Neck Pain on a Flight – 7 Exercises To Do On A Flight

Do you experience holiday pains such as neck pain after a flight or back pain after a long duration of sitting on a plane? You are not alone – Long-haul flights can take a toll on your body, causing aches and pains. The reason why flying tends to aggravate musculoskeletal pain is due to the fact that while flying, your body is sedentary and in a fixed position for over 4 – 12 hours. Avoiding neck and back pain can be as simple as keeping your body moving during your flight. In this article, we share 7 simple seated and standing inflight exercises for you to make your flight more comfortable.

Seated exercises to relieve neck pain on a flight

1) Neck Movements

Apart from alleviating stress and tension at your neck and shoulders, neck movements are great for maintaining neck mobility. Here’s how to get started on neck movements:

In an upright seated position, gently tilt your head back looking up to the ceiling and tilt your head forward with your chin tucked in.
Slowly move your head towards your left shoulder and towards your right shoulder.
Finally, turn your head looking over your left shoulder and looking over your right shoulder.
Repeat this sequence 10 times to stretch your neck and avoid neck pain on a flight

2) Shoulder Rolls

Staying seated for a long time during a flight can result in slouching and slumped shoulders – causing tension and aches in your neck and back. Shoulder rolls can help to open your chest and relieve tightness and tension in your shoulders and upper back. Here’s how to perform shoulder rolls:

In a seated position, sit tall with your chin tucked in and with an open chest
Start by moving your shoulders upwards towards your ears, similar to a shrugging movement
Bring your shoulders forwards towards your chest in a circular motion
Lastly, squeeze your shoulder blades together bringing your shoulders towards your back.
Perform forward shoulder rolls 10 times before rotating the sequence backwards 10 times.

3) Back Twist

A twisting action can help to relieve the lower back by creating space between the spinal vertebrae and open tight shoulders. Here’s how to do a back twist on a plane:

In a seated position, sit tall with your chin tucked in
Cross your arms in front of your chest in an X formation with your hands touching the opposite shoulder.
Taking a deep breath in, slowly turn the trunk of your body to the right, keeping your knees pointing straight and your hands on each shoulder.
Hold the position for 20 seconds, returning to a neutral position facing forward.
Repeat the same for the left side. Perform this exercise 3 times on each side.

Standing exercises to relieve neck pain and back pain

4) Ankle Pumps

Ankle pumps are great at improving lower-body blood circulation, and reducing swelling and blood clots in the legs. They are also great for ankle strengthening and improving overall stability. Here’s how to perform ankle pumps:

In a seated position with your feet on the floor, stretch your legs out in front of you
Bend both ankles upwards with your toes pointing towards you
The heels of your feet should remain on the floor
Relax your ankles and return to the starting position. Repeat for 30 times.

5) Heel and Toe Raises

Heel and toe raises can strengthen the ankle and help to stretch the foot. If you’ve had a long day waiting in line for immigration or have been on your feet for hours – these stretches are great to get rid of some of the tension on your feet. Here’s how you can do them:

In a standing position, hold on to something such as your seat for balance.
Get into a tip-toe position with your body weight on the balls of your feet.
When returning to a neutral standing position, shift your weight onto the heel and point your toes up.
Repeat 10 times.

6) Back Arch

Lower back aches can creep up on a long-haul flight due to a lack of back support for seats, causing increased tension on your spinal discs. Back stretches can help to create more space between the spinal discs in your back and relieve the aches.

In a standing position, stand tall with your chest open.
Place both hands on your hips and slowly bend your back backwards, bringing your hips forward.
Return to neutral and repeat 10 times.

7) Take a walk!

Even if you might not need a toilet break, getting out of the seat to walk around is a great way to keep your body moving and will help to prevent dangerous blood clots (deep vein thrombosis).

Seek physiotherapy treatment for pain

Some of the exercises may not be suitable if you have a history of neck pain or back pain prior to your flight. These exercises are suitable for neck pain and back pain that may occur during a flight. Do consult our physiotherapist team or a licensed medical practitioner if you are experiencing neck pain after a flight. To find out more about how Core Concepts can help to relieve neck pain and back pain, simply drop us a message or book an appointment and we will be more than happy to address your questions.

Updated: 19 Dec 2022