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Perfect posture to avoid bad backs for comfortable driving

Are we sitting comfortably? Judging by the aches and pains many of us feel after a long drive the answer may well be no.

Even the daily commute can become quite painful if we don’t have good posture behind the wheel. Maybe we underestimate just how long we spend in our vehicles. For instance, somebody who lives only half an hour from their workplace will be in the car for five hours over a working week, just driving to and from the office.

That’s five hours of bumps and potholes, acceleration and deceleration, looking in mirrors, craning your neck, and pressing on pedals. Without the correct driving position, those stresses and strains can really take their toll over time.

Eight in 10 people in the UK reportedly suffer from back pain at some stage in their lives, and poor posture behind the wheel can certainly worsen any underlying problems.

So, how do you make sure you are sitting correctly in the driving seat?

If everything is as it should be, your arms should be slightly bent as you hold the wheel. You shouldn’t need to move your head from side to side to see in your rear view or wing mirrors. You’ll be able to reach the pedals easily, with a slight bend to the knee when the controls are fully depressed.

Make sure the back rest is positioned so that your shoulders are right up close to it. Your bottom should be snuggled in tightly against the bottom of the back rest.

If your posture is correct, you’ll be sitting upright and feeling nicely relaxed. You will be positioned so that you can see the road ahead clearly. Your knees will not touch the wheel. The top of your head will be no lower than the top of the headrest, with a gap of up to six centimetres between the back of your head and the headrest. Cruise control, if you have it, will help to take stress off your back because you’re not using your pedals so much.

When choosing your car, make sure the seat offers solid support. It should be structured to maintain its shape after tens of thousands of road miles.

On a long journey it’s worth taking a few breaks to stretch your legs and straighten out any painful creaks before something really starts to seize-up. If you are stationary, a few side bends or buttock clenches may help. You can also try bracing yourself briefly against the wheel and pressing back into the seat to ease muscle tension. Or you could try pushing your shoulders back in a shoulder shrug and hold for a few seconds before relaxing.

A quick final thought. Businesses go to great lengths to ensure employees are sitting with the best possible ergonomic posture in the office, to avoid stiff necks and bad backs. Don’t we owe ourselves the same duty of care behind the wheel of a car? After all, we spend enough time there.

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Perfect posture to avoid bad backs for comfortable driving