Think your commute is a pain in the rear end? Turns out it actually is as well as a pain in your upper back, shoulders, neck, lower back and sacroiliac joint. Your commute can even cause headaches. And the longer your commute, the worse it is.
Daven Spencer, a chiropractor with offices in Manchester and Hampton, says the back has many normal curvatures-it's concave (curving inward) at your lower back and at the neck, and it's convex (curving outward) at the mid-back. Those curves allow us to bear weight. But plop in the driver's seat and, Spencer says, the lower back flattens out and can even be forced into a convex position, creating a lot of pressure on disks in the spine and muscles in the lower back.
Driving for extended periods exacerbates that spine flexion caused by sitting in a car. The result can be irritation, inflammation, and muscle spasms, according to Spencer. Being in a car is not bad, it's the amount of time you spend in the car that causes problems, says Aaron Bard, a Peterborogh chiropractor. The longer you're in a bad posture, the longer it takes disks and ligament structures to rebound to their normal shape.
A Long and Painful Road
Combine that unnatural flexing of the spine with the continual bouncing your joints receive while driving and Bard says you can see how health problems will arise.
So when you exit that driver's door every morning, your body's ability to bounce back will depend on the length of the commute. And it's during that slower rebound process that many drivers get injured.
Think about it. After a long drive, you get out of the car and start lifting something from the car or move just wrong, and now you've got fatigue failure, Bard says of the body's vulnerability.
Worse, there's a myriad of ways, beyond flexion, that the driver's seat puts us at odds with healthy posture. While Driver's Ed teaches us to keep our hands at the 10 and 2 positions on the steering wheel, Spencer points out that position pulls the shoulders up to the ears and shortens the front of the shoulder, which pulls on the muscles in the upper back and can cause pain. Another problem is leaning on one butt cheek, which he says we do when one leg is extended on the gas pedal, causing an imbalance in the spine.
Sitting Strong
So what's a commuter to do? Bard says he tells patients to take breaks and get out of the car and move around. Bodies are meant to be dynamic, we are built for motion. We are not meant to hold one position for a long period of time, Spencer says. The body must be able to change positions regularly.
Bard suggests making sure the seat is in an upright position, as a seat tilted back exaggerates the flexion in the lower spine. He also recommends that commuters try chin retraction, pulling the chin and head back to put it into better alignment with the spine.And Bard says simple neck stretches like rolling the head gently side to side while driving can alleviate stress.
Think of your head as a 12- to 14-pound bowling ball sitting on a broom handle, says Bard. Thrusting one's head forward so that it hangs in front of the body is just a recipe for disaster. It's just physics, he says.
One inexpensive way to alleviate discomfort is to place a pillow or towel folded into a log just above the buttocks to create a more natural curvature to the spine. Another tip Bard gives clients is to drive with their hands at 7 and 5 to reduce stress on upper back and shoulders. And once home for the evening, Bard recommends taking 10 to 15 minutes to do stretches like the McKenzie Exercises (which can be found at www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/pain-relief-mckenzie-treatment) or laying on your stomach and moving into a cobra pose (lifting the upper body up from the torso), which can counteract the stress, tightness and pressure created by the ride home.
Be Seat Smart
So does the car you drive matter? Absolutely. Sometimes more economical cars don't have as many ways to alter position or the lumbar options that another car might, says Spencer. You need a seat with lumbar support and multiple seat positions that will adjust to what you need to be comfortable for the long term.
And Bard says bucket seats create pressure points for the 65 percent of NH's population that is overweight or obese. Extended pressure on any part of the body is never good. He suggests choosing the flattest seat possible.
It's just another reason to hate going into the office.
Current Issue - April 2024