Tips for traveling with chronic pain – The Mercury News

Laurie Baratti | TravelPulse (TNS)

Traveling can be a painful experience even if you’re someone who generally enjoys good health. In those ultra-cramped economy seats aboard airplanes, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’d call themselves comfortable. But, for those who suffer with chronic pain, the proposition of travel presents a myriad of extra concerns and challenges.

For some, their symptoms substantially restrict even their daily activities, so the notion of venturing outside their usual controllable environment seems almost impossible. These often-invisible afflictions can effectively incapacitate you or, at least, impede your ability to enjoy all kinds of things other people take for granted. But, with careful planning and some compensatory measures at the ready, travel isn’t necessarily off the table.

There are some things you can do to help ensure that your journey runs smoothly and minimize the discomfort of whatever mode of transportation you choose. And, while the change in your environment and routine that accompanies travel will undoubtedly challenge your body, you can do your best to prepare for likely eventualities. There may be nothing we can do about the pitch of airplane seating, but some things are still within our control.

Mentality

The first obstacle may be the lingering worry that you might experience a flare-up and find yourself unfit to travel when the departure date actually arrives, which could deter you from making plans in the first place. What if an attack comes on midtrip and you find yourself without your usual means of mitigating the symptoms? It will probably be necessary to remind yourself constantly of the benefits you’ll enjoy because of your trip — seeing friends or loved ones, experiencing new things or the singular enjoyment that comes from a change of scenery.

Planning ahead

If your budget allows, you may wish to purchase travel insurance with Cancel For Any Reason coverage, so that you can back out of your trip in case the worst-case scenario does occur. Be sure to look thoroughly into the terms of your policy, however, as some may not reimburse you 100% of your travel expenses.

Communication

If you’re traveling with companions, be transparent about your condition. The pressures of traveling, particularly in a group, can be compounded if other members of your party don’t realize that you’re in appreciable pain. With invisible ailments, it’s essential to communicate your needs and limitations to your group so that they are aware of and can accommodate your restrictions, or at least understand when you need to dip out of an activity and go rest in your room.

Reduce travel time

There are things you can do to help reduce the amount of time you spend on your travel journey, most of which involve some extra expense. You can minimize time spent standing in security screening queues by enrolling in TSA Precheck, which allows you to use a dedicated lane for expedited screening service. If possible, you’ll also want to opt for a direct flight to reduce time spent in transit and lugging your bags around multiple airports.

Pack light

Perhaps this one is intuitive (and it’s definitely easier said than done), but you’ll want to pack as lightly as possible. Hauling around a heavy suitcase can easily aggravate your chronic pain condition, and the walk between your car and the airport or hotel room can quite suddenly seem very arduous. Of course, ensure you’ve got a suitcase with wheels to make things easier. If possible, you could consider shipping bulky items directly to your destination. There are companies like Luggage Free, Send My Bag and Lugless that deliver directly to your accommodations.

Bring comfort items

Packing lightly can sometimes prove challenging given my next tip, which is that you pack items that keep you comfortable while both awake and asleep. If you need to stuff a special pillow, heating or cooling pads into a larger suitcase, by all means, do it. Perhaps you need to bring along certain food or snack items that help minimize inflammation. CBD products can be brought aboard airplanes as long as the THC content is no higher than 0.3% (and you are flying between states or countries where it’s legal).