How to Stay Ahead of Beach Traffic, a Real Pain in the Back!

Jun 13

Now that summer is here, we can start to look forward to sunny days, warm nights, baseball games, cookouts, and beach days. With all of this fun comes only one downside, the traffic. We bring this up not to bum you out, but to highlight the effects of sitting in the car for too long. This can go for sitting too long at your desk in the office or at home too. But, during the peak season of summer road and beach trips, it is imperative that we know the effects of sitting in a car for long periods of time, how this can have a negative effect on your back, and how to prevent back pain in situations such as these.

Discomfort in the car can happen whether you’re the driver or a passenger. And, if you already have a diagnosed back condition, it can be worsened over the miles. Being in a sitting position for prolonged periods of time, especially in a car, can have lasting negative effects on your back muscles and can lead to significant back pain later on. Not only is sitting for long periods of time unhealthy for your muscles, circulation, spine, etc, sitting in a car for long periods of time is even worse- due to the stress. Typically, unless we are a sleeping passenger, there is always a little bit of stress while sitting in a car for a long time. Specifically as the driver, we always have to maintain a certain amount of vigilance as we drive to ensure that not only ourselves, but everyone else in the vehicle, is safe. Our eyes are on the road making sure that we are steering clear of other drivers, animals, road blocks, etc, and just trying to get ourselves and our passengers to our destination safely. This stress alone can add to the back problems that we may experience by the time we get out of the car to enjoy the warm sand and refreshing ocean waters.

But, luckily there are ways to help alleviate the back pain, as well as prevent it before you even sit down in the car. So, before heading out for the day, practice good prevention when it comes to your back. Some tips to preventing back pain before you get into the vehicle include the following:

Adjust your seat and headrest to a position that is comfortable to you
Stretch prior to driving
Create lumbar support
Change your steering wheel grip
Use cruise control, if it is available to you
Use your heated seat option (if your vehicle has it)
Take a driving break and get up to walk around
Change/adjust the way you get in and out of your vehicle
Purchase a Sacrowedge from us in the clinic to use in the car!
Don't forget sunscreen! (You can still get a sunburn in the car!)
Contact a PT to help you out after those long beach days or to prevent your aches and pains in the first place so you can beach without worry.

While these are not the only options to prevent back pain while in the car for long periods of time, these tips will definitely help minimize your back pain. It is also extremely important to remember that even after a long drive, whether it was during the daytime or at night, not to immediately lay or sit down after you get out of the car. While it may be tempting due to the fact that you may have had a mentally and emotionally draining drive, causing your eyes to feel heavy and sleepy, it is healthier to try and avoid this for at least 15-20 minutes. Since your body has been in the same sitting position for a long time at this point, what you want to do is move around and stretch your body as much as you can. You need to stretch the muscles and ligaments that have not had much movement, and you want to get your blood circulating again to those areas that have been sedentary during your trip. Once you have done this thoroughly, you will be able to sleep and/or relax better at your final destination.

But as always, if you are dealing with mystery back pain or any other kind of mystery pain in your body that you have yet to figure out the cause of, you have come to the right place! Please give us a call here at Arancia Physical Therapy at 401-602-7006 or contact us online here for a free consultation. We look forward to seeing you soon!