Travel Troubles

So, I work for a company called Vandalia Consulting who owns West Virginia Junior College, Pennsylvania Institute of Health and Technology and Ohio Valley College of Technology. I am the Regional Director of Career Management which means I travel to these campuses quite a bit to work with employees in the Career Management Department to make sure our students are ready for job searching and to start their careers when they finish our programs. (No lie, we have some of the best career services, especially for small campuses, that I have EVER seen!)

The main point I want to focus on in my little job description that I have included is: Travel.

Sometimes when I sit in a car for a long time or fly somewhere, I don't realize that I might be leaning on a certain joint, keeping my legs bent too long or simply just not changing positions enough. The stress on those specific joints ends up throwing me into a total flare that evening or during the night and it makes it so hard to accomplish what I need to do while being out of town! 

Here are a few tips for travel to minimize your risk of a flare:

1. Take breaks during your trip to get out and stretch
2. Pay attention to the way you are sitting - if you are leaning on your center console or on your door, make sure you change positions throughout the trip
3. Leave early enough that you aren't speeding or hurrying - this can lead to tense driving like gripping the steering wheel harder or sitting leaned forward which can cause joint pain
4. Get plenty of rest before your trip and the night you arrive so your joints have time to recover
5. Pack an ice pack or heating pad just in case you have a flare once you've arrived
6. Pack lightly or make multiple trips to carry items into your hotel or where you are staying - don't overload your arms with bags and strain something that could lead to a flare!