Driving my car is hurting me

[jpcv]

Hi everyone
I had a small crash last December and since then I´ve been recovering well to my "normal" life but since then I´ve noticed one difference: Driving is causing me pain in my arms, my back and is making me more tired.
I could drive up to 4 hours non stop before and now driving short distances like 4 0r 5 Km is enough to put me in bed.
I have tried to move the position of my seat and the steering wheel but nothing Works.
Any tips and similar experiences?

 

[Wolfcub]

This is difficult for you as a car means more independence and being able to get out to places.
I used to get a strain on my lower back in the car, because my car is a long stretch to all the pedals (unlike my old "junked" one! I have long legs for my height, but still it was tricky for some weird reason.
And in UK we all have gear change cars, automatics are rarer. That means the clutch pedal is used frequently.

Soft cushions were the answer. Positioning them just right to take the strain off my back.

I wonder...is it quite a stretch for you to reach steering wheel and pedals? So it's tensing your back and arms? It's possible cushions might help.....

Says I....who was sleepless from excruciating arm pain in the middle of the night, with no obvious cause, which disappeared entirely today. Sometimes nerves just kick up a fuss, and we can't figure out why, except that something neurological is happening.

Neck issues may be happening also.... (though I can't find a single obvious thing wrong with my neck at the moment.)

 

[andyguitar]

My guess is that you have suffered a slight injury to your neck from the accident.

 

[xebex]

try supporting your lower back with a lumbar cushion, i find that helps with my upright and upper body sitting stamina. also in "woo" terms your body could have held on to some of negative energy acquired in the crash and some energy healing like EFT or simple accupressure might help. I was not a believer in all that stuff, but having come from a past of a LOT of physical trauma on my body from being a competitive BMX and downhilll mountianbike Racer, i did accupressure and energy healing on my pain and it is significantly better. It seem to me that for some bizarre reason the body hold on to injuries that it doesn't need to in a form of protection.

 

[jpcv]

Thanks, I will try the lumbar cushion

 

[rel8ted]

Hi everyone
I had a small crash last December and since then I´ve been recovering well to my "normal" life but since then I´ve noticed one difference: Driving is causing me pain in my arms, my back and is making me more tired.
I could drive up to 4 hours non stop before and now driving short distances like 4 0r 5 Km is enough to put me in bed.
I have tried to move the position of my seat and the steering wheel but nothing Works.
Any tips and similar experiences?

Totally possible that you have a neck injury, especially if you have hypermobility. Worth checking. I have totally given up driving for those reasons. If I drive, it increases my pain levels enough that my cognitive abilities decline and that isn't safe for anybody on the road. Was hoping that repairing my cervical instability & resulting spinal cord compression would put me behind the wheel again, but didn't.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Was hoping that repairing my cervical instability & resulting spinal cord compression would put me behind the wheel again, but didn't.

Only drive short distances in small town traffic and few lights. Watch those pedestrians in cross walks!

Barely got thru the last DMV test...if they expect a driving test someday, that may be it.