July is a great time to get outside for a sunny picnic by the water. But it’s a lot easier said than done if you have joint pain. Sitting down on a blanket hurts, but getting up from that blanket hurts even more. So what can you do to help reduce joint pain on a picnic? How do you sit? What can you bring to reduce the pain?
Avoiding pain during your picnic will have a lot to do with how you carry yourself in general. If you experience joint pain often, maintaining good posture, exercising, and eating healthy will help your joint pain in the long run. The suggestions below are extra ways you can make a picnic more enjoyable.
What you bring to your picnic depends on the kind of joint pain you have.
Bring a Chirp Wheel+ to your picnic. The Chirp Wheel+ is easy to travel with and is one of the simplest ways to help you avoid pain during your picnic. After you sit down on the picnic blanket for your meal, lean back against a Gentle Chirp Wheel+. The Chirp Wheel will relieve some of the pressure on your muscles as you sit on the ground. Simply lean back against the wheel with your knees bent to help relieve pressure on your lower back. And, while you have the wheel, you might as well roll on it during your picnic if you’re feeling extra tight. Incorporate rolling out on the wheel into your picnic activities for the day.
Bring a pillow. Sitting on a pillow will give you an extra cushion for your hips. The pillow can also be a great reminder for you to keep everything you need close by. Sometimes you can aggravate certain types of pain, like sciatica pain, if you twist the wrong way. That being said, you want to remember to change your position every so often so that you don’t strain the same muscles for a long period of time. Another really important thing for hip pain is simply sitting with good posture. (The Chirp Wheel+ can help you with this as well.)
Knee pain
Bring a card table and camping chairs. This might not technically be a picnic, but let’s face it, you’re getting older. It’s worth it to bring a few extra supplies on your picnic if it means you will be comfortable. If you don’t have access to a table and chairs, don’t be too shy to use support when you sit down or get up. A walking stick, a cooler, or another person can help take some of the pressure off your knees as you get up from the ground or sit down on the ground. It’s better to damage your pride than to do further damage to your joints. As you sit down, sit with your knees straight.
With any type of joint pain, lying down on your picnic blanket might be just the rest you need for your back, hips, or knees. Take some time out in the sun to lie back and look at the clouds. Resting your body and mind at the same time can help you heal.
References
Davis, D. (2019, September 24). Sit on the Floor Without Back Pain. Retrieved from https://sonomabodybalance.com/2011/01/sit-on-the-floor-without-back-pain/
Wells, B. (2018, August 9). Mastering the best sitting position for lower back pain. Retrieved from https://www.chiroeco.com/best-sitting-position-for-lower-back-pain/
