Common Sense Advice On Handling Most Joint Injuries On Your Own – [Part 2 of 2]

In Part 1 of handling most joint injuries on your own I emphasized the importance of self-administering first aid within the first 48 hours. Taking care of an injury immediately after it occurs the right way, in large part determines how long you’ll be able to travel with ease again.

Once you’ve done that now you can start pampering yourself and making sure that your injury heals all the way.

4. Stretch

Start slowly moving the injured joint in all of its natural directions with controled movements. At the first sign of pain stop your stretch and carefully move your joint back to rest. In the first 48 hours you want to stop blood flow to the injury sight, after this time you want blood to move freely to clean out scar tissue and prevent the joint from getting stiff.

5. Massage

Gently massage the muscles in and around the joint. This helps promote blood flow and release endorphins, a natural pain killer. Besides it feels good and can be shared if you’re traveling with a loved one or family. Remember, don’t do anything that causes pain and listen to your body, which brings me to my next point.

6. Don’t Overdo It!

Listen to your body! If something hurts don’t do it. If you just feel that you are limited by your injury or just can’t do everything you’ve planned, than don’t. I am one to push myself through most anything – I’ve had quite a resume of injuries – but a lingering injury that will hurt for months or years down the road isn’t worth it. You may end up doing more harm and need some serious treatment.

The Goal Is 100%

Aim to get your injury manageable enough to get going again but keep treating yourself until completely healed. Don’t neglect your bum shoulder or ankle just because it isn’t aching anymore. Often ligaments and tendons, which receive poor blood supply, take weeks or months to heal fully. Stop taking care of them (stretching, massage, and listening to your body) and you increase your chances of re-injury or chronic pain down the line.

Take care of yourself and your body will take care of you for many more travels to come!

[photos by: hey mr glen, thomasvanhoff, _Ina_]

Common Sense Advice On Handling Most Joint Injuries On Your Own – [Part 1 of 2]

A severe grade II ankle sprain last week, a couple of years of training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and lifetime of being physically active wherever I am, has taught me a thing or two about getting hurt. A few broken noses, fractured ribs, and countless sprains, pulls, to name some. Some of these (broken nose, ribs) I discovered years later since I never went to the doctor for any of them.

I’m not reckless, clumsy, or a masochist, but have had to rely on a number of books and my instincts because many times I wasn’t near a reliable doctor or hospital. Traveling can easily put you in a situation where you can’t find, afford, or want the local medical assistance.

None of these tips aren’t going to cure all ailments, replace professional medical advice, or be especially surprising for many of you. These general steps in Part 1, and Part 2 Monday, will help you evaluate your injury and get you healing faster and back to traveling – or at least until you can get to a doctor.

1. Evaluate

The instant you get hurt and recover from the initial pain, take a moment to listen to your body. Don’t shake a hurting joint or immediately pop up from a fall. Check to make sure no bones are protruding (indicating a break) and slowly determine the range of motion you have in the joint. More than pain, range of motion will tell you how bad the injury is. (Sprains and muscle injuries can damage nerves so you won’t feel much soon after getting hurt.)

2. The First 48 Hours

How you handle an injury immediately after suffering it and the ensuing 48 hours will largely determine how fast you’ll  be able to recover. Don’t mess around or try to do too much in order to stick to your 8 minute travel plan or squeeze in one more site as you hobble around.

3. Feed Your Injury R.I.C.E.

R.I.C.E. stands for rest, ice, compress, and elevate. One of your body’s responses to injury and effects of broken blood vessels is swelling. Swelling and inflammation cause the joint to be rigid and take your body work longer to clean out debris and ultimately heal. The faster you can control and reduce  swelling by applying ice the better. Remember, the more you swell, the slower you heal. Wrap you joint with a small travel essential sock if you’ve got nothing else handy and keep it 6 inches above your heart as long as you can.

An additional note that while you’re eating rice, try to avoid alcohol. It will increase swelling and bruising.

Don’t Neglect The First 2 Days

That doesn’t mean you aren’t tough (for those of you with pride issues or simply hate unexpected events throwing off your plans) for taking care of an injury. No one is made of steal and the faster you accept this and begin first aid the quicker you’ll heal and be back to hiking, hitchhiking the outback, or strolling around Stanford.

