Car driving is no ‘sitting in the pool’

Driving can be part of our lives, either trucking kids in the afternoon to all their lessons, driving to and from work in traffic or driving from one office to another. The third is my situation and there are some days, although uncommonly, I can be in the car 3-4 hours, driving to different hospitals. My husband drives with traffic on the beltway and he easily spends 3 hrs a day in the car.

Back pain often accompanies repeated long drives. Our bodies are not meant to have most of our body’s weight pushing down on our tailbone. Secondly, our backs are not meant to be in one position without the ability to significantly shift our weight for hours. Even when we sleep, we change positions constantly. Sometimes, we may have an unknown predisposing spinal condition like sciatica, that is causing pain or even numbness and weakness in our legs and would require medical attention. However, in most cases, the pain is generated by stiff joints within the spine and muscle tightness.

Unfortunately, nothing replaces lying on a lounge chair on the beach with a margarita in hand after a nice massage. However, hopefully the following tips can inspire and reinforce what most of you already know:

OUTSIDE THE CAR:

• build your core because it supports your back. Your core is the set of muscles surrounding your spine from front to back, including your abdominal muscles. Think of it as an internal back brace that supports your spinal column. The stronger these muscles are, the less stress your spinal joints will take. Planks are a good way to build your core. Lie on the floor on your elbow and toes and hold your body parallel to the ground, without allowing your middle to sag. Over time, try to build up to 60 seconds at a time.
• STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH! Before you hit the car for your morning drive with coffee in hand and already a few minutes late, (prepare to be even later!) add 5-10 minutes doing the simple stretches you know so well. Also, add stretching in your work day, off and on. Most of us rush to work only to sit for longer periods of time. So before you go, place your hands on your thighs and lean forward. Roll your back up like a cat, and then down; repeat several times. Then bend to the right side, reaching your right arm down to the side of your knee and your left arm up in the air. Repeat on the other side.

IN THE CAR:

• Make sure you lean your head on the headrest of your seat by adjusting your car seat properly. Leaning forward is bad for your spine, at the levels of both your neck and low back, because of the lack of support.
  
• Lumbar support. If your seat doesn’t have an adjustment for low back support, buy a lumbar support or roll a towel and wedge it between your buttock area and your seat. Again, this measure reduces the weighted pressure off of your tailbone and maintains your spine alignment erect, rather than slumping.
• Take your heels off, Ladies! When I am in the car, I wear my footies so I save my feet and in turn my spine. I really don’t need my heels on in the car. The dynamics of my feet in connection with my spine dramatically changes out of heels.
• Use cruise control as much as possible. It allows you to free up your feet to move around a bit and briefly allows your weight to shift along your spine.
• Make sure your seat is adjusted so that your legs rest on the car pedals. Sometimes, our knees are too flexed, causing us to slouch to accommodate. The minute it takes to adjust the seat will be well worth it at the end of the day.
• If you are at a long stop light, consider putting the car in park to allow your feet to rest, move and stretch. Again, this is another way to shift your weight & get a quick stretch.
• Finally, as a last resort, consider a back brace or even a soft neck collar, over the counter, at your local pharmacy. This could add the support you need till you get your core stronger!

Happy Driving and let me know if this helps!