Do you love to spend your holidays exploring the great outdoors or being more active than you are normally?
If so, it’s important to prepare properly to prevent any unwanted injuries.
In this blog the health professionals at Inline Physio share a few items adventure enthusiasts should consider when preparing for an active holiday.
3 Ways to Prepare for an Active Holiday
- Pack appropriate footwear and clothing
What you wear on holidays, especially on your feet, will have a big impact on your comfort levels.
If you are going to be walking around a city seeing the sights or traversing bushland and taking in the local flora and fauna, you’re going to need adequate footwear.
You’ll need to consider arch support if you’re going to be spending a long time on your feet. We also recommend wearing in any new shoes before you leave for your holiday, to reduce the chance of blisters and aching feet.
Are you are going to a hot climate and want footwear like sandals or thongs? Our Archies Footwear Arch Support Thongs are a great alternative as they support your arch and prevent your feet from rolling in excessively and help to maintain neutral alignment of your ankle.
Joggers are also a great item to pack for holidays with a lot of walking.
If hiking is on your itinerary, our local podiatrists at The Foot Health Clinic Samford have a range of orthopaedic hiking shoes and will ensure you find the perfect fit.
Breathable, weather-resistant clothing can also help to make an adventure more enjoyable.
- Pack light
We suggest being ruthless when packing your bags, so you aren’t hauling around any unnecessary items while on your trip.
While this is especially important if you are spending a lot of your journey on foot and carrying your belongings, it’s also important for all travellers.
Why? Well, if you are lifting heavy luggage off the airport carousel or out of vehicles, and you’re not used to substantial weights you may sustain a back injury (and ruin your holiday before it’s even started!)
While our backs are strong structures and were designed to bend and lift, it’s the sudden unaccustomed loads that can trigger a pain response.
Take your time when picking up your luggage, be careful and try to use proper lifting technique.
- Prepare your body for the activity
If your holiday is based around a physical activity, like hiking or skiing, your body will need to adapt gradually in the lead up to your departure, so it can meet the demands you plan to place on it.
To prevent injury, our physiotherapists recommend working on your conditioning, fitness, and flexibility by “training” prior to an active holiday.
Lack of preparation and “priming” our muscles and tendons is one of the number one causes of conditions we see in the clinic such as heel pain, Achilles pain and knee pain.
Planning an Active Holiday?
If you’re planning an active holiday and would like some personalised advice about how to prepare your body, please get in touch with our trusted physiotherapists at Moorooka, Ashgrove and Samford today.