Your back and long late-summer journeys: how to prevent low back pain and stiffness after the holidays

September is often the month of homecomings. Some people return from holiday after several hours in the car, others take a flight after weeks abroad, and others choose the train for the last legs before going back to work. The journey ends, the suitcases come out and, just when you should be rested, a very common complaint can appear: a stiff, heavy or aching back.

The journey itself is not necessarily the problem. Our body is perfectly capable of sitting. What can become hard to tolerate is staying in almost the same position for many hours, especially when little movement, uncomfortable seats, irregular sleep, heavy luggage and habits different from the daily routine are added to it.

Preventing low back pain during long journeys therefore depends less on the search for the legendary “perfect position” and much more on the ability to keep the body active even when the journey forces you to sit for a long time.

Anyone who has got out of the car after five or six hours knows the feeling well: the first steps feel harder, you straighten up slowly and the lower back seems almost “locked”.

During a long journey the normal changes of position we make without noticing throughout the day become fewer. We walk less, we move the pelvis less and we alternate less often between sitting and standing.

The result can be a temporary sensation of stiffness that does not necessarily mean anything has been damaged.

Tiredness counts too. A return from holiday can include a very early alarm, several hours of travel, waiting, transfers, suitcases and perhaps a short night's sleep. The musculoskeletal system therefore reaches the end of the day after being exposed to conditions quite different from the usual ones.

This is why good prevention of low back pain should begin during the journey itself, without waiting for the back to start hurting.

When travelling by car, especially for many hours, the first piece of advice is simple: plan your stops.

Stopping is not just about getting a coffee or filling up. It is a chance to walk for a few minutes, change position completely and let the back and legs move.

During the stop there is no need to perform a complicated sequence of exercises. A few minutes on foot, some calm movements of the pelvis and spine and a little mobility work can already be far more useful than sitting at a service area table after two hours at the wheel.

It is also important to avoid tensing up while driving.

Many people, especially on busy motorways or demanding routes, end up unknowingly gripping the steering wheel, raising their shoulders and holding constant tension in the upper and lower back.

Every so often a quick check can help: are your shoulders relaxed? Does the seat let you reach the steering wheel and pedals comfortably? Are you driving with your pelvis supported, or have you gradually slid forward?

These are apparently small details, but in preventing low back pain on a long journey they can make the difference.

There is no single setting that suits everyone. Height, build, car and individual characteristics change a great deal how comfortable each person is.

In general, however, it should not be necessary to stretch to reach the steering wheel or the pedals. At the same time, a seat that is too close can force the legs into an uncomfortable position.

The backrest deserves attention too. Driving for hours excessively reclined can force you to bring your head forward to see the road properly; sitting completely upright and rigid, on the other hand, is not automatically better.

The right setting is the one that lets you drive comfortably, keeping good control of the vehicle and without feeling the need to “hold” a particular posture continuously.

A small lumbar support can feel pleasant for some people, especially if the seat does not offer adequate support. It should not, however, become a device used to force the back to hold an artificial position for hours.

The key word remains varying.

On a plane freedom of movement is inevitably more limited. On flights of several hours you can spend a long time sitting in a small space, perhaps also trying to sleep.

When flight conditions allow, standing up periodically and walking a few steps along the aisle is a simple habit. Even seated, you can change position, move your ankles and legs and slightly alter how your pelvis is supported.

For preventing low back pain, the aim should not be to stay motionless with a perfectly straight back for the whole flight. That would be unrealistic and probably uncomfortable too.

Better to allow yourself small, frequent changes.

Then there is another delicate moment: the hand luggage.

After a few hours sitting, standing up and immediately pulling a heavy case out of the overhead locker demands a movement the body has not had time to readjust to. If possible, before retrieving your luggage it is worth standing up, moving a little and organising the lift without rushing. If the case is particularly heavy or awkwardly placed, asking for help makes far more sense than turning the end of the holiday into a personal challenge.

Compared with the car and the plane, the train generally allows greater freedom of movement. Yet it is easy to spend three hours sitting in front of a laptop or a smartphone with almost no change of position.

