Back pain while driving?
I’ve been personally dealing with back pain (including sacroiliac joint pain) for quite a while now. Many of my patients complain of pain with prolonged driving. It has also been interesting to note that some of these patients do not have pain when they are sitting in a regular chair.
When we drive, our pelvis is shifted as we are rotating the right side of our pelvis and hip region forward and down to hit the gas or the breaks. In addition, car seats are terribly designed.
Some simple changes I made which were very helpful to me and my patients:
* firm seat wedge for my car seat
* lumbar support (I am using one by “Simple Posture”)
* visualize evening out your pelvis when you drive. You can even press your left foot down onto the carpet of your car as you hit the gas with your right
* Properly hold the steering wheel with 2 hands (3 and 9’oclock)
Changes to make outside of your car:
* inversion table – these used to be expensive but now you can buy one for less than $100 on Amazon. 10 minutes a day twice a day. This helps with cervical radiculopathy (neck and arm pain) as well as lumbar radiculopathy (back and leg pain). Let your neck and spine be free of gravity!
* stop crossing your legs when you sit in a regular chair
Hopefully these tips can help someone! Have a great weekend.
