With summer in full swing and last-minute Labor Day vacations around the corner it’s important to keep moving! The Arthritis Foundation has provided a few simple ways to integrate movement as you embark on your summer travel plans.

Anyone who sits through a long airline flight or road trip can experience stiff, achy joints and muscles, but it can be especially hard for those who have arthritis.

The following are simple exercises, each repeated five to 10 times, to alleviate joint stiffness that can be done whether travelling by land, air or sea!  As you do these exercises, do a “body check” once in a while to breathe deeply in and out, shoulders down, and try not to clench your teeth so your jaw will be relaxed.

Heel raises
Sit with feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Lift heels off floor, hold for five to 10 seconds and lower heels to the ground.

Curl downs
Pull stomach and chin in while sitting and gently curl your body down very slowly, reaching hands toward the floor. Hold for five to 10 seconds, and slowly uncurl.

Ankle circles
While sitting, lift right leg slightly off the ground and circle your foot clockwise. Circle 15 times clockwise and 15 times counterclockwise. Repeat with the left foot. Alternate this exercises with left leg, then right leg, then return to left leg for the opposite direction and right leg. Alternating this way is a weight shift to relieve pressure from your buttocks from prolonged sitting.

Point/Flex ankles
Extend your leg as far as you can and point  your toes toward the floor and hold for five seconds then bring your foot back slightly more than if you were walking to feel a slight stretch in your calf and shin.  Do the left foot, then the right foot. If you do not have enough room to extend your leg, bend your knee and perform these exercises.

Overhead stretches
Stand, if possible, and reach arms straight up and stretch for five to 10 seconds. Look straight ahead while stretching, don’t tip your head back to look at the stretch.  Slowly lean to the left, then right, bending gently at the waist. Open and close hands, then circle wrists as you stretch.

Back stretch
While sitting, reach your right arm across your body and grab the left armrest. Slowly turn your body and head as far to the left as is comfortable and hold for five to 10 seconds.

Hip walk
Move forward alternating your hips.  Lift your left hip to “walk” forward, then right hip, then backwards with left hip,  right hip. Repeat 4 times.

Knees
Extend you right leg forward as if to put on the gas then bend your knee and place your hands under your knee for support. Hold this stretch for 10-15 seconds and repeat on the left leg,

Do these exercises every two hours or more often when you begin to feel stiff to ensure that you arrive refreshed!

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