Driving for long periods with a painful back
May 1, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
I’m going to an event on the weekend that is a 6.5 to 7-hour drive. I don’t usually drive such long distances because of my back, but it’s a greyhound cancer/osteosarcoma awareness event and I really wanted to meet the guest speaker, Dr. G. Couto, of Ohio State University, an expert in this field and man who has helped many greyhounds and their families.
But, this desire means my back has to tolerate such a long drive on Friday and then one in the opposite direction on Sunday. My tagline for the blog says, “Living with pain doesn’t mean letting pain live your life!”, so I have to go by that, don’t I?
So, back to the car drive – I know the standard advice of taking breaks, sitting properly, and so on – but does anyone have any other suggestions that may help? I’d love to hear them if you do.
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Just last week I did a 12 hour round trip (6 hours both ways) in a single day with only 3 stops the entire way. It wasn’t fun at all, as you can imagine.
My best advice is to sit as straight as you can and be alert of slouching in your seat. The more I keep my lower back pressed against the seat, the better I feel.