#Travel140 National Fitness Month Tip: Don’t Dismiss DVT

May is National Fitness Month and our #Travel140 Travel Tips will focus on fitness all month long. Tip #3: Don’t dismiss DVT when flying; easy stretches can help and they’ll keep you more comfy en route.

Just about everyone who travels a lot has heard something about DVT, or Deep Vein Thrombosis. Essentially, it’s a blood clot that forms in deep veins, typically in the legs, which can travel into the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. Unfortunately, there are several factors in flight that may increase your DVT risk:

• lowered air pressure
• lower oxygen levels
• low humidity
• restricted mobility

The tendency to order coffee or alcohol in flight doesn’t help either. There are also some important health conditions that can increase your DVT risk when traveling, which should be discussed with your doctor.

Stretches and exercise are two of the best things to help fend of DVT, including a few that you can do in-flight. Not only can they help increase your odds against clots, they’ll keep you a little more limber during and after your flight. In a world where creature comforts on airplanes are few and far behind, anything to reduce discomfort is a plus.

For more on DVT, and a visual guide to in-flight exercises you can do, check out this page on DVT and Flying on the Australian web site My Dr.

For more on National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, including ideas to help you get and stay active, health news, and more, visit the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Be sure to come back here for more tips on staying fit while traveling.

#Travel140 Travel Tips for Health & Fitness

• An Ounce of Prevention for Fitness, Too
• Pack a Workout in 3oz or Less
• The 20 Minute Travel Workout
• Take the Stairs
• Five Tips to Avoid Getting Sick
• Five Tips to Beat Stress
• Pack a Pedometer
• Anti-Blister Secret Weapon

Get more #Travel140!