03/07/2025
BACK ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
An Osteopathic Approach
Whether you spend hours in the car due to school parental duties, commuting or for socialising, it is an environment worth addressing in much the same way as our desk set ups. All the people who attend for treatment come in various shapes and sizes and though cars are better designed these days some are best adapted for long limbed and others shorter limbed people.
My car setup checks can make the difference between whether a patient has an injury that has a chance to heal or goes on to be an uninvited recurring theme in their life.
Seating
Is your seat sufficiently close to enable you to hold your steering wheel with arms slightly flexed?
When you engage your clutch pedal, does your leg have to shift position to such an extent that the pelvis tilts? This will also depend on shoewear and the biting point of the clutch.
Is it at the correct height so that you do not have to bow or hyperextend your neck to look out of the windscreen?
Is the back adjusted so that your spine is supported neutrally?
Head Restraint
Not to be confused with a head rest. The device is very much a safety feature. Ensure that when you tilt your head back that it is your head and not the back of your neck that comes into contact. Many patients over the years have has theirs too low, if involved in a car crash the head restraint has acted as a fulcrum to hyperextend the neck causing damage, if correctly adjusted it protects the neck along with the vulnerable blood vessels and nerves in this area.
Steering column
Ensure that it allows clearance for your knees without being so high as to make your shoulders go north.
Some vehicles allow forward and backward adjustments too.
Shift/Gear Stick
This is really worth checking before buying. Once the other areas previously mentioned have been correctly adjusted, can you reach the shift stick without over reaching the arm/shoulder complex?
Accessories
There are certain accessories that can be utilised to assistance after surgery to the chest wall, such as
Post surgery seat belt protectors, these can be a useful bit of padding but can also divert the positioning of the buckle to lower it or shift slightly further to the side. Also helpful for those who are shorter in the spine.
Thick soled shoes for driving if the biting point comes in very early and the seat cannot come any further forwards to stop you tilting your pelvis, which can lead to back pain.
Car seat wedges, these come in different widths according to how tall you are and according to what % angle needs to be corrected. If the slant on the seat is too great it can lead to tight hamstrings.
Lumbar supports of varying sizes, these come with a strap that attaches to the back of the seat and can be shifted up or down to support the area. A lot of cars have inbuild lumbar supports, so check your manual.
Once these adjustments have been made, it is perfectly normal for it to feel strange at first, but give it a day or two, before you have it re checked if it still doesn't feel right.
