Healthy travelling habits

Welcome to the summary of our course for frequent travelers!

We mainly discussed two postural hazards: 

• prolonged sitting posture (in part. in the public transports), often slouched due to bad seats,
• neck strain due to excessive use of laptops, tablets and smartphones (aggravated by uncomfortable seats). 

To protect your back, we mentioned the following ideas:

• stand at least 15 min before boarding and stand in the transfer bus,
• book an aisle seat so that you can frequently stand up (once to twice per hour),
• always travel with a piece of anti-slip mat to sit on, and recreate a lumbar support with a rolled pullover or scarf behind your belt,
• standing, rest your belt against the wall (not the shoulder blades),
• limit high heels on the day of the travel, and insert padded soles in the shoes that you wear when you stand for long.

To protect your neck:

• whenever possible (e.g., at the hotel), use a detached, slim and compact keyboard as well as an external mouse (avoid mini mouses). Raise the laptop screen when using them (top of the screen 10° below eye level),
• increase the frequency of short breaks when you work on mobile screens,
• do not work on less relevant assignments when ergonomics is bad,
• prefer calls and vocal messages (e.g., Whatsapp) to mails.

Below, a relaxation routine to be done several times per day, even if bit by bit.

Finally, this is an exercise  to reinforce your mid-back muscles (ideally done in the morning and early afternoon). Choose one of these two positions, and push your mid-back forward without hollowing your lower back (the actual movement is minimal: you should mainly feel muscular tension). Then, increase the power of the exercise by gently forcing the elbows backwards and downwards, without actually moving them. Hold for a minute while breathing deeply.