Haase, a chiropractor in Madison, Wisconsin, and author of "Aquakinetics: The Art of Fitness in Water." It's obvious advice, but people often forget to stretch. Put all your luggage on wheels and just bring along a few key items to make traveling easier.

Things You'll Need

• Wheeled luggage carrier
• Epsom salt
• Flexible splint
• Ibuprofen
• Vitamin C
• Prescription pain medication (optional)
• List of destination's health care providers

Instructions

Lose the Pain

1. 

   Make good use of your time and keep your back happy by stretching in seats or in line.

   To start daily stretching of your legs and hamstrings, find any place to sit, including the plane. Haase recommends putting one leg up under the seat, then flex your foot and lift it. Hold it for 5 seconds and then repeat as time permits. To stretch calves and lower hips, take one step and then lean forward, keeping your trunk vertical. This can be done while standing in airport lines.

2. 

   Airport screeners allow travelers to bring their medications with them.

   Assemble a "pain-be-gone" travel kit for chronic pain. It includes a flexible splint to immobilize trouble areas, vitamin C and ibuprofen for inflammation and a $4 container of Epsom salts to use when you reach your destination. Epsom salts contain oxygen to invigorate and magnesium for muscle relaxation and mood elevation. It is a good idea to take a list of health care providers that practice in your travel destination areas.

3. 

   To avoid bad interactions or worse, always talk to your health care providers before taking any medications.

   Consult your health care providers about taking prescriptions and over-the-counter medications and about any special conditions, including pregnancy, a physical disability or if you are at risk of deep-vein thrombosis from sitting.

4. 

   Using Epsom salts is a holistic approach to treating pain.

   Follow medication directions.Treatment starts with prevention: Take ibuprofen before you depart to prevent inflammation. Take prescription pain medicine if necessary, and if you're still hurting, put ice on it. Use a flexible splint to immobilize your back, for instance, allowing it to rest. Take a hot bath with Epsom salts to help your muscles relax. If it carries over to the next day, most chiropractor or emergency rooms will treat you.

5. 

   Travel insurance for medical care is primarily for travelers leaving their own country.

   Ask your agent about travel insurance. It's a must for international trips outside of urban areas if medical care isn't available. The upside is there's no ban on pre-existing conditions, making a trip to a chiropractor or the emergency room easier.

Tips & Warnings

• Breathe. It's free and taking some deep breaths may stop pain, according to the journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain in its January 2010 issue of PAIN.

• Always consult a physician before carrying out these tips while home or traveling. Follow all instructions for prescribed and over-the-counter medications.

References

• Chiropractor Madison WI: John Haase
• NIAMS: Arthritis
• EurekAlert!: Barrow Researcher Reports that Slow Breathing Reduces Pain