Secrets to Driving without Back, Neck, or Sciatic Pain
- 2 hours ago
- 8 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in May 2019. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpnNvh5cpi8&t=77s
Bob: Hi folks! I'm Bob Schrupp, physical therapist.
Brad: Brad Heineck, physical therapist.
Bob: Together, we are the most famous physical therapists on the internet.
Brad: In our opinion, of course, Bob.
Bob: Brad says he has things under control here. So I believe him. Today, we're going to talk about the secrets to driving without back, neck, or sciatic pain. That's a lot of things you're covering there, Brad! You must be pretty confident!
Brad: Yep, it all connects, Bob. It's going to be explained briefly. Okay, so the car seat. Posture in your car seat. I cannot tell you how many patients I've had that have back pain, sciatica, neck, shoulder pain, and oftentimes their car is a part of the problem, contributes to it, or is all of the problem.
Bob: Right! It's a big deal because most of us have to drive, and some of us have to drive a fair distance.
Brad: Right, right.
Bob: You're not only dealing with posture, but you're also getting shock absorption. This is putting additional stress on your spine and neck.
Brad: Especially on the roads in Wisconsin!
Bob: Yeah, especially right now, right!
Brad: Alright, so seated posture. We've got five areas to go over. We want to go over them quickly, because we don't want our people to get bored. Seated posture, first thing is the seat pan, I call this. Some cars have a big hole. This one kind of does.
Brad: If it has a deep hole, because it's either worn out or that's the way it's manufactured, oftentimes you have to fill that in so you're not sitting down in a hole, because that rounds your back out. Now, this one, for me, is actually a seat right out of my van. All four seats are the same. This pops right out. This is fine for me, but this is a seat cushion that I used to use when I'd drive my brother's truck, hauling stuff.
Bob: Because it sank down so much?
Brad: Yes! And you said your wife uses one of these?
Bob: My wife's using it. Not because of hemmeroids she'll want to make sure I'm clear on that. She has a high hamstring problem.
Brad: Why, Bob, why?
Bob: But anyway, she couldn't sit without it. It was so uncomfortable. I think she might be over that now. Yeah, it fills in the gap, doesn't it?
Brad: Right. Immediately, actually, this does feel a little bit better. Maybe I should use one of these!
Bob: Brad, can I make one more comment about that? I used to work up in the city's clinic for a short while, and the bus drivers there would always lean forward to take tickets and stuff like that. I don't know if they even do that anymore. The right side of the seat would wear down, so we'd actually have to build up that side.
Brad: Oh, sure, yeah!
Bob: So if you have any unevenness, you might have to build it up, too.
Brad: There you go! Good point, Bob!
Bob: Alright!
Brad: So then the backrest. Lumbar support is probably the biggest problem with the seat. Oftentimes, they don't have it, or people don't use it, or it's worn out. Or you have sciatica, and you may need more. So this is probably our favorite lumbar support. The Mackenzie lumbar support. They come in different shapes. You're going to use this, and they always have this strap for car seats; it's made to go around, so it stays there. There you go.
Bob: Now, some seats come with a built-in lumbar support, right, Brad?
Brad: You bet.
Bob: And they may not even realize it. It's on the side. But sometimes the problem is that it's not the right height.
Brad: Right. So you have to adjust it up and down until it feels right. I can tell you right now, this is a little big for me. I would need a bit of a smaller one, and they make about six different varieties of size and density of the foam.
Bob: That's why Brad and I often recommend that when you first start off, maybe you just want to take a rolled towel and try it. That way, you can try different thicknesses. See which one tends to work out for you. Then, once you decide that, maybe try buying one that's similar in size.
Brad: Right. Here's another cushion that I've already used on the bottom. You can use a pillow. You don't have to go out and buy something right away.
Bob: Maybe a throw pillow.
Brad: Alright, so let's get rid of that. Here's another sample of a lumbar support. This is actually the support that I use. If you have Spondylolisthesis or Spinal stenosis. I drove a lot this last weekend, and with this in this particular seat, I was a happy person. 750 miles, I was happy!
