Helpful travel tips for chronic pain

When it comes to travel tips chronic pain it can be tough to know just how to prepare. You have to consider your medical condition, where is your trip located, whether there long flights, do you need to cart around with your heavy luggage, what kind of walking terrain will there be and what will the accommodations be like (is sight unseen).

Those are just a handful of considerations when it comes to chronic illnesses and travel. When going to new places there’s always a level of anxiety and stress (with excitement of course) but with chronic pain issues, it can be rocket fuel for these emotions.

Planning ahead is a great way to prepare for your holiday travel plans and help you feel more prepared. Let’s dive into the best things to think of ahead of time with traveling. Here are some of my helpful travel tips for those with chronic illnesses! Read below to learn more.

Pack your medications

First and foremost, it’s a good idea if you’re on any medications for your chronic illnesses to ensure that you pack them. This might take some pre-planning with a doctor’s note or physician. You may need to get prescription refills ahead of time or get a larger quantity than usually dispensed to you depending on your vacation duration. It’s a good idea to bring about 3-4 days of extra medications with me in case there are any travel delays.

As well, to not carry a bunch of large medication bottles, you can use a daily pill organizer that is small enough to fit in a carry-on bag. This allows you to only take the amount needed as opposed to packing multiple large and bulky bottles.

Check with your airlines before doing this! Some airlines need some medication to be in its original prescription identifying it’s connected to you, so double-check their requirements before using a pill organizer for your meds. 

It’s also a good idea to bring pain medication as long walks, road trips, and long flights can cause chronic pain to flare up more than usual.  Be sure to check with your airline or travel company about which medications are allowed in carry-on items or with you as you travel. 

Airports and Trains

Long distances via boats, planes, and cars can all be rough on your joints, regardless of chronic health conditions. For chronic pain sufferers, this pain often comes quickly and can last a couple of days when traveling. 

With careful planning, you can think ahead and prepare what is needed for your pain management. For example, you can pack or purchase compression socks, heating pads, cold packs, a neck pillow, extra medication, and comfortable shoes.

It’s helpful on busier travel days to ensure to plan plenty of breaks and even an extra day of rest. Planning ahead with looking to different modes of travel that would be more comfortable is also helpful especially when it comes to long periods of time. For example are you able to get a first-class set to have more legroom on a long flight? Or get a private room if you’re looking for some comfort on a long train ride?

Even planning ahead with looking to an airport lounge so you can rest comfortably before you board can be a good choice to help reduce pain if possible.

As well get you out of a busy airport which can be overwhelming. Helpful tip – planning ahead with snacks for your travels is also a great idea to ensure you are well-nourished and have reduced hunger and in pain. 

Walk and move your body often

This is one of the simplest travel tips with chronic pain – move your body often! When it comes to taking those long day trips or being on a plane, train, car, or boat for extended periods of time make sure to move! You can set a timer so that every hour you get up and move around a little bit. Even if space is limited this is one of the most effective travel tips for chronic pain.

This goes the same for if you’re taking a relaxing vacation, you know one where you sit by the pool all day? Make sure you still get up and go on a walk every so often this will help your joint and help reduce inflammation.

You can also use a TENS machine to help with muscle soreness and migraine. Be sure to bring some good shoes for walking and finding an even terrain when you can for a simple walk. Try to walk for about 10-20 minutes, every 1-2 hours when traveling. Be sure when traveling by car you include extra time in your travel plans to stop and take walking breaks.

Travel tips for chronic pain plan restaurants before leaving

Before leaving for your trip it’s helpful when traveling with a chronic condition to look ahead to places your can eat. This can help eliminate anxiety during the trip and help you plan out (possibly with others) places that align with what foods work best for you and ensure they can meet any dietary concerns you have.

Most restaurants have a lot of helpful information on their website that you can check out beforehand. This helps me to see how accessible the restaurant is and ensure it aligns with your individual health needs.

If alcohol is a trigger for your health then also keep that in mind with planning your meals.

Using luggage and bags with wheels/ light materials

Honestly, gone are the days when I’d buy some cute luggage based on its looks. Now I’m all about functionality and ensuring that it’s helping me not to need to pull a lot of weight and that it’s to move around as needed. I try to select luggage options that provide complete coverage of being wheeled and rolled so I don’t need to lift, or carry items unnecessarily. As well, I got for light cases so that when I am lifting them I am able to without stressing my joints and inflaming my chronic conditions.

For me, one of the biggest travel tips for chronic pain for me was taking my time to find my ideal carry-on. Typically a carry-on item doesn’t get checked with other luggage so you are taking it further and potentially carrying it yourself. I found a backpack with wheels that can be taken easily from my back to wheeling as needed around airports, stations, and accommodations.

Build in flexibility

I say this with all trips, build-in flexibility! It doesn’t matter if you are going for 10 days or 40 days, build in some flexibility to your schedule. It can be so easy that we get so excited about vacation and new place that we pack our schedule back to back full of fun activities (been there!). But, in reality, especially with chronic pain conditions, you want to allow flexibility. Take some time off from exploring, adventuring, sightseeing, and shopping, or build in some half days.

If you live with a chronic illness or chronic pain conditions you know illness can appear at any moment. So building in those buffers, and trying to plan for adventures and outings that can be adjusted can help keep your anxiety at bay which overall can help with reducing your stress (a common cause of health flares).

Before leaving and while scheduling I always check out cancellation policies for events and ensure I have a backup plan for things I really don’t want to miss out on. This allows me the time I need for my health (if I need it) but also provides me with less anxiety and worry knowing I have backup plans if I need them.

Travel options for more space and comfort

This is also one of my favourite travel tips for chronic pain is making yourself comfortable while traveling. This could mean a number of things, this could be as simple as trying to book an aisle seat, bumping up to business class for air travel, booking accessible or wheelchair seats (if applicable), and being on a less crowded method of transportation.

If you’re not sure which options exist for your method of travel contact your booking agent, or the travel company you’re going with to speak about the accessible options and what alternatives they suggest.

As well if you’re renting a car, if you can get a larger car than you normally would. Often when on vacation you’ll spend more time in the vehicle than normal traveling around and so giving yourself extra space and comfort can be helpful (especially when you’re doing a lot of local driving and traveling).

Insurance and emergency medical plans

One of my least favourite things to do but essential for traveling with a chronic condition. Look into travel insurance and emergency medical plans. If you become ill or require medical assistance what type of coverage do you have there and where are the closest medical facilities? As well, travel insurance is great to get in case something comes up with your health. This allows you to work with the travel company to re-book or get a refund as opposed to losing the funds you used to pay for your trip.

Make sure to also have your medical information which is helpful for medical personnel to know as your medical files may not be able to be accessed. Just a simple record of what’s helpful is good to keep digitally or physically with you. I find it helpful to get a small folder to keep all my medical documents in when I travel to stay organized.

Pack an essentials kit

Last but certainly not least in my travel tips for chronic pain list is an essential kit! This means the essentials you have at home to make you comfortable, pack a couple of those to help as needed.

For myself, my kit includes compression gloves, essential oils rollers, joint cream, migraine light-blocking glasses, wireless noise-canceling headphones, and electrolyte drink mix sticks. For me, these things are key to helping me feel better, so I pack a small bag with these items alone that can come with me on outings and help me in a pinch. I use a small makeup bag and ensure it can fit into my larger purse. What would you put into your kit?

Summary

I hope you found this post helpful in preparing for travel with chronic health conditions! Let me know in the comments what other tips you’d share with others planning for travel!