Does your career entail a lot of traveling by air? Jet lag is not the only malaise a frequent flier is familiar with. Being confined to a plane for endless hours can have varying effects on a person’s health and wellbeing.

If you wish to keep your health in top form when you’re constantly up in the air, take note of these six essential tips.

1. Watch Your Diet

The best way to stay healthy is to start healthy. Fill your diet with lots of antioxidant-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables. Eat healthy and help your body function at its best. Before embarking on your travels, take supplements that are known to help support your immune system like Vitamin C, Echinacea and Zinc.

2. Stay Hydrated

The air inside an airplane is notoriously dry. This means you can become dehydrated very quickly. Water is vital for your body’s function on many levels, and it’s important to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water before, during and after your flight – even if this entails more frequent trips to the bathroom! Make it a habit to always carry a water bottle with you so you don’t forget to take sips.

3. Beware Of Germs

When sharing bathrooms and closed environments with many people, the spread of germs is easy. Take a supply of hand sanitizer with you so you can use it after you use the bathroom or before you have a meal or snack. You might want to bring some sanitizing wipes with you too so you can wipe down your armrests and other surrounding areas where you sit.

4. Avoid Airport Temptations

When you’re in a rush or in the environment of an airport or plane, it’s easy to become complacent about making healthy choices. You might opt to have a greasy burger, a glass or two of wine during the flight, or snack on a packet of chips while you’re passing the time in the air. Make a decision to watch your diet when you travel – bring along healthy snacks like raisins or pack a healthy sandwich with you if you know you’re likely to get hungry. Know which are your most healthy options from the food court at the airport or from the choices on your flight menu.

5. Keep Up Your Exercise Regime

Your exercise regime is likely to be one of the first things that will suffer when you have to travel frequently. Make a commitment to keep up your exercise routine, no matter where you are. Stay at hotels that have gyms and maybe even hit the gym as soon as you arrive – even if it’s only for 10 or 15 minutes – this can help revive and energize you after a long flight.

6. Take Care of Your Back

Being confined to a chair for long hours is certain to take a toll on one of the most important parts of your body – your back. Walk the length of the plane every few hours to help prevent your back from becoming stiff and strained from long hours of sitting. It’s also wise to invest in a good posture and back support to fit onto your plane seat to help your spine maintain a healthy posture. This will prevent future back problems and injuries that result from prolonged sitting – and will also make your plane seat far more comfortable.

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Neck pain is a common and particularly uncomfortable ailment. Since the neck is responsible for connecting the skull to the body’s spine, it is vulnerable to certain strains, stresses and injuries.

If you are experiencing neck pain, how do you know if it is a minor ache that will disappear quickly, or something more serious that needs attention and care?

Learn about the 5 most common causes of neck pain to help you avoid future pain, injury and discomfort.

1. Injury

Is there a chance you might have injured your neck during an activity, sport or accident? Sometimes a blow to the body from a fall or an unexpected impact can cause minor injury to the nerves between the neck and shoulder, which results in neck pain. An even more serious spinal cord injury can manifest itself as discomfort in the neck. If you are experiencing pain or muscle spasms after a suspected injury to your neck, or if your neck has experienced whiplash (the violent movement of the neck backwards and forwards), it is always wise to visit your doctor to be examined.

2. Spinal connection

Your neck pain could be the result of a disturbed spinal connection.

If there is excessive or repetitive stress placed on your spine or neck area, e.g., through contact sports or poor posture, your nerve may become compressed. This leads to a condition called ‘Radiculopathy’ which results in pain, tingling or numbness along the course of the nerve.

Spinal stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of the spinal cord, is another problem that can cause symptoms similar to that of a pinched nerve. This pain may also radiate into the arms.

Consult your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

3. Arthritis

Sufferers of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis experience inflammation of the joints and increased wear and tear of the bones. This can result in pain and stiffness in neck areas where arthritis is present.

4. Posture

Poor posture is probably one of the most common causes of neck pain. When a person does not pay attention to good posture practices like lifting heavy weights with bent knees or sitting correctly in a chair, it places unnecessary stresses and strain on the spine and neck which result in pain. Learn healthy habits to take care of your posture and invest in a good back supports for your office or home chair. These little aids could completely eliminate any minor discomforts you’ve been feeling in your neck.

5. Other

Some neck-pain sufferers have a TMJ disorder (a temporomandibular joint disorder), which happens when the joint connecting the jaw and skull becomes strained because of genetics, teeth grinding or jaw clenching. On rare occasions, neck pain may be caused by a viral infection or a serious infection around the brain such as meningitis.

If you are experiencing neck pain of any kind, it is always wise to have it checked by your doctor.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.trucomfort.com as the original source).

There are many jobs that come with their own occupational hazards – being a truck driver is certainly no exception. Being confined to a driver’s seat for long hours, having to eat and sleep away from home and even the lack of sleep can all take their toll on a driver’s health and wellbeing.

