How Two Chiropractors Actually Do a Road Trip

Five hours in a car will find every weak spot in your spine.

We recently drove to Indianapolis this summer, and we've done enough long drives at this point to know exactly how our bodies feel when we've arrived. Sitting for hours-long stretches loads your back, shortens your hip flexors, and pulls your head forward toward the windshield without you ever noticing it happen. Then you get out at a gas station, feel stiff (at best), blame it on the drive, and get back in to continue the trip.

So, to help with all of that, we plan for it. Here's what actually comes with us.

Real Food, starting with the cooler

We pack grass fed beef sticks and fruit leathers, along with whatever fruits and nuts we have in the house. It's not complicated, and that's the point. The goal is to have something that we can just grab and still feel good about, because the alternative is 400 miles of gas station decisions, and those decisions get worse the longer you've been driving.

We book a Place with a Kitchen

This is one that surprises people. When we travel, we make sure our hotel has a fridge, or we book an AirBnb with a full kitchen. After unpacking the car, we find the nearest grocery store to go shopping. We make most of our own meals for the trip and only go out once or twice for the fun of it.

It keeps us from ending the week feeling like a different person than the one who left and it costs less. It only takes about twenty minutes of planning on the front end.

Water and Electrolytes

Surprisingly, long drive can be quite dehydrating. You're in dry, recirculated air for hours, likely drinking less to reduce the number of bathroom stops, and your body is stuck in one position the entire time.

Hydration supports the discs in your spine which rely on fluid to help handle the load. It

also helps your muscles holding you upright in you car seat. Plain water is a good place to start, but electrolytes help your body hold onto the water, so we bring both.

A Neck Pillow isn't an Afterthought

Between hours in a car seat and a pillow you've never met, your neck takes a real beating on a trip. We travel with our fitted Pillowise Pillow ever single time. It might be a tad bulky and a little silly walking through the hotel lobby, but it's worth it. Avoiding stiffness on day one sets the tone for the rest of the week.

A Lacrosse Ball and Shoes we can Actually Walk in

The lacrosse ball is one of the cheapest things in our bag, easiest to pack, and does the most. Ten minutes with it agains a wall, working from your glutes, through your low back, and in between your shoulder blades takes the edge off a long drive in ways that stretching alone, doesn't.

For all the ball does, sneakers matter more. The best thing you can do for your back on a road trip is to get out of the car and move. Our rule is to get up and walking, at a minimum, every couple of hours. Not just a lap around the gas pump, but a least 5 minutes moving. And, while you're up, do a few exercises to help fight the structural burdens of the trip

The One we Never Skip

We get adjusted before we leave and again when we get back.

That's not a habit we picked because it's convenient for two chiropractors to say. Travel puts real, sustained load on your spine. If your structure is already shifted before you get in the car, six hours of sitting is only going to make those areas worse. Going into the trip with your spine moving well means you're starting from a higher baseline. And, coming back in afterward means we can catch what the trip did before it turns into a bigger problem.

If your body doesn't bounce back from a trip the way it used to...

That's worth paying attention to. When a long drive leaves you sore for days, or a flight sets off a headache and low back pain, or you get home from vacation feeling worse than when you left, that's usually not the trip's fault. It's just exposing something that was already there.

At Ignite Chiropractic in Urbandale, we look at the structure of your spine and how it's affecting your nervous system. We use objective tools so you can see what's going on and so we're not guessing.

If travel keeps knocking you sideways, reach out and we can take a look.

Ignite Chiropractic 3987 100th Street, Urbandale, IA 50322 - 515-278-9678 - Book a Complimentary Consultation.