Easing backpain during a long flight

First of all, see if you have some sort of economy plus section in your plane. We just flew on Delta to Brussels and for $50 more each person, each leg of the trip, we were able to have more leg room and more recline. If you can bring some kind of lumbar support, that helps.....if not, just use your pillow. Now just know that if you do recline, you do lose lumbar support. When I had some rip roaring LBP a few years ago, I purchased a portable heating pads. They connect to you like a belt. It was heat, not chemical heat (ie icy hot patches), and made me sweat. But they keep you from stiffening up. You may also ask an attendant to fill up a small baggy with ice, so you can have a cold pack option as well. Heat feels good, but for me and my chronic LBP, ice usually sets me straight. Talk to your doctor about medication. I took tramadol, mobic, and muscle relaxors with me, but found that the mobic (antiinflamatory known generically as meloxocam) was my miracle drug (still on it for my arthritis in my spine, and I am only 36). And I also liked the icy hot patches for my long excursions. Don't combine the patch with the hot patches, you may get a burn. Try to get up every 1/2 hour if you can........ That's all I can think of for now and I do speak of experience.....3 herniated discs, disc degeneration, and stenosis and I travel every year. Some years are better than others. And try to do a lot of walking prior to your trip. If you have access to treadmills, put a little grade on it for hills. And maybe practice with a little stair climbing. All this comes in handy when you have to do it over the pond.

Hi Sally, I take two of those blow up neck pillows.. I prefer the blow up ones to the ones filled with beads as I can inflate or deflate to right comfort level. I use one on neck, but the one that really helps is the one I underinflate and use in small of back.

I arrange the folded or rolled-up airline's blanket at the small of my back. That gives me the lower back support I need.

It may also help to have support under your feet. I don't know how large you are so this may not be a problem for you. But if you are on the short side and your feet are dangling you may have the tendency to slouch in order to get them flat on the floor, which throws off your whole spine. I find I am more comfortable if I have something to raise my feet up a bit and so I often put my small bag on the floor, take off my shoes, and rest my feet on the bag.

Talk to your doctor about him prescribing one of several lumbar pads. I had one that I used in my car years ago, my wife has one from a cervical neck problem that is smaller, she uses it for flying and driving. Hers will just fit into her convertible carry-on if need be, but she also carries a prescription with her if we should need to have it out on a budget flight -Easy jet will allow it separately and not count it as your one personal item if you have a proper doctor's scrip. These pads can be found for $25 or less.
That combined with getting up and walking the aisles frequently should take care of the problem, without drugs.

Drugs.

http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/airplane_stretch (altho I am sure I would never be able to do the first one in an airline seat!)

I don't have back pain but do have problems with my knees so I do have to get up and walk when possbile. I have used the pillow behind my back for extra support. My husband does have back issues and he also uses a pillow or rolled blanket. I appreciated Kelly's response about paying the extra money for legroom on a Delta flight. I had gone around and around with the Delta people about our flight to Paris in September. We were using frequent flyer tickets and were routed from Minneapolis to Atlanta. We were then on an Air France flight to CDG. Delta couldn't book the seats with the extra room for us because we were on Air France. Air France supposedly didn't have any seats similar to those of Delta. The Air France seats on this flight were TERRIBLE! Very little legroom combined with the man in front of me slamming his seat back even before I had returned my food tray. There was very little way to get comfortable in the seats. So as others have suggested, try everything you can and GOOD LUCK!

In addition to all the good advice already given, I like getting a seat at the back of the plane, on the aisle, so I can get up every hour and easily get to the very back where there's usually a lot of room where I can stretch and bend and move around. That's where the flight attendants hang out and it's fun for me to hang out with them as well as stretch.

I would highly recommend the Eagle Creek Backbuddy, which is an inflatable lumbar pillow. It is a real lifesaver in coach seats, and folds up into a small bag for easy packing. You can find it at http://www.eaglecreek.com/accessories/travel_comfort/Backbuddy-41134/

Thanks a lot for all your helpful suggestions. I am short, so the suggestions of using a foot rest is a good idea. I will try out the stretches before the flight.
The towel or lumbar support or lumbar pads and even the eagles creek inflatable pillow are a good idea. I will try to get up to stretch on the plane as much as I can and of course, I have my pain pills which I hope not to use. Thanks again.

I would be weary of sitting in the back of the plane for 2 reasons: 1. everyone lines up there for the bathroom and the scooting to the side to let people through - your "space" will constantly be invaded. 2 . After a long flight and a lot of passangers the bathrooms can start to smell and they are always in the back. I actually time myself. I let myself sit for a certain amount of time, say 90 minutes, then I get up for 20-30 min and stand in a stewardess area. And repeat. It helps alot.

HI Maureen, Thanks for your feedback. I normally try not to sit close to the restroom because of the smell. I have a strong sense of smell but it did occur to me that perhaps this time, it'll be less of a walk to go to the back and stretch.But then again, I rather walk than smell the bathroom the whole trip.