Staying healthy whilst on the road is a challenge for
any traveller. Those on the road often face challenges
of who to turn to, what to do, where to find help. It’s a
dilemma for all of us, so what can we do?
Experienced long-distance travellers Suzie and Kel-
vin Prevett know what it means to be faced with such
challenges, together they’ve created a resource to help
fellow travellers stay healthy and offer help through a
website called Overlander Health.
“Overlander health is a website to help travellers
look for tried and tested health professionals all over
the world,” explains Suzie, herself a professional in
the health industry. Overlander Health also includes
articles on all aspects of looking after yourself includ-
ing significant information on stretching, exercising,
as well as travel and medical insurance.
“We like to promote discussion about staying
healthy ‘on the road’ through the Facebook group (@
OverlanderHealth),” Suzie continues. “We encourage
people to ask health related travel questions.”
Suzie is a registered and chartered physiotherapist
in the United Kingdom, with a special interest in mus-
culoskeletal health, injury prevention and health pro-
motion. Various other qualifications mean she knows
what she is talking about and is a wealth of knowledge.
“I write about various ways in which people can look
after their bodies whilst travelling,” she adds. “I feel
this is important when you’re on the road all of the
time.”
Overlander Health has an impressive database of
health professionals from around the world, compiled
by fellow travellers who recommend the services
through their own experiences; doctors, dentists, hos-
pitals, even vets.
“There didn’t seem to be much out there about
health in the Overlander community,” Suzie explains
the formation of Overlander Health. “So, it seemed
like a good little project to get stuck into.”
In fact, Overlander Health was born due to a mo-
torcycle breakdown in Huaraz in Northern Peru and
while waiting for parts to arrive the idea “popped” into
Suzie’s head. “There are worse places to be stranded”
she laughs.
“Motion is lotion,” Suzie laughs. It’s not a phrase she
coined but one she, and the physiotherapy world live
by, as created by Australians David Butler and Lorimer
Moseley.
“The human body thrives on movement and hates
to be kept still for hours on end,” she continues. “As
overlanders we’re generally an active bunch however
quite often people sit in their vans or on their bikes for
a very long time, maybe longer if the weather is awful
and don’t necessarily do a lot to keep their joints supple
or their muscles strong and flexible.
“It’s crazy how fast things deteriorate and even after
the age of 30, we start to lose a scary amount of muscle
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