Bob: Wow! But you really want to be careful here. It is very personal. I don't like this one. I like this in an office chair. I don't like it in my car seat at all.
Brad: Sure.
Bob: It's not like we're advocating a certain type. You have to experiment.
Brad: It's an individual thing.
Bob: Right.
Brad: The next thing, most cars have something called a dead pedal.
Bob: And we didn't know that's what it was called.
Brad: Right, one of our viewers said it's called a dead pedal, and that's on your left side if you're in America and driving on the right side of the road. Your gas pedals over on the opposite side. This isn't exactly what they look like. Bob, can you hold your foot there?
Bob: Sure!
Brad: There's a pedal, they call it the dead pedal. You can put your foot there in a space so that you can push your bottom back into the seat, and that makes a big difference in your pelvis position, which makes a big difference on your back.
Bob: And it keeps your back in position. So you're not sliding forward. You keep your foot there basically.
Brad: Right. Every five or ten minutes or whatever, you push yourself back, in case you scooted forward with the vibration of the car, hitting bumps, whatever.
Bob: It makes sense, it's a dead pedal because it doesn't do anything, right?
Brad: Right. It's just there. It's dead.
Bob: That's a cool name. I like it too.
Brad: Next, head forward posture. Big, big thing for neck, shoulder, and arm pain. People who drive like this.
Brad: If you're like this and you're not aware of it. This is what I use with this seat. If my head's not touching the headrest, I know my head's too far forward. Am I always monitoring? Am I touching the back of the headrest? Then I'll do some chin tucks every now and then as well. This helps stretch the neck out and keep that posture. Which relates to the next one.
Bob: Can I make a point about that?
Brad: Absolutely, Bob!
Bob: First off, though, you want to make sure the seat is fairly upright.
Brad: Good point!
Bob: Because if the seat is back like this, can you go back further, Brad? Now look what's going to happen.
Bob: Yep, his neck is going to go forward automatically in order to adjust. So you need to have the seat upright, about, fairly, almost vertical. Not quite.
Brad: Right! You'll know.
Bob: Yeah, you'll know. And that will keep your head straight and keep your chin up.
Brad: If the steering wheel's into your chest, you're too far forward.
Bob: Yeah, right.
Brad: Anyway, I'm exaggerating here, although you'll see people. It's amazing what you'll see. Look at other drivers, and you're going to see a lot of head-forward posture. If you pull up to them at the stoplight, and you notice, roll your window down and just suggest to them. "Your head's forward. Go up, and it's going to make you feel better." See what kind of response you get.
Bob: Oh, yeah! Do this in New York! It's really going to go over well.
Brad: So, anyway. Seriously, watch that and then scapular retraction. This is big. You can squeeze your shoulder blades.
Bob: You try to put your shoulder blades together. Because over a while, you start to round out your shoulders, and it rounds out your upper back. Going to lead to pain. It's going to even lead to pain in your lower back because you're going to round out that too.
Brad: So I'm going to suggest doing five of them at least at the time. If you're doing a long drive, at least every hour, do five scapular retractions. Keep a good hold on the steering wheel, though!
Bob: Yeah, that's what's nice about it. Those chin tucks. You can do those every few minutes if you want.
Brad: Right.
Bob: They're really good for you, and they actually can feel relaxing to some extent.
Brad: Sure. It helps the circulation!
Bob: When you're in that tense traffic situation.
Brad: Man, I'm feeling better already, Bob.
Bob: Alright, wish you looked better!
Brad: Why Bob, why? Anyway, continue to monitor yourself all the time. Get a habit of that. You may even want to put a sticker on the radio. Monitor your posture, a little sticky, and leave it up there for a week, and that will help. Seriously!
Bob: Yeah, that's true. It's almost like bathing. You've got to do it daily; it's not going to help you. It's like motivation. You don't stay motivated unless you have something that works.
Brad: I've got to get this back in. I feel so much better with my cushion on. Anyway, very good! I hope you have pain-free driving from here to L.A. to New York.
Bob: And remember, Brad and I can fix just about anything.
Brad: Except.
Bob: A broken heart! We're working on it.
Brad: Goodbye!
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