If the journey allows it, standing up now and then, walking along the carriage or simply staying on your feet for a few minutes breaks up the sedentary time.

Anyone using the journey to work should be particularly careful. A laptop resting on your legs can lead to keeping the head and trunk tilted forward for a long time.

There is no need to give up working, but alternating time in front of the screen with brief moments of movement makes the journey less demanding.

Here too, preventing low back pain does not call for complicated solutions: it often simply means avoiding three or four consecutive hours in the same position.

The journey is over. You get home, open the boot and start unloading everything.

This is exactly where many people move suddenly from stillness to effort.

A large suitcase can be heavy and, in the boot, it is often far from the body. To grasp it you have to lean over, reach it and then twist to set it down. If the body has been sitting for many hours, it can help to allow yourself a few minutes first.

Walking, moving the back and legs calmly and only then dealing with the luggage is a sensible little habit.

When lifting a load, moreover, it is better to bring it close to the body rather than trying to manage it with the arms fully extended. If a case is very heavy, using both hands or splitting the contents where possible can make the movement more manageable.

Preventing low back pain therefore also concerns what happens in the last five minutes of the journey, not only the hours spent sitting.

The first temptation can be to avoid any movement at all.

If it is simple stiffness that has appeared after many hours of travel and there are no symptoms requiring medical assessment, keeping up normal activity compatible with your condition can instead be useful.

A quiet walk, for example, gets the whole body moving again without demanding anything particularly strenuous.

Going back to training also deserves a little common sense.

If you get home in the evening after ten hours between flight, airport and car, the following morning may not be the best time to make up immediately for all the sports sessions missed during the holiday. Building back up gradually lets the body readjust to its usual rhythms.

The same care applies to anyone going straight back to a desk. Moving from eight hours in the car to a full day sitting in the office means further extending a period already marked by little movement.

Standing up regularly and alternating activities therefore becomes part of preventing low back pain in the days after the return as well.

One of the most common mistakes is thinking that doing something useful for your back necessarily requires thirty minutes of specific exercises.

During a journey that is not always possible.

It is far more realistic to make use of small opportunities: walking while waiting for the train, moving during a stop, taking a few steps in the terminal instead of sitting down at the gate straight away, or walking for a few minutes once you arrive.

Frequent small movements can be easier to fit in than looking for a long exercise session in the middle of a day of travel.

And it is a principle that applies to everyday life too: our body does not only need to “do sport”, it needs to move throughout the day.

Stiffness that gradually decreases is different from pain that is intense, persistent or accompanied by other symptoms.

If the pain does not improve, tends to increase, radiates down a leg, if weakness or changes in sensation appear, or if other significant symptoms are present, it is advisable to see a healthcare professional for an assessment.

Likewise, anyone who often suffers from low back pain after journeys, sedentary working days or long periods of sitting could benefit from a physiotherapy assessment.

The aim is not simply to find an exercise to repeat every time pain appears. Proper prevention of low back pain should take into account mobility, strength, daily habits, working activity, the sport practised and individual characteristics.

We often notice our back only when it starts to hurt. A long journey, on the other hand, can bring to light stiffness or difficulties that were less obvious during the normal routine.

If after the holidays you feel your lower back is particularly stiff, you notice recurring pain when you sit for a long time or every journey becomes a trial for your back, there is no need to wait until the problem becomes more limiting.

At Ti-Fisio in Lugano you can have a physiotherapy assessment to understand which factors may be contributing to the symptoms and to set up an individual programme.

Preventing low back pain does not mean living by avoiding movement, travel or activity. It means getting to know your own body better, keeping it active and taking targeted action when something starts to limit you.

Contact Ti-Fisio in Lugano to arrange an assessment and find out how to tackle stiffness and low back pain with a programme built around your needs, your lifestyle and the activities you want to keep doing.

+41 91 940 10 20

info@ti-fisio.ch

Via Ceresio 42, Pregassona.

Read all our updates here

+41 (0)91 229 69 80

mendrisio@ti-fisio.ch

Via Giuseppe Motta, 6a, Mendrisio