Employ These Tactics To Avoid Back Pain During Summer Car Trips
People can commonly develop sore backs from long hours of sitting in the car on summer road trips, but there's no reason to cancel your summer plans of traveling out of fear of getting a sore back. A simple strategy for avoiding back pain on long trips is to take frequent breaks to stretch your muscles, but there are a number of other ways that you can take charge to prevent back pain from damping your trip. Here are some tactics that you can easily use on your upcoming trip this summer to keep back pain from interfering with your good time.
Use Pillows To Support Your Body
If you find that your car seat doesn't properly support your back, plan to travel with a variety of small pillows that you can use to support your body. You can place the pillows according to how you commonly develop back pain. For example, if you find that pain develops in your lower back, a thin pillow placed between your sacrum and the car seat can provide enough support to prevent pain. If you're a passenger in the front seat and you sit with your legs stretched out, this could potentially lead to back pain. To avoid this risk, you can place a thin pillow at the back of your knees to bend them slightly. Contact a business, such as University Physical Medicine, for more information.
Slide The Seat Forward If You're The Driver
If you're the driver and have long legs, you might commonly drive with your seat pushed all the way back so that your legs don't feel cramped. The concern with this position, however, is that it can cause you to reach forward toward the steering wheel with your arms and shoulders — and risk developing pain in your upper back. It's a better strategy to slide your seat forward a little. You should be able to comfortably reach the steering wheel with your upper back pressed firmly against the seat. Remember, if your legs begin to feel cramped, you can always stop and take a short walk around to stretch.
Get Your Vehicle Tuned Up
It's a good idea to take your vehicle for a service appointment before you travel this summer if you notice that the vibrations in the car are getting worse. Shocks and struts have a finite lifespan, and replacing these key elements of the vehicle's suspension can make for a significantly smoother ride — and lessen the chance that your trip will result in back pain from being jostled around.