How To Relieve Lower Back Pain While Driving 

Having to drive many miles to get to work and run errands isn’t just a proverbial pain in the neck. Driving also causes visceral discomfort or even debilitating pain in the lower back and extremities. 

And it’s not just long-haul truck drivers, taxi drivers or Uber/Lyft drivers who are feeling lower back pain when driving. Everyday commuters are feeling the wear and tear on their lower backs. Not surprisingly, the longer you’ve been driving, research shows, the more likely it is for lower back pain to negatively affect your quality of life. 

In fact, according to a study in the Journal of Pharmacy & BioAllied Sciences, lower back pain was significantly higher among those who were driving for at least 10–15 years. 

Lower back pain is the most common musculoskeletal condition, affecting roughly 70% of people at some point during their lifetime. And of the people who experience lower back pain, the recurrence rate can be as high as 85%, estimates suggest. Certainly, driving isn’t the only contributor to lower back pain, which costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars in medical costs and lost productivity. However, the act of driving alone—not including car accidents—is one of the leading contributors of chronic low back pain. 

Causes Of Low Back Pain While Driving

The two primary contributors to low back pain from driving are prolonged sitting in one position and incorrect posture. Even if you’re sitting in a car with perfect posture, doing so without taking a break or adjusting your seat position can lead to the lower back musculature tightening and, eventually, becoming fatigued. Fatigued spinal erector muscles—the muscles that run vertically along your spinal column in the lower back—become stiff and strained, which can eventually cause pain. 

As for posture, it’s not just the position of the adjustable seat-back that matters. It’s also the position of the seat that your buttocks rests on; the height of the steering wheel; where you position your hands on the steering wheel; the position of your knees in relation to your hips, and other factors. 

In addition, another factor that can cause lower back pain from too much driving is the quality of your shocks. If you have lower back pain that worsens while driving, you may want to invest in a new set of shocks and struts. Having old and worn-out shocks and struts causes your vertebrae to compress. This, in turn, may cause lower back pain. 

Consequences Of Low Back Pain From Driving

Lower back pain caused by driving can severely impact your quality of life and have serious health consequences. And it’s not just the physical manifestations of pain. It’s also the mental toll lower back pain while driving can take. Studies (such as this one) suggest an association between having lower back pain and depression and tiredness. 

Eventually, lower back pain from driving can lead to herniated discs (a bulging of the vertebral disc which presses on the nerves), sciatica (shooting pain down the legs), and spinal stenosis (pain or numbness from impinged nerves in the spinal cord), among other serious conditions. 

How To Reduce Low Back Pain When Driving

The first step to eliminating pain while driving is to have an optimal ergonomic driving position. 

Some people assume that sitting up nice and straight is the best position to drive. However, sitting upright for several minutes places stress on the spinal erector muscles. 

To support your lower back while driving, rather than sitting upright at a 90-degree angle, slightly recline your seat-back position to a more relaxed 100-120-degree angle. 

When you get to a red light, you can temporarily re-adjust your seat to a 90-degree angle and take a few deep breaths (to manage the stress of being stuck in traffic). However, only maintain the 90-degree, straight-up position for a minute or two. Then, resume the slightly reclined position. 

Also make sure that your seat is close to the steering wheel. And if possible, make sure that your knees are in alignment with your pelvis; your knees should not be higher than your hips. (For very tall people, this may be difficult to avoid.)

In addition, your arms should be in a relaxed position with elbows slightly bent, hands at the 10-and-2-o’clock position on the wheel. Your hands should be in alignment with your shoulders. If your hands are higher than your shoulders, adjust the steering wheel position, if possible. Also, driving with one hand can place stress on the upper back. 

Another way to reduce strain on your lower back while driving is to purchase a lumbar support cushion. Lumbar supports help maintain the normal lordotic curve (forward tilt) of the lower back. 

Finally, if you’re going on a long road trip, take frequent breaks to stretch. 

Posture Pump® Helps Reverse Low Back Pain From Driving

Relief from low back pain requires not only lumbar support but also support of the sacral spine (just above the tailbone), thoracolumbar spine (between the rib cage and lower back/lumbar spine) and thoracic spine (upper and middle back). 

The Posture Pump® Elliptical Back Rocker™ Model 2000 targets all four spinal areas and for most people, provides long-lasting relief within minutes. 

Using the dual air cell Expanding Ellipsoidal Decompression (EED®) patented technology allows for gentle lifting and stretching of the lower back from the comfort of home. This unique technology safely decompresses and aligns the vertebrae, allowing for improved disc hydration. 

Designed for those who may be suffering from painful low back stiffness, the Posture Pump® Elliptical Back Rocker™ Model 2000 has been successfully used by thousands to relieve low back pain from driving and other contributors to chronic discomfort in the lower back and extremities. 

Most people who have tried the Posture Pump® Disc Hydrator® Elliptical Back Rocker™ Model 2000 experienced a significant reduction in low back pain in as little as a few uses. Additionally, you are backed by a 60 day return policy at www.posturepump.com.

Low back pain caused by driving can rob your quality of life. Don’t let commuting or long road trips get the best of you. Try Posture Pump® today.