Driving Smart to Prevent Neck Pain in Vacaville

Driving for a long time can result in a stiff neck but doing some preventative maintenance can help avoid driving-related neck pain in Vacaville.

A significant portion of the population suffers from neck pain at some point in their lives. Normally, it is caused by trauma or medical condition while it can also be due to stress and strain on the muscles supporting the neck, or even the bones or nerves in the neck. There are also activities that can end up in a stiff neck like when you are trying to hold your head in an extended position and using your arms and upper body for a long time - which is a rather good description of driving a car.

Most of us drive to go to work. But since you may have a lot of stress to worry about where you arrive at the office, here are some things you can do to reduce stress and neck from settling in the first place.

Staying pain-free on the road in Vacaville

When you are so focused intensely when driving a car, the stress it brings can contribute to neck pain. To avoid this, you need to adjust some things before driving and change the way you drive.

• Support your head. Adjust your headrest to the point that it touches the middle part of the back of your head.
• Maintain a good driving posture. The best angle to follow for the back of your seat is at 100 degrees, which is just a bit shy of being straight. Place your hands in the 10 and 2 o'clock positions on the steering wheel and make sure your elbows are resting properly on the armrests.
• Adjust your mirrors. Adjust the mirrors to the widest field of vision available so that you don't have to move your head around when trying to see properly.
• Support your lower back. If your car seat has lumbar support, adjust it to fill the space at your lower back. If it doesn't have that try putting a small pillow against the bottom part of your seat back so it will maintain the right shape from the tailbone to the neck. Also, position your seat close enough to the steering wheel so that you don't have to lean forward.
• Avoid eyestrain. Driving with poor vision can cause eyestrain and will put you in a position where you must crane your neck forward, thus putting pressure on your neck muscles. If you are straining to see while driving, you should get your vision checked. You need to also ensure that your windshield is clean enough to help you see clearly. If you are driving in bright sunlight, use sunglasses that has at least 99% UV protection.
• Cruise along the highway. If you are driving on long stretches of road, cruise control will allow you to rest your feet on the floor and reduce the pressure on your back.
• Take a break. If you start experiencing stiff neck, starting to feel neck pain, or you simply want to prevent it, pull into the next rest stop. Do some stretching exercises and walk off the kinks.

Driving behind the wheel can become a part of almost everyone else's daily routine. You can avoid neck pain by maintaining good posture and incorporate some adjustments to take the strain off the muscles supporting your neck. If you want more advice on this one, you can contact Absolute Integrative Physical Medicine by dialing (707) 474-5688. They can even help you if your neck pain starts to become chronic so don't hesitate in making an appointment with them as soon as possible.