THE ART OF BEAUTY 105
People often get neck and low back pain from when they fall asleep with their head in a severely bent position or when they continuously cross their legs and lean on an armrest , as it bends the back and causes you to compress one side and overstretch the other .
There are many conditions that could give rise to shoulder pain when flying but the most common is a condition known as Supraspinatus Tendonitis – an inflammation of one of a group of muscles known as the rotator cuff that surrounds the shoulder joint . It is an inflammatory condition , and pain is the end result , so if you are affected by it make sure you also carry some painkillers and / or anti inflammatories in case of emergency .
Generally , the best thing to do is to move as much as possible , as this helps with circulation and causes you to contract and relax your muscles so that any fluids do not get stagnant and this also gives you a little exercise at the same time . For the lower body , perform in-seat exercises like ankle circles / pumps , knee extensions , glute squeezes as this will help to pump the muscles and give them a little workout . Hold these squeezes for at least 10 seconds at a time for maximum results .
Get up and walk around the plane , as sitting for prolonged periods is not great for the back . Walking around allows you to move and get a stretch in the legs in the aisle . You can stretch the quads by bending the foot back to the butt and the calves . Stand with one foot in front of the other to feel the stretch in the back of the lower leg .
You can also do upper body stretches in your seat . For triceps , bring the arm overhead , bend the elbow and then pull the elbow to the side . For the back of the shoulder , bring the arm across the body and pull it across further with the other arm .
And for the abdominals , reach both arms straight overhead and stretch up and back . Any sort of movement is better than none , so these are easy to do without infringing on other passengers .
In cars , there is a little more space so sometimes people sit on their feet or put their feet up which rounds the lower back . This can cause disc-related pain as the flexed position is not healthy for the spine . Make sure you make a pit stop once an hour to get out and stretch helps to counteract the effects of sitting with poor posture . Similar to sitting at your desk , it is recommended to stop and get out of the car every hour . Do backward bends by placing the hands on the hips and moving the head and shoulders backward behind the pelvis to counteract the poor sitting posture .
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Issue 57 2023 THE ART OF LUXURY