Pain in the back can be a pain in the neck; take precautions

Travel has rarely been kind to bad backs. Just the thought of long airport lines and crowded roadways can make your back muscles more tense, never mind having to schlep your own bag to the airline security inspectors.

Four out of five adults experience significant low back pain at some time, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The lower back muscles can become strained if you lift objects improperly or if the muscles are poorly conditioned or overworked. Most cases aren’t serious and respond well to simple treatments, but back pain can wreck a vacation.

To minimize the risk, pay attention to good body mechanics, remember to do your preventive back exercises and consider toting along medicine and lumbar supports that will help baby your back and ease a flare-up, experts suggest. Once at your destination, investigate on-site services that can help, such as a warm hot tub or spa or a massage.

Suitcase mechanics can help too, and that begins with not over-packing.

If you’re healthy, your packed suitcase should weigh no more than 20% of your body weight, says Dr. Scott D. Boden, professor of orthopedics and director of the Emory Spine Center at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. For a 150-pound person, that’s 30 pounds, probably less than many travelers pack.

If you have back pain, carry a lighter load. Boden instructs those with back problems to limit suitcase weight to 10 pounds if they must lift it. For everyone, rolling suitcases are best.

When you have to lift the suitcase, remember to bend at the knees, not the hips, says Boden, who is also a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Once on the plane or in the car, support your lower back. One option is lumbar support pillows. (A self-inflating back support is $35, and the Back Saver Wonder Cushion that can be scrunched and un-scrunched is $65 from Relax the Back stores, (800) 222-5728 or www.relaxtheback.com. A Comfort Lumbar Pillow is $24.85 from Magellan’s, (800) 962-4943, www.magellans.com.

“Lumbar supports do help,” says Dr. Arya Nick Shamie, co-director of the Comprehensive Spine Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

If you forgot yours, you can improvise. Grab a blanket when you board the plane, he suggests. “Roll it up in the form of a bedroll and place it in the small of your back, where the curvature is,” he says. Adjust your airplane seat as soon as it’s OK to do so, Shamie adds.

Shamie tells travelers to walk around the plane as much as possible, every hour if they can. When seated, passengers should do exercises that can keep your back feeling good. “Do pelvic tilts,” Shamie says. “Just roll your pelvis forward, and that straightens out your back. Hold it for two or three seconds and go back to a normal position. Do several repetitions.”

Exercises to strengthen the back, done regularly, can also help, but experts emphasize that you should get your doctor’s OK first. For examples, see orthoinfo.aaos.org. (Click on “Prevent Injuries,” then “Back Pain Exercises.”)

If you’re on prescription medications to ease back pain, take them along. If you’re not, you might pack over-the-counter anti-inflammatories (such as Motrin or Advil), Boden says, and use them if back pain begins, with your doctor’s approval.

Healthy Traveler appears every other week. Kathleen Doheny can be reached at kathleen doheny@earthlink.net