Essential Feature
Does driving leave
you with a pain in
the back?
Back pain while driving can make
any journey unpleasant. Generally people
find the longer the car journey, the more
discomfort they are in. Here are a few tips
that can help to relieve your pain.
Make sure your car seat is adjusted
appropriately
The base of your carseat should be long
enough to support your thighs, but
should not touch your knees. It should
also be slightly higher at the front than
the back.
The seat back should be at about a 110120 degrees, with the lumbar support
pumped up to support your low back
in a comfortable position. During the
journey you might find slightly altering
the lumbar support will help relieve
discomfort, but make sure it is always
pumped up enough to provide support.
Adjust your steering wheel too
You want to have your steering wheel at
a height that allows your elbows to be
18
at around a 90 degree angle
when holding the wheel,
and if you can rake in or out
your steering wheel, have
it close enough to you that
you don’t have to reach too
far to hold it.
Buy the right car
Unfortunately, there are only so many
adjustments you can make in a car,
and often the problem is the car itself.
Generally the bigger the car is, the more
likely you are to find a comfortable
position when driving.
Rule out small hatchbacks and superminis. Small cars are only designed
with short journeys in mind. The seats
are designed for smaller than average
people, driving short journeys around
town at low speeds. They often have poor
suspension, and the intrusion of the
front wheel arch into the footwell means
that even in some medium sized cars the
pedals are pushed to the middle so you
have to sit twisted position. Often even
the steering wheel is off-set at an angle.
This of course is not ideal if you have
back pain. Their short wheelbase and
often poor ride may well aggravate an
already sore back, and they are definitely
not suited to long journeys.
Unfortunately low slung sports cars with
sports suspension are not ideal either.
They often have very good sports seats,
but other than that they are no good for
a sore back.
Lastly, getting in and out of smaller, lowriding cars can cause problems. After
sitting in an incorrect position with poor
continued on page 20
Nine issues in Culcheth Lymm Great Sankey & Penketh Chapelford Stockton Heath & Appleton
Thewlwall, Grappenhall & Latchford Birchwood Lowton & Golborne Newton-le-Willows