Why Does Everything Hurt After Holiday Travel? A Physical Therapist's Survival Guide
You survived the airport. Your suitcase somehow gained 14 pounds between your house and the gate, you spent three hours in a seat built for someone roughly the size of a 12-year-old, and by the time you landed, your lower back hurt. Or you drove eight hours to see family, and your hips haven't changed position since Charlotte.
If long car rides, flights, or a different bed leave you with back pain, hip pain, or stiffness, there's usually a reason, and it's usually less dramatic than "my back is bad" or "my hips are too tight." So what has your body actually been through?
Is Sitting Bad for Your Back?
We've been told sitting is the new smoking and that bad posture is wrecking our spines. Sitting on its own is fine for most people. Staying in one position for hours with very little movement is where stiffness and discomfort show up. The reality is that the sitting position is not the enemy; rather it's sitting for prolonged periods of time.
Think about a normal day. You stand, sit, walk, bend, reach, and take stairs without thinking about it. Now picture a six-hour drive where you're in one position the whole time while arguing with your GPS and passing snacks to the backseat. Your body likes variety. After hours in one position, muscles and joints can stiffen up, and moving is usually what loosens them again. Your best posture is probably your next posture, so skip the hunt for one perfect sitting position and move around.
Why Does My Lower Back Hurt After Driving?
Driving is more than just sitting. You're staying relatively still, one foot is working the pedals, your hips stay in the same position, and your seat may not fit your body well. It also pitches you into a slouched position with a somewhat active posterior chain (think calves/hammies/glutes). Then add everything else that comes with travel: you carried luggage downstairs, loaded the car, sat for hours, unloaded the car, carried the bags inside, and then helped bring in whatever other random things you have to bring for holiday travel (pack and play, folding tables, etc).
By the end of the day, your back has done a lot. A sore back or tailbone after a day like that is usually your body responding to a very unusual day.
Do I Need Perfect Posture While I'm Driving?
Nope! Please don't spend six hours gripping the steering wheel while holding your spine in whatever you think perfect posture looks like. You'll be miserable by Spartanburg. I'd much rather you walk around at a rest stop.
Get reasonably comfortable instead. Adjust the seat so you can reach the pedals and steering wheel without straining, and use lumbar support if it feels good. Change your position when you safely can. Use the cruise control for long distances.
And when you stop for gas, food, or the bathroom? Get out of the car. Walk around for a few minutes, move your hips, and stretch if it feels good. A few minutes of walking can do wonders.
What About Flights?
Airplanes give you even fewer options: a tiny seat, limited leg room, and a tray table about four inches from your body. Do what you can. If you can safely stand and walk on a longer flight, great. However, that's often not as easy as we wish it was. So you can shift positions, move your ankles and legs, and change how you're sitting when the chance comes up. Your airplane seat is never going to be ergonomic, so aim for movement and variety.
Let's Talk About the 48-Pound Suitcase
You finally arrive, and now the suitcase has to come out of the trunk or down from the overhead bin. This is usually where someone tells you, "Lift with your legs and never bend your back." Your spine is built to bend, and your back isn't made of glass. What matters is the load, your current capacity, how you're moving, and what your body is used to.
If you strength train regularly, a suitcase is probably a normal day. If you haven't lifted anything heavier than your purse in six months and you're suddenly wrestling a 48-pound suitcase overhead in an airplane aisle, your body is going to notice. Use both hands, get close to what you're lifting, and ask for help when something is too heavy. One little trick is also to move a little before grabbing the suitcase. Even something as simple as a few seated cat/cow/pelvic tilt type movements can get some blood flowing and prepare the body to handle a load a little better than just hopping up from a static position held for hours on end.
And Then You Sleep in the Guest Bed
You finally arrive, only to find you're sleeping on a mattress your in-laws bought sometime in the 90s. You wake up stiff, and it's tempting to blame the mattress (now let's be honest, a 30-plus-year-old mattress is in fact quite blamable). However, a new bed, a different sleeping position, hours of travel, more sitting than usual, and carrying luggage can all leave you feeling stiff and sore on their own, too. Get up, walk around, take a shower, and move your back and hips. Give your body some time before you decide the guest bed ruined your spine. That said, old mattresses can still play a role, so use these tools to navigate that over your trip (and then remind your in-laws that mattresses really shouldn't be old enough to have a mortgage or pay taxes).
Should I Stretch My Back?
If stretching feels good, go for it. The bigger idea is movement variety. After a long stretch of sitting, you can stand, walk, gently bend and rotate, or move your hips, whatever feels comfortable. There's no magic travel stretch, no matter what your feed says. The key is finding what feels good for your body!
