Can Summer Travels Make Your Neck and Back Pain Worse? And what to do about it

Summer holidays are meant to help you unwind.

Yet after a cramped flight, a long train journey or several hours in the car, you can arrive feeling stiffer than when you left.

Your neck feels tight. Your lower back aches. One shoulder is sore from carrying a bag through the airport. Then you spend the first few days sleeping on an unfamiliar mattress and wondering why your body does not feel particularly rested.

Travel takes you out of your normal routine, and your body often notices.

Why does travelling make you feel so stiff?

Planes, trains and cars are not designed around comfortable movement.

Sitting for several hours can leave your hips and lower back feeling tight, particularly when there is little room to change position. Looking down at your phone, sleeping against a window or leaning to one side can also place extra strain on your neck and shoulders.

Dragging a suitcase up station steps or carrying a heavy bag on one shoulder can make your body work unevenly.

It might not hurt at the time, but you may notice the effects later—especially around your upper back, neck, forearms and lower back.

Even a brilliant holiday can interrupt your sleep.

Early flights, unfamiliar beds, warmer rooms and late nights can all affect how well your body recovers. When you are tired, everyday tension often feels more noticeable.

A long journey is sometimes followed by several days of walking, swimming, sightseeing or dancing.

The extra movement is usually a good thing, but it can feel like a shock when your body has spent the previous few hours folded into a seat.

Should you book a massage before or after travelling?

Both can be useful, depending on what your body needs.

A massage before your trip may help if you are already carrying tension from work, training or the build-up to going away. It can give you a chance to slow down before the rushing, packing and travelling begin.

A massage afterwards may be more useful when the journey has left you feeling stiff, or when you have returned from a particularly active holiday.

Massage cannot undo every effect of travel, but it can help ease muscular tension, encourage movement and give you an hour to properly switch off after the disruption of a journey.

The suitcase may be unpacked, but your shoulders are still somewhere near the departure gate.

Give yourself a little time to recover. Walk, hydrate, sleep and move gently. When the tension is not shifting, or you simply need an hour to reset, massage can be a helpful part of getting back to normal.

For massage in Hackney Wick, Hackney, Bow, Stratford or E3, book your treatment with No More Tension.

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