Tips to make Travelling more comfortable

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

Few days back my mother who had travelled about 10hrs was complaining of pain in in her knee and back.Though she had comfortable seating, she had aggravated osteoarthritis.

The other day I was on my way back from my native in a Luxury bus which had good ergonomically designed seats. When the bus stopped inbetween for refreshments I came out of out the bus and did some stretching for my back and neck. The passenger next to me asked me wether I had some problem in my back and commented that he was quite happy with the seat.I replied,"Friend, it is not bacause I have a problem, but it is to avoid some serious problems that may occur later."

From the two above said incidents, I want to emphasise on the importance of maitaining mobility during a long journey to avoid several complications.

To understand things in a better way one should have a brief idea about the nature of muscles and joints in the body. Muscles have the ability to function with very good control from nerves system. This happens due to the smooth movement of muscle filaments that glide over each other with a good amount of blood supply for nutrition.Ligaaments are other support structures seen around the joints which have lesser blood supply and good elasticity as compared to the muscles. Each joint in the body has a capsular covering and a fluid(synovial fluid) for lubrication. The movements within the joint stimulate its production as well as disposal of excess fluid back to the blood through the blood vessels. If there is any alteration in this normal mechanism due to under use or over use , it may result in pain.

Complications that may arise following a prolonged bus journey are:

• Joint pains
• Swelling of the feet( gravitational oedema, common in the eldery)
• Stiffness in the neck and back
• Numbness of the hands and feet
• Nausea or the urge to vomit

Joint pains can be caused due to reduced movement of the same by which lubrication becomes less amd joints also will be in a stationary state which can make the soft tissues like ligaments around the joints to tighten and can increase pain especially in artharitic joints where already the joint space is compramised. In order to prevent this it is highly essential that the joint mobility is maintained so that the blood circulation is improved and will make the soft tissues more viable.

Swelling of the feet may be due to the decreased tension or strength in the lower limb muscles especially the calf muscle which plays a major role in pumping blood back to the heart.This can be solved by doing the ankle pumps or by moving the ankle and feet up and down.

Stiffness on the postural muscles happens due to continuous weight load for longer time. Usually the seats in a luxury bus have good ergonomic design to support the curvature of the back including the neck so that the body weight will be evenly distributed to the seats through the prominence on the seats. The seats will be of standard size and a short person may find it difficult to get support from the neck cushion which is a convexity at the top portion of the seat. This will lead to unequal weight distribution at the neck and lower back because of difference in supporting contours. This can be corrected by keeping a towel rolled at the back of the neck if possible at lower back also so that the difference will be corrected. Some stretching movements should be done whenever possible for the back and neck.

Numbness occurs due to the reduced blood supply to the nerve mainly situated at the pressure bearing areas. By maintaing free movements for the limbs, this can be avoided.

Nausea or vomiting is a very common problem faced by passengers while going for a long journey. The reason for this beyond the scope of this article. you can greatly reduce this problem by doing regular deep breathing exercises.

Hope this article will help to make your journey much more comfortable here after.