5 Simple Steps For Knee Pain Relief When Travelling This Summer
The holiday season is here and you probably will be going away for some well-deserved rest and fun with your loved ones.
However, the summer period can be inconvenient when you’re travelling for long hours.
Whether it’s on the bus, train, or plane, the chances are your knees will ache during and after such a journey as there isn’t enough space to stretch your legs.
That’s why it’s important to look after your body as you don’t want to spend the whole summer in pain and be unable to make the most of your holiday activities.
In this blog, you can discover 5 simple steps to relieve knee pain when you travel this summer so you can make the most of your holidays.
Use Heat For Knee Pain Relief
If you just landed in your dream holiday destination and you can’t wait to enjoy all the activities you have planned, but your knee pain is getting in the way, then try applying heat.
When travelling, it’s common not to feel knee pain immediately, but when you wake up the next morning, the pain is real!
If you wake up with a stiff and sore knee, applying a heating pad should help relieve the pain and loosen up your knee.
When applying heat, make sure you don’t put it directly onto your skin to avoid another injury.
Heat And Ice For Knee Pain
If you’ve already tried applying heat but it didn’t bring you much relief, or the pain came back even stronger, then you can try alternating ice and heat for knee pain relief.
Ice can help reduce swelling and redness and numb the area which helps in relieving pain.
Apply ice and heat for at least 10 to 15 minutes each and repeat a few times for better pain relief results.
You can use an ice pack wrapped in a towel to avoid exposing your skin directly to ice.
While both ice and heat can bring you knee pain relief, it can be problematic to use ice or heat packs depending on where you are and whether you’ve got access to any ice or heat packs.
That’s why it’s always best to find the root cause of your knee pain, so it doesn’t keep coming back!
Keep Active
It’s important to keep active if you want to stay healthy this summer.
Instead of spending all your time on the beach, try to walk around a bit, go sightseeing, play some sports, and make sure you keep moving.
If your joints and muscles become stiff, that’s when the pain happens.
Continuous body movement is one of the best forms to prevent knee pain so try to move around frequently, fully straightening and fully bending your knee.
Orthotics For Knee Pain Relief
If you’re on holiday and you prefer spending time actively rather than relaxing on the beach, then you need to wear comfortable shoes.
Walking for longer periods of time with unsupportive footwear is one of the leading causes of knee pain during the holidays.
Flip-flops are convenient to wear during hot days as you don’t want to sweat in your shoes all day, but they’re not good for your feet.
Instead, you can invest in orthotic shoes or sandals that will give you knee pain relief and prevent you from getting other foot and knee-related injuries.
After all, it’s your summer holidays that you planned for so long, so you don’t want to be stopped by agonizing knee pain.
It’s better to take precautions and custom orthotic shoe inserts can help you stay pain-free and healthy so you can enjoy your summer break.
Stretches For Knee Pain
Another thing you can try is doing stretches and exercises for knee pain relief.
There are some great stretches that involve your knee muscles and joints as well as other body parts, which can increase your flexibility and prevent injuries from happening in the future.
Some of the best exercises for knee pain relief include hamstring stretch, figure four glute stretch, standing calf raise, partial squats, and step-ups.
These stretches are easy to do and you can try them anywhere you are, at home, at the gym, on the beach, or during a city sightseeing tour when you take a break.
The important thing is to identify why your knee is hurting in the first place, and have personalised exercise and stretches plans to fix it long-term.
The Best Treatment For Knee Pain Relief
While the above tips are good for short-term knee pain relief, it’s better to get expert help in preventing injuries from happening again even if you travel long hours.
At T4 Physio, we can show you exercises and stretches that will be personalised based on your specific needs and condition.