Driving Back Pain

Driving back pain is a particularly common form of sitting back pain. Driving is a dreaded activity for many low back pain patients. The physical requirements of driving, along with certain psychological factors, can all be contributing causes to back pain in the car. The actual cause of symptoms may vary, but the result is always unpleasant�

Driving Back Pain

Physical Driving Back Pain

Driving involves sitting, often for extended periods of time. This static seated position can make our muscles stiff and sore. Oxygen deprivation back pain is possible from long periods of sitting in a car. The seated position is not conducive to good lower body circulation. Sitting places a large amount of stress on the lower back. The seated position increases lumbar spinal pressure dramatically. If the patient suffers from a lumbar herniated disc, the seated position can apply painful pressure to the injury. Driving also involves abundant reaching and head movement. This can set the stage for muscular back pain, especially when other stress factors are involved. Driving in bad weather, heavy traffic, or when you are late, are all factors that increase the chances of muscular injury. When the mind is stressed, the body becomes tense and prone to injury. Many sciatica patients suffer acute pain from operating the pedal controls in a car. The pressure required to accelerate and brake can be painful, and if they drive a manual, the clutch can be a real killer�

Psychological Driving Back Pain

Psychological back pain is another common cause of driving back pain. Emotional issues associated with work often express themselves physically in a way that relates to the problem. If you need to drive to work, then that activity might be a perfect trigger for psychosomatic back pain. If you have too many family oriented errands that need to be done, you might subconsciously view time spent in the car as purgatory. You probably want to do these important things for your family, but deep down you might feel under too much pressure. Psychological causation can be very subtle and is extremely common with all activity related back pain conditions. We have all heard that sitting and driving are bad for our backs. This nocebo effect can set the stage for psychological back pain, especially if we need to sit or drive a lot in our lives.

Recommendation on Driving Back Pain

Whenever I see a particularly innocent activity-related pain syndrome, I think PSYCHOSOMATIC PAIN. Driving pain can be caused or aggravated by physical reasons. However, I am inclined to think that even if a physical reason is present, a psychological reason is the real underlying cause.

Analyze your pain. Try to determine what is causing you to suffer. Is it sitting in general, operating the vehicle�s pedals or the stress of traffic? Maybe you dread going to your job or even returning home at night to an unhappy family situation. Driving back pain can be far more complicated than it first appears. Get the facts on your pain, then apply the knowledge to find a cure.

Driving Back Pain to Lower Back Pain Home page 8/7/06 Revised 5/17/08