Don't Forget About Strength
This is the less exciting answer, and it applies long after the holidays are over. If you want your body to handle sitting, lifting luggage, walking through airports, carrying kids, and climbing stairs, getting stronger helps. Strength training builds your capacity for the demands you put on your body, and the best time to build it is before the trip.
Your plan might include squats, hinges, rows, presses, carries, and step-ups, depending on where you are and what you want to do, and lifting heavy is part of that. The exact exercises matter less than having a plan and progressing it over time.
Your Pelvic Floor Is Coming on the Road Trip Too
Holiday travel changes bladder and bowel habits too. You might drink less so you don't have to stop every hour, hold your bladder to make good time, or find your bowels won't cooperate unless you're within 20 feet of your own bathroom. Changes in hydration, movement, routine, and food can all affect how things work, not to mention the fact that traveling and the holidays also have the potential for adding extra stress and tensing your body as a result. Try not to cut back on water to avoid stops, and don't make a habit of ignoring strong urges for hours. Holding it to make good time doesn't do your pelvic floor any favors. A good range to aim for is stopping for a break every 2-4 hours.
When Is Travel Pain Worth Getting Checked Out?
Feeling stiff after six hours in a car isn't surprising. If you get out, move around, and gradually feel better, your body is probably just responding to a long stretch of sitting and an unusual day. A little soreness after a few unusual days is a normal response, and it usually settles as you get back to moving.
If every road trip leaves you hurting for days, sitting regularly causes significant back or hip pain, you're avoiding travel because of symptoms, or pain is getting in the way of work, exercise, sleep, or daily life, get it evaluated. Not every symptom is musculoskeletal, either. New or severe symptoms, significant weakness or numbness, or changes in bowel or bladder control need medical attention.
Sometimes the answer really is, "You sat in a car for seven hours, go walk around." However, when the pain keeps showing up, we want to understand why and we want to do something about it.
The Short Version
Before you leave for Grandma's house: change positions when you can, walk at rest stops and during longer flights, keep drinking water, pack what you need without overstuffing that suitcase, and take a short walk when you arrive before you sit on another couch for four hours. If travel keeps causing significant pain, that's useful information and I want to hear more about it.
Looking for Physical Therapy in Greenville, SC?
If back pain after driving, hip pain from sitting, or stiffness after travel keeps getting in the way of trips, work, workouts, or everyday life, Fortis Physical Therapy & Pelvic Health provides individualized orthopedic physical therapy in Greenville, South Carolina. We want to figure out why something keeps bothering you and build your body up to handle the things you actually want to do.
Our Fortis Performance program may be an excellent fit for you (and it's open to folks beyond Greenville).
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season! If you find aches, pains, or other unwanted symptoms present during your Thanksgiving or Christmas travels, come see us! Book your discovery call and we'll get you ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my back hurt after driving for a long time?
Long periods of driving keep your body in a relatively similar position for an extended time. Reduced movement, seat position, previous pain, strength, mobility, and the additional demands of travel may all contribute to lower back pain or stiffness after driving.
Why do my hips hurt after sitting for a long time?
Your hips may feel stiff or uncomfortable after prolonged sitting because they have remained in a similar position for an extended period. Movement, strength, mobility, previous injuries, and other musculoskeletal factors may also contribute to persistent hip pain after sitting.
Is sitting bad for your back?
Sitting itself isn't automatically harmful. For many people, spending long periods in one position without much movement can contribute to stiffness or discomfort. Changing positions and incorporating movement throughout the day can help.
What helps back pain during a long car ride?
Adjusting your seat for comfort, changing positions when possible, taking movement breaks, walking during stops, and using lumbar support if it feels comfortable may help. If long car rides consistently cause significant back pain, a physical therapist can assess what may be contributing.
Should I stretch during holiday travel?
Stretching can be helpful if it feels good, but there isn't one required travel stretch. Walking, changing positions, gently moving your hips and spine, and incorporating general movement can all provide useful variety after prolonged sitting.
Can physical therapy help with back pain from driving or sitting?
Yes! Physical therapy can evaluate factors such as strength, mobility, movement patterns, sitting tolerance, previous injuries, and other musculoskeletal issues that may contribute to recurring back or hip pain during prolonged sitting or travel.
Where can I find physical therapy for back or hip pain in Greenville, SC?
Fortis Physical Therapy & Pelvic Health provides individualized orthopedic and pelvic health physical therapy in Greenville, South Carolina. Treatment is based on your symptoms, movement, lifestyle, activities, and goals.
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