Soren Dreier
  • Contact
    • About
  • Personal Guidance
  • Readings
    • – Reading Feedback
  • Healings
    • – Healing Feedback
  • Writings

Soren Dreier

Soren Dreier

  • Contact
    • About
  • Personal Guidance
  • Readings
    • – Reading Feedback
  • Healings
    • – Healing Feedback
  • Writings
Health

How to Survive Sitting on a Long Flight

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Soren Dreier
Author: LifeHacker
June 2, 2019

I can never sit comfortably on a flight; I’ve struggled with lower back pain for years. After emerging from a long flight spent in a middle seat, I have been known to collapse on the floor of the airport like an infant that’s learning to walk.

If you struggle with a similar problem, it’s normal—sitting in a cramped space with few resources beyond a pillow and armrests can be uncomfortable for even the most dexterous of travelers. However, there are a few things you can do to stave off those familiar bodily aches you might experience in your back, legs, or neck after a long flight.

We spoke to Blake Dircksen, a New York-based doctor of physical therapy at Bespoke Treatments and creator of Nightcap Training, about the importance of stretching, compression socks, and why putting a bag in the overhead bin can prove a painful experience for some travelers (i.e., lower back pain sufferers like me).

If you’re able to get up, stretch as often as you can

What makes sitting in a cramped seat for hours on end so uncomfortable? Well, if it isn’t obvious already, it’s your body’s inability to move.

“Your body craves motion,” Dircksen said. “When you’re in a position for too long, those tissues become compressed and there’s a lack of oxygen going to those tissues … Without that oxygen, the tissue goes into an anaerobic state and you start to build up lactic acid—that’s the dull achy feeling that you get when you’re seated for too long.”

Dircksen recommends moving, stretching, and getting up whenever possible—between drink carts passing through the aisle, of course.

“To try and stave off some of that soreness, I like to move as much as I can, maybe some calf raises, ankle pumps, twisting the back,” he said. “I don’t want to say everyone can do this without reservation, but generally, if you’re in an unloaded position, you should be able to bend, flex, or rotate the spine. That’s a great way to get fluid into the vertebrae disks and get [the] blood flow moving. Movements and a variety of movements are the best antidotes to those aches that come with sitting for too long.”

If you’re able, Dircksen recommends one exercise for lower pain back sufferers. “It’s as simple as spreading your legs just a little bit, slowly inching your way down, and trying to grab your shoes or put your hand on the floor. Hang out in that position for 30-45 seconds, breathe through your belly, and give your back muscles a chance to relax. It’s going to be safe for most people.”

For this reason, you might want to choose the aisle seat the next time you book a flight, particularly if you want to get up without disturbing your seatmates.

Also, if you plan to grab or place your bag in an overhead bin, Dircksen compares the movement to a power clean, a common lift you might spot at the gym; to avoid over-extending the back and placing pressure on the back, lift with your knees and brace your core so you won’t experience any pain.

Read More

How to Survive Sitting on a Long Flight was last modified: June 1st, 2019 by Soren Dreier
0 comment
previous post
The Birth of the Spiritual Warrior
next post
Every Spring, An Idyllic Iranian Town Turns Fields of Roses Into Rose Water

Recent Posts – Dreier

  • Karma: The Man Who Couldn’t Let Go

    November 6, 2019

Most Read This Week

  • On the Other Side of Selfish

    February 28, 2019
  • The Birth of the Spiritual Warrior

    May 31, 2019
  • Astral Spiders Looking For a Home

    November 17, 2015
  • Ancient Love

    December 29, 2017
  • Light is the Spirit – Dense is the Flesh

    January 3, 2018

Trending

  • Light is the Spirit – Dense is the Flesh

    January 3, 2018
  • What We Get Wrong About Time

    December 4, 2019
  • Mastering the Art of Getting What You Want

    December 3, 2019
  • Climate and the Money Trail

    December 4, 2019
  • Ketamine is a ‘Rapid-Fire’ Treatment for Depression?

    December 21, 2017
  • Time to Take a Chance?

    December 5, 2019

Chopra

  • Finding Your Way to Gratitude

    December 2, 2019
  • A New, Improved Reality Depends on You

    May 6, 2019
  • Trading In the Afterlife for One Life

    July 22, 2019
  • The Most Popular Model of Reality Is Wrong

    November 20, 2019
  • Three Impossible Things We Can’t Do Without

    May 21, 2019

Tales of Tao

  • Tales of Tao: Forfeiting the Chance to Become Immortal

    March 30, 2019
  • Tales of Tao: The Mule

    July 11, 2019
  • The Cosmic Now

    June 21, 2019
  • Tales of Tao: To Nobody

    March 29, 2019
  • The Mountain Deity and His Guard Wolf

    May 17, 2019

Categories

© 2019 - Soren Dreier


Back To Top