Back problems stop you from driving

Yep, also will happen if you carry a wallet in your hip pocket; it tries to curve the spine.

 

H20 beat me to it, but I would second that. I had the same problem / symptoms and it was to do with the arms, the angle and pressure points where the arm would dig in at the edge of the armrest. Problem is disappearing quickly now that I altered the armrest height.


To get rid of the symptoms, I used one of these and would recommend it to anybody with back problems:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CC3TUSG/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Don't know if this is your situation, but best of luck to you - back pain sucks.

 

Chinatown beat me to it, if you take that 4" thick wallet full of $100 dollar bills out of your back pocket, that helps. I too suffer a lot of back pain, not caused by the thick wallet, but more from the pivoting in my hips from pushing in the clutch for 35 years( I think) and also from not exercising, as your stomach gets bigger, your back muscles weaken(or visa versa). Sometimes something pulls near my kidney area, and I can barely stand or walk for 2-3 days. I know, exercise is not always possible while running down the road, but getting out every couple hours, as a pillow for lumbar support helps me. All I can say, pal, is you ain't alone!

 

I got back into trucking early last year and was going fine until about June. I started to develop chronic pain in my lower back, with numbing and tingling in my left leg. For a while there I was thinking I'd have to give up trucking as a career.

Now I'm fine thanks to:

1. Investing in a Wonder Gel seat cushion. I got the middle thickness one (1.25") and paid $89 for it at the Little America truck stop in Wyoming.

http://wondergel.com

I had some immediate relief from this, but then the pain in my leg was amplified while my back was improving. Finally I took the cover off the gel (a honeycomb pattern) and went to work to shave off the front edge so it wasn't cutting the circulation off from my legs. Immediate reduction of leg pain.

2. I started really working on finding a better driving position. Finally figured out I could adjust the seat "depth" (the distance from the back to the front edge of the seat) and set that to as short as possible to allow the back of my calves just under my knees to be completely free of any pressure. I also tilted the seat forward instead of having it tilted back, and brought the entire seat slightly forward to have my heels relaxed on the ground while operating the pedals.

All that I finally dialed in about six months ago. I've been completely free of any kind of back or leg pain for about four or five months now. I'd encourage anyone with back or leg pain to consider the Wonder Gel seat cushion, modify it to have ample leg circulation, and play with the seat adjustments for better posture.

One added bonus of greater comfort is that I'm able to drive for several hours without a break. Before I was rarely driving continuously for more than two hours so I could get out and stretch my legs and back. I'm more productive now.

 

Had a Korean doc tell me this also , he called it wallet syndrome .

i told him I wish my wallet was thicker

 

I just had my 2nd back surgery 2 months ago , the previous surgery 1987. I have healed up pretty quick and am back to work and feeling better ( Non trucking Job ) but if I sit around too much that's when it starts to hurt.

So far the best thing that works for me is just to walk , seems to get everything moving again. My surgery was for a ruptured disc in the lower back both times.

i am also thinking of getting one of these back braces , had one before and seemed to help.

This Saturday I am flying from Korea to Japan to Dallas to Indianapolis so I am sure I will be getting up and stretching my back and legs often. All you truck drivers seats surely have to be more comfortable than an airplane seat.

 

On those long overseas flights I've found that frequent walks to the stewardess station helps.

 

That's for sure ! My wife can sleep but I never can sleep. It's a 2 hour bus ride to the airport here in Korea and she even sleeps on the bus. It would be great to sleep from Tokyo to Dallas , that long ride over the pond really sucks

 

Air China has the little TV screen on the back of the seats and one of the channels is a map showing the location of the plane. Seems like it rarely moves it's such a long flight. Years ago when I was in the Navy, flew on Continental Airlines from Vietnam to Travis AFB in California. All the passengers were military guys. Seemed like the flight lasted about 30 minutes. Lots of 101st Airborne on the flight. Stewardess's said everyone fell asleep within minutes of the plane taking off. Every flight since then seems like it took a month.