So we have been home now for a few weeks and I have been busy with setting up the house again. I am really hurting, no doubt diet has been way layed the past week or so...my own doing..will get back on it.

I have not driven myself in a bit less than a year,since we left my car here. I have a car with a manual transmission, which I have driven twice since we have been home. Not good to say the least, I notice both times that I have an area on my lower back that feels like I have had an ice pack on it for hours...anyone else have this happen?

Looks like I will be looking for a new car if this pain continues after getting back on track.

have a blessed day

You might need some lumbar support on that seat when you drive. Also, are you stretching regularly? That will really help you with the turning you have to do to drive.

Take it slowly and don't expect yourself to be able to drive a couple of hours off the bat.

Don't know if that helps, but I hope so.

Hugs,

I have a manual (hate automatics) and have a lumbar support additional seat/back cushioning. So long as the seat is comfortable I can drive for about 3 hrs at a go. Then have to stop over for a good stretch - and sometimes a zizz!!

My main buggerboo on driving is turning the head - that is a complete bind for me. Need the additio0nal mirrors but no one has heard of em here in France - will have to wait over until I get to the UK...flippin pain.

P.S. Mine is a 4x4 - Daihatsu 5 door Terios. I like to to be high up, makes getting in/out of easier. HATE low cars, wretched pain to get in/out of and uncomfortable - and that includes Jaguars! Really I ONLY like the 4x4 - practical as well - good for gardeners and if one has a dog or one is going shopping. No irritating low down boots to have to delve and fooster around in. Also, being higher up, makes for easier motoring, one can see better (also makes location in the parking lots a tad easier!)

Yes, my low back feels odd without my lumbar cushion in the driver seat. I won't drive without it. Hope you get one to feel the amazing difference it makes.

Shari

Thanks for the advise.

my "numb" patch tends to be a bit further up - kind of mid-thoracic. Not there all the time, but enough for it to be a fairly normal thing for me.

Hello Alida,

I had issues with the seats in cars... it would cause my hips to flare if in car more than 10 minutes. turned out to be the seat... so I bought special cushion (Tempur) and problem was solved for my hips.

Long rides would cause stiffness with back, but never had manual car when had issues with AS so cannot talk to that aspect of driving.

Take care,

Tim

due to the bone spur in my neck (at least that's what my doctors think is the reason), i can't sit in seats that slope in or back. thus car seats are just about the worst.

my car, a 1995 saturn, the seats are ok for drives under an hour with an ice pack on my thoracic back. thus i can get to and from work. can get around town, so long as i pack a cooler full of ice packs for the errands i need to run.

other cars, newer ones for sure, soon as i sit down in some / within 15 minutes for the best, i can feel the muscles tighten in my neck and upper back, can feel the numbness in my face. so, i've kept my 1995 saturn with ~220,000 miles on it, because i haven't found a car built since 2000 that i can sit in. we tried them all at one point, well, all within a price range that we could afford, so none of the italian sports cars or anything

maybe with the right cushion under you and the right lumbar support, can turn a car seat into something better?

this is my favorite lumbar pillow. since its an air pillow, its 1) adjustable and 2) easily transportable. its the one my husband's PT recommended.

medic-air back pillow

longer trips, really can't do by car anymore. but if i need to: as a passenger, i take my muscle relaxant, use the lumbar pillow, put my feet up so my knees are above my pelvis, and use ice packs on my upper back, and then i can get there.

but, not the symptom you describe, rather for me, its mostly a muscle spasm / nerve thing. that then lasts for weeks to months later.

Hi there. You may want to try and go for heated seats... they're a joy all year round (to me). And a neurologist once suggested to me that I "invest in a Volvo" since my body couldn't take too many traumatic car accident injuries. I asked him if he'd write me a script, haha. Anwyay, there is some good advice in there, try to go to the best car from a safety perspective. I know that advice will be taken to heart by me upon the purchase of my next vehicle.
Best wishes, Jess

Love my heated seats. They heat the back too. "Relax the Back" stores have great things for the back! Highly recommend them.