Do you face a long commute every day?  Is it hard to sit upright in the car?  Are you conscious of your driving posture, or is it hard enough to just stay awake?  If you’re starting your day with a pain in your back due to driving, then this article is definitely for you.

For Your Back

Via posturecorrectionblog comes a fine illustration of what a slouch in the car will do to your spine. 

This is especially disturbing when we think about what a spine ought to look like.  It gets even worse when you realize that it’s exactly what you’ve yelled at your teenager for doing.

So how can we keep our backs in order, even as our fists clench in the stress of traffic?

1. Get the car some feng-shui order

This should be obvious, but if the mirrors are in the wrong position or at the wrong angle, you’ll find yourself craning your neck to see behind you.  Also make sure you know where those mirrors are, so when you do need them you won’t have to snap your neck around trying to find them.  If  it helps, especially if your car has a large blind spot get a blind spot mirror to avoid neck contortions.

2. Sit back

Push the seat back until you can maintain about a 130-degree angle in your knees.  This will force your back to begin rounding – you’ll even feel your spine fall into alignment as your chest straightens out.  This adjustment will also take stress out of the knees themselves.  The ideal position will also keep your knees level with your hips.  They should not be arching as you reach the pedals.  Think of how uncomfortable and hunched you feel when your knees are up behind the steering wheel, and then remember: this is my car, not a clown car!

3. Bring the seat forward

This has the same effect as telling that lazy teenager to sit up right.  You know that slouch is bad for him – and now that you know your car seat is putting you in the same position, you should be able to avoid it.  Bringing the seat fully upright will put your back into alignment.  Of course, like that teenager, it will be slightly uncomfortable at first – and you’ll be tempted to put it back.  Don’t!  Getting a lumbar pillow or something similar may help you get over this and provide some extra support where you need it.

4. Relax!

Keeping your muscles tense and your fists clenched is a recipe for pain.  Sure signs to avoid include grinding your teeth or working your jaw, so if you start to develop any sort of pain anywhere, think about why.  If it’s a stress motion, relax.  Put on lighter music; stop if you need to.  Be sure to  breathe through any road drama – that is, don’t add too it by getting angry – and remember to always stretch any aches or pains you begin to feel.

A great way to work out any aches and pains that do arise is to stretch once you arrive.  Natalie demonstrates some great car stretches below…

Do both sides, holding the stretch, for 30 seconds.  These will keep your neck, legs, and back from getting sore after you drive – especially if you are looking forward to a long, painful day at a desk!

(Photo Credit: Lemon-kisses)

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