If you’re a truck driver who’s committed to taking care of your health while on the job, follow these 6 great tips to help you start.

1. Don’t Hold It In!

Bladder and kidney problems are common among truck drivers. The reason? Having to wait to access a bathroom while on the road means drivers are likely to hold their urine in. If this is done frequently and for long periods of time, it can begin to damage the kidneys. Visit the bathroom before the start of each journey and as often as you can along the way. If you sense you are holding your urine in, stop as soon as you can to use a bathroom.

2. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!

When driving for long periods of time, your body will be lacking exercise. Research small exercises to carry out in your hotel room or rest areas – these could even help energize you in between driving. Equally important is making time to exercise when you are not at work. Swimming, walking, hiking and gentle weight training are all good choices to help keep you fit and your muscles in prime condition. They may even help alleviate problems such as back pain and cramps that truck drivers experience.

3. Say No To Fast Food

With the highways littered with fast food joints and adverts for comfort food, it’s easy to be tempted to neglect your diet while on the road. But the truth is maintaining a healthy diet is vital to ensuring your overall wellbeing. Take food that is prepared at home with you, like a healthy sandwich or salad. If you do give in to a fast-food joint treat, make sure it’s on a very rare basis.

4. Be Wise with Refreshments

Another big temptation for truck drivers is to snack while driving or load up on tea, coffee or high-sugar sodas to stay alert. If you’re prone to any of these habits, switch to refreshing yourself with more healthy options. Replace chips or chocolate bars with nuts, fruit, raisins or low-calorie, low-sugar cereal bars. And try to stay hydrated with a simple bottle of water by your side.

5. Rest When You Can

Truck drivers are known for their stamina when driving and can often go days with little sleep when driving at night. But lack of sleep will take its toll on your body and health and will lead to your increase of stress. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and rest when you have the option to – it can make all the difference to how you feel.

6. Protect Your Back

Being confined to your driver’s seat for endless hours will certainly have an impact on your spine. It is no surprise that truck drivers are prone to back pain and injuries as well as stiffness. Learn some good back strengthening exercises to carry out every day or during your rest stops. In addition, one of the best things you can do to protect your back is invest in a back support to fit onto your driver’s seat. This will ensure your back is held in a good posture while driving to eliminate any unnecessary strains or stresses being placed on your spine.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.trucomfort.com as the original source).

Sore or stiff necks are certainly no fun – enduring them can turn from a minor irritation to a great source of misery. If you have an uncomfortable ache in your neck, the good news is that a remedy might not be too far away.

We have ten great tips that could have you feeling back to normal in no time!

1. Eat pineapple

It might sound bizarre but pineapple is rich in an enzyme called bromelain. This enzyme has been proven to reduce swelling and aid healing in musculoskeletal injuries.

2. Breathe well

It’s a fact that people tend to accumulate tension in their neck and shoulder areas. To release this tension that could be causing your sore neck, take a deep breath and then lengthen the time you exhale (to a count of seven).

3. Heat helps

Use an electrical heating pad in 20-30 minute sessions to soothe pain and relax any tense neck muscles.

4. Cold relief

If you feel there is inflammation in your neck area, use ice wrapped in a towel or a reusable gel pack cooled in your freezer to bring it down. Place the compress against your skin for 20-30 minutes. Alternate between heat and cold therapy sessions if you feel your sore neck could benefit from both.

5. Pick your pillow

To avoid waking up with a stiff neck, choose a good pillow that will help you sleep with your neck positioned in a healthy alignment. Experts say this could depend on your sleep position preference, e.g., if you sleep on your stomach, a soft thin pillow is best for you.

6. Favor your forearms

If you work at a computer for most of the day, you risk placing stress on your neck and shoulders if your forearms aren’t positioned well and supported as you type at your keyboard. One way to prevent this is to invest in a forearm rest.

7. Fish oil facts

A study has shown that omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil helped inflammation in neck pain sufferers so well that 60% of those undertaking a trial where able to stop using painkillers. Buy a fish oil supplement to have your 1,200 mg recommended daily dose.

8. Physical therapy

If your neck pain is a result of serious injury, consult with your doctor to find out if physical therapy could benefit you. It could help rebuild and strengthen injured or weakened muscles to resolve pain and prevent future pain, too.

9. Anti-inflammatory aids

When a recovering sore neck is an irritation throughout the day, ask your doctor about a good anti-inflammatory drug to buy over the counter. Taking a couple of ibuprofen or aspirin tablets could relieve you of minor pains as your neck heals.

10. Posture and back support

Often a poor posture can be at the root of neck pain or even be an inhibitor of neck strains and injuries being healed. If you wish to place less stress on your neck, or prevent your neck from being weakened, purchase a good posture and back support for your office or home chair. Since it is common to spend long hours sitting during the day, it’s essential that you take care of your neck and spinal health by allowing your body to adopt a healthy posture. A posture and back support is an effective solution for neck and back pain caused by poor posture.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.trucomfort.com as the original source).