In Part 2 Monday I’ll go over some basic quick rehab to perform during and after the critical first 48 hours to manage your discomfort and get back to 100% again.

[photos by: zoomar, Pete Lanbert, u m a m i]

Turkish Remedies For Preventing An Upset Stomach

The Turks are very paranoid about upset stomachs and have a number of natural remedies to prevent them. As I child was given old advice on preventing a bad stomach which (apparently) can cause a wide number of ailments, including bad sperm and headaches – or throw your plans off on a vacation.

Only some of these are backed by science, and the others may just be old wives tales but won’t hurt to try especially if you’ve got a sensitive stomach.

Keep Your Feet Warm

Don’t walk on cold surfaces, tile, or bare floors without putting something on your feet to keep them warm. The standard recommendation is slippers although shoes or socks will do, they are sub par. Apparently cold feet can cause an upset stomach (and bad sperm) so make sure to bundle up on flights as well. I couldn’t find any scientific data to back up this claim, but you’ve got my mom’s word for it.

Eat Yogurt

Although the jury is out on cold feet and stomach aches there is a lot of evidence to support the health and tummy benefits of yogurt. Eating yogurt regularly replenishes the beneficial bacteria that lives in your stomach and intestines. A good way to stay regular, avoid traveler’s constipation, and reduce the effects of lactose intolerance.

Don’t Mix Hot and Cold Food Or Drinks

There is some anecdotal evidence to support this advice but many more questions. The old saying goes that it’s hard on the stomach to drink very hot or cold liquids right after each other. Like having some ice cream immediately after a hot bowl of soup. It’s probably a good idea not to eat or drink very cold things too fast since it can cause the “ice cream effect” otherwise known as a headache; but there’s no scientific evidence that shows mixing hot and cold causes stomach aches.

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Hone Stress To Improve Your Travels

Focus the stress that traveling can introduce into your life and turn it into a way to make your travels even better. Stress from being stuck at the airport, baggage fees, or not knowing the local language can not only age you quickly but also kill the fun no matter where you are.

Rather that letting these stresses throw you off (like making some rather confusing spelling mistakes) use the natural energy stress provides to improve your travels – which will reduce your stress at the same time.

Walk It Off

Traveling, ironically, involves a lot of sitting on your butt. Stress raises your blood pressure, leading to headaches that can be relieved with a simple walk down an airplane isle, around the block, or a swim in the hotel pool. To motivate yourself to get up, don’t just wander around aimlessly – set yourself a goal. Perhaps a distance (like the other end of an airport), a number of times up and down the train aisle, or the pub around the corner (my personal favorite).

• Walking is one of 3 fun things to do at the airport if you’ve got some extra time.
• Walking can help reduce your travelers constipation.
• Walking is one of the ways to prevent the development of blood clots in your legs that are caused by sitting for prolonged periods.

Focus Your Ideas

Stress gets our minds going, except that it usually fills it up with junk. Using just a tiny amount of will power you can use this mental burst to thunderstorm some ideas on where to go, some places to add to your itinerary, or just be spontaneous and harmonize with your busy schedule.

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Plan To Avoid Travelers’ Constipation

A little over a week ago I gave you a description of the 5 major culprits that cause travelers’ constipation when you leave home to travel.

Don’t worry if you can’t potty either, 77% of travelers have occasional digestive discomfort – but with good planning you can be like our cat friend in the photo and mark your territory anywhere.

Begin By Planning Ahead

Spend 2-3 days before your trip to get your entire digestive system, from your brain to your butt ready to travel.

• Shift Your Mealtimes a Bit – Try to adjust to the mealtimes of a new time zone, or business trip schedule by eating when you will eating. You can also use peanuts to shift your body clock by a few hours.
• Eat More Fiber - Load up on these foods with the highest fiber per serving. The list includes avocados, raspberries, and brown rice.
• RELAX, RELAX, RELAX! - Your state of mind has a big impact on your digestive system and stress makes it more sensitive. SO RELAX!

While In Transit

• Drink Plenty of Water - Add an extra glass per alcoholic or caffeinated drink.

