I just received a concerned letter from a patient who has a chronic low back problem. She was concerned about the impending long drive with her family this summer. Good preventative thinking! Let’s let everyone in on this advice.

Here are the tips for all you road warriors to keep your back out of trouble while you are driving:

• Keep your backrest upright. It should be close to a 90 degree angle  with the seat. It keeps you from “turtle-ing” your head forward.
• Keep the curve! Put a water bottle or a rolled towel behind your low back just about at belt height. This will keep your low back curve that protects your disks and muscles.  And,”No” , your fancy lumbar support mechanism in the car seat is not enough.
• Lift ‘em high! Adjust your seat to have your seat higher than your knees. This is more difficult in a sport coupe, easy in an SUV. It will improve your dispersal of pressure across your fanny.
• Keep the change! Modify your position often to keep blood flow from pooling.
• Give it a break! Stop and get out to do your stretches every 90 minutes or so. For example: Put one straight leg up on a stair or the bumper and lean forward (hamstring).  Then, try a heel to butt pull on your quad muscle. Also, try a lunge on one leg at a time to stretch out the hip flexors .

You will be much happier when you get there. So, have a great time and a healthier trip! Call if you need some personal instruction on these stretches. 630-322-9522