Summer Road Trip! 

With the weather warming up, and school holidays on our doorsteps, a summer road trip may be on the cards. Always popular, but increasingly with COVID19 affecting overseas travel, a QLD road trip is a great way to adventure and see our own backyard! As such, we want to help you have a fun and safe road trip, avoiding injury and illness.

We have put together some tips, adapted from the outback Queensland article, with a physiotherapy twist on things:

1. Pack the essentials: A first aid kit, spare tyre, healthy snacks, water and map are very important when traveling remotely where coverage and help is limited. You may even consider packing an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, just in case you run into any tough and rugged situations. In terms of keeping your body in check, it may be beneficial packing your usual pillow, as well as taking appropriate footwear for the terrain you may be embarking on.
2. Plan your journey, ahead of time: Know the types of roads, keep up to date with any closures and make sure you know where your next fuel stop is located!
3. Drive with vigilance: Driving long distances can prove to be quite the challenge. Additionally, wildlife and damaged roads can become a danger to your car at any moment. From a physiotherapy perspective, we unfortunately treat a number of injuries every year due to motor vehicle accidents. This leads us onto the next point….
4. Take regular breaks: Aim to take breaks every 2 hours. Use this time for a toilet break, to eat, rehydrate, walk and stretch. This is also an important point from a physiotherapy point of view. Changing postures and positions regularly, moving and stretching will help avoid those stiff necks and backs that tend to creep up on us on longer road trips.
5. Take your time: Allocate extra time to visit some of those places you’ve been wanting to check out for some time. This will help break up the journey and monotony of driving, but can also really add to the enjoyment of your road trip holiday.

We wish you a safe and adventurous summer road trip holiday. We look forward to hearing all about your adventures 🙂