If you want to feel great during your Thanksgiving celebration, there are several precautions you will need to take to avoid dealing with back pain. Whether it’s shopping, traveling, or cooking, these three things can really put a damper on the holiday if they have caused you back pain. Here are some of our tips for preventing back pain during your Thanksgiving celebration!
Stay safe in the kitchen. If you’re the one preparing a Thanksgiving feast, you may suffer from sore feet or even pain in the knees, hips, or back. To protect yourself from pain, remember to take a break from cooking every two hours. Give yourself some time to rest before going back in the kitchen to finish up.
If you will be lifting heavy objects in the kitchen, make sure you are lifting properly and that you are not reaching out in front of you to lift heavy objects. Remember to pull the oven rack out and bring the heavy objects as close to you as possible before lifting them.
Traveling can be a pain, especially during the holidays. To avoid pain from being slumped over in the driver’s seat, make sure that you stop for stretch breaks and even switch drivers a few times if you will be taking a long car trip.
If you will be traveling by airplane over the holidays, bring a pillow to support the neck during a long plane trip.
Shopping can be even worse on your feet or back than on your bank account. If you’re going shopping on Thanksgiving Day or on Black Friday, there are some precautions you will need to take to avoid back or foot pain. Make sure that you sit down every two hours to rest your feet and muscles. Your body will thank you for it!
Another shopping risk is carrying too many bags at once. After you’ve gathered several shopping bags, take a trip back to the car to unload. If you have other people shopping with you, spread the bags out evenly so everyone is carrying an even number of bags, but let the stronger people handle the heavier bags. Shopping is not the time to work on your strength training!
Interestingly, shopping is actually a great way to burn a few extra calories. A person weighing around 100 lbs. could burn 135 calories from shopping for an hour, while a person weighing 200 lbs. could burn around 275 calories in an hour. A person weighing around 300 lbs. could burn up to 410 calories in an hour.
However, don’t start hitting the mall instead of the gym, which could do way more harm than good, especially during the holidays!