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Ever Wonder Why You Get Constipated When Traveling?

It seems that once you hit the road, in the first few hours you get an uncontrollable urge to poop, but then your behind goes on strike. It can be very frustrating, but ever wonder why it happens?

After my recent experience with this on an 8-hour road trip across from South Carolina to Washington D.C., I decided to find out. It turns out there are 5 main culprits that prevent you from taking shits pooping.

The First 24 Hours

Stress - Many of the other aggravates listed below are directly related, and it’s what causes the initial “emptying phase”. Stress increases the sensitivity of the digestive track and the body responds by releasing the contents. After this initial phase, your body goes into a survival mode, slowing down digestion since it is energy consuming, it becomes less of a priority.

The 5 Main Culprits of Travelers’ Digestion

1. Shifting Mealtimes - Your internal body clock is mainly regulated by your liver. Traveling changes eating schedules throwing your (daily) circadian rhythms out of whack. Moving across time zones has the same effect compounding the problem.
2. Eating Junk - Airports, gas stations, and coffee houses don’t generally offer high-fiber, high-water content, low calorie foods. Aside from eating more because you’re off a regular eating schedule, stress increases cravings for sweet, flavorful, and high calorie starches.

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Does Traveling Age You?

The other day radio personality Howard Stern attributed much of the youth and longevity in his family to the lack of travel. The “shock jock” known for more outrageous statements claimed that radiation, stress, and germs among other things caused frequent travelers to grow older.

I became very interested in the concept, since I’ve always held the belief that travel brings youth and vigor by stimulating the mind. I decided to put some of Howard Stern’s claims to the test to settle the argument one way or another.

Radiation While In Flight

Earth’s atmosphere protects us from solar, stellar, and magnetic radiation from the cosmos and is less dense the further we get from the surface. The logic goes that the higher up we are, the more radiation we are exposed to, damaging our cells and ultimately aging our bodies. A study [pdf] by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on pregnant women found that while flying does expose us to more radiation than at sea level, an average high-dose flight only exposes a human body to 15% of the maximum dosage for a 24 hour period.

• The study did find however that the levels of radiation increase to potentially dangerous levels during some solar-energetic particle events. Travelers, especially pregnant women should monitor the Space Weather Prediction Alerts website.

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Develop Your Travel Efficiency and Harmonize Your Planning and Spontaneity

Travelers who are ridged in their planning tend to miss out on spontaneous new opportunities and experiences, while those that jump in to a trip get stuck doing only a few things. We all fall on toward one end of the spectrum or another, but the smart traveler knows how to balance their tendencies and maximize their travel efficiency.

Travel efficiency is the amount of travel experience you get vs. the total time spent traveling or overhead (like planning). No matter if you’re a planner or an aimless student you can use these rules to work in harmony with your preparation habits and increase your travel efficiency.

• Plan Ahead – The time you have before you actually begin your journey is yours to spend. Planners can take as much time as they want plotting out the sights and places they’d like to visit. The more spontaneous crowd can look for bargains or network with other travelers during this time.

Planners: Make sure that you leave at least 20% of your trip open for new ideas or events. Fill in this time only after you arrive at your destination. If you can’t fill it in, relax using your favorite method (i.e. beach, nap, bar).

Spontaneous: Do a tiny bit of research with some Google hacking and pick 3 things (per week) that you really want to do. Getting somewhere without any clue will waste a day or two in a hotel or wandering, especially if you can’t get information or Internet easily.

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Airline Food Health Ratings

The Diet Detectives have rated the airlines on the nutrition of their meals and both United and Continental scored high. The results of the research rate each airline on the number or calories, best options, and their willingness to share the information.

Since last year??s survey, Delta increased its score, but United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue and US Airways all dropped slightly in the ratings.

My grip is that you have to pay separately for food on most US airlines, regardless of the length of the flight. If you’re curious, you can see what your next airline meal looks like beforehand or get your meal faster by ordering kosher (which may be better for the environment).

[photo by: wmliu]

Hotel Glasses Cleaned With Windex Only

Make sure to rinse and wash glasses and mugs you find in hotel rooms before you use them. An undercover investigation found that they were not cleaned properly or at all in many cases.

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