Research has shown that injuries are the biggest cause of disability and death among travellers. While most of these are attributed to road traffic and accidents, they also include unintentional injuries caused by improper equipment, poor postural health, and other seemingly trivial actions. These can cause severe musculoskeletal ailments and disorders.
The good news is, additional and unwarranted muscle stress can easily be avoided while you’re travelling. Here are a few ways you can ensure an injury-free vacation.
Strategise Luggage Handling
You don’t want to start your trip by being weighed down by all the bags you’re carrying. Even if you’ve packed light, holding the luggage for long durations can be physically exhausting and may cause muscle strains.
The best way to avoid this is by strategising how you’ll be carrying your belongings. For instance, are you carrying trolley bags or huge duffel bags that need to be manually lifted? Similarly, when you’re waiting in a long line at the airport, balance your body’s weight and that of the luggage. Instead of carrying your backpack on just one shoulder, use both shoulders to divide the weight of the bag. This will prevent neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Another thing you should do when carrying your luggage with you is trying to stand upright. Slouching hurts your posture and can lead to muscle strain. Likewise, use both arms to lift a heavy bag to divide the additional weight equally across your body.
Use Protective Gear
If you’ve planned various adventurous activities for your trip, make sure you have the right protective equipment for them! Trekking, hiking, and cycling are all fun ways to explore a new place, but they can also cause your muscles to wear out or get injured easily. To avoid this, you need to be equipped with the necessary tools that’ll facilitate your activity.
For instance, you’ll need a helmet and knee pads if you’re cycling. Similarly, it’s also important that the size of your equipment fits your individual needs. Using the wrong length of skiing poles, for example, can result in shoulder injuries. Both the availability and type of protective gear matters!
Listen To Your Body
Finally, lookout for signs of exhaustion and weariness in your body. If you experience pain while participating in a particular activity or doing a certain task, don’t just ignore it! It’s advisable to stop doing that particular action to prevent the pain from being exacerbated.
It can be very tempting to push through a bit of pain as long as you manage to check something off your bucket list. However, this can lead to further musculoskeletal problems and injuries which may take months to heal. What’s more, it’ll also end up ruining the remainder of your vacation.
Your health comes first!
RegenerVate Medical Injection Therapy provides effective PRP injection therapy in the greater Toronto area. We can help you resolve various musculoskeletal injuries and conditions, and alleviate your pain and discomfort.
Call us at 1 855 847-3975 to get in touch!
