Holidays with back pain
Much as I love going on holiday and staying with friends and family, I do find that my back pain makes everything a bit awkward.
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When I am at home, I have access to things like my flexibak, and the saddle-seat. I also have the run of our home, so I can stretch where I like and when I like...
You can get used to that...
Things aren't quite so simple when we go away. For a start, I rarely have things like the flexibak or saddle seat with me (although I rarely have need for the saddle seat when I'm away). Then there are the other things...
Such as sleeping. My back pain tends to manifest itself at night, and sleeping on an unfamiliar mattress doesn't help. (Also, double beds seem very small once you get used to a queen-sized mattress...)
Then there's stretching. Sometimes there's not enough space, and sometimes the floor is so covered with dog-hair that I don't want to lie on it.
But it's not all bad when I go on holiday.
One of the good things about being on holiday is that I tend to be a little more active. Compared to being at home (and spending the week in the office), I walk more and get more exercise. And I've always found that if I get more exercise then my back feels better.
And in fact, overall I find that I have less back pain when I'm away than when I'm at home. (If nothing else, I'm less desk-bound and spend less time on the computer.)
I've recently been on holiday and found a system that seemed to work for me. Each night I would take some Devil's Claw with a mug of nettle tea. Plus I'd do a few stretches (pilates and egoscue exercises) just before going to bed. I'm not sure which was most effective, I'm just happy that my back pain stayed away.
Holiday articles
Anyway, I've been on holiday recently and here are a few articles I've written. They don't have anything to do with my bad back...