Posture and Good Driving Habits

While your posture and driving habits might seem streets apart, good posture while you’re driving is vitally important. In the short term it can help you to feel more comfortable as you travel through peak hour traffic, which is, let’s face it, stressful enough without the added discomfort of poor posture.

Over the longer term, good posture while you’re driving can help you to avoid several posture related problems like misalignments of the spine, excessive pressure on joints and discs, strained muscles, back ache and stiffness.

When we think about posture we rarely consider our driving posture but here are a few posture related issues to consider next time you get into your car:

•    The driver’s seat. Does your vehicle seat have good support for your lower back or does it cause you to fall into a slumped posture? If your notice that your posture is slumped, consider trying a lumbar support – you may have noticed that a good number of taxi drivers tend to use them!

•    Do you drive a vehicle with manual transmission? If you do you might notice a tendency to hold the left hip forward towards the clutch. This posture can slightly alter the alignment of your spine.

•    Shoulders and arms: holding your arms up so they’re almost straight while you drive can lead to neck ache and tired muscles. This posture might occur if your seat is reclined too far.

Next time you drive, give a thought to your posture and how comfortable you feel. And if you’re experiencing back ache, neck or shoulder pain, muscle fatigue, or joint pain, perhaps it’s time to visit the Chiropractor Fitzroy for an examination of your spine. Why not call us now for an appointment?