Shoulder / Neck Tightness

Lot Lizards give a great back/neck massage for $2 and a Taquito.

 

Try one of those therma care heat wraps. Just stick it on your shoulders. Lasts up to 8 hours. Might keep you from being sore at the end of your day. I used those when I drove busses for city. Worked well.

 

What took you so long??

 

Relax...stress can cause this...at least for me.

 

IMHO shoulder and neck tightness is almost always a result of poor setup and steering practices. When I ran on a team coast to coast my partner always set up with the seat tilted way back and the steering wheel forward so he was driving with straight arms. Every time we ran through the midwest with big broadside winds he was in excruciating pain in his neck and shoulders. I never had this problem and tried to get him to change his setup and method of steering, but he was set in his ways and every time it got windy he'd be in pain after a shift of driving.

SETUP - move the seat forward and even tilt it downward so you have plenty of circulation in your legs and can easily mash the clutch to the floor. The steering wheel should be brought forward so when you hold it in the 10 and 2 (I prefer 9:30 and 2:30) your arms have a 90º bend. The back of your seat should be as close to straight up and down as possible, never tilted back (this will also go a LONG way toward avoiding lower back pain).

PROPER STEERING

1. Grip - should be very loose with your thumbs on top of the wheel. Your hands and wrists should be in a straight line, not ####ed at an angle.
2. Arms - should feel HEAVY and relaxed at all times. Feel like your arms are sagging from the base of your skull, with absolutely NO tension at all.
3. Steering - NEVER EVER push UP on the steering wheel, THAT is what puts a lot of stress on your shoulder and neck. ALWAYS pull down with one hand and let the other hand simply BE there on the wheel as a steadying point. The WEIGHT of your arm combined with the large latissimus dorsi muscles on your upper back are what should be steering. NEVER EVER use your shoulders to steer. When I steer into a corner I'm pulling my elbow into my side and sliding it along my torso for more stability.

If you find that there is ANY tension creeping into your arms, shoulders, or neck then immediately exhale, let your arms hang limp, and wiggle your elbows back and forth toward each other like suspension bridges swinging in the wind. At first I had to do this exercise quite a few times every day, now my relaxation is habit.

If you set up and steer in this fashion you'll find that the force of input you need to put into the steering wheel is very minimal. It will also help guide you through rough roads that want to toss you side to side, and when the wind is requiring quick inputs on the steering wheel to maintain a straight course.

 

and you know that how son

 

I could hear you in the kitchen...when you thought I was in bed asleep.

 

for me the most comfortable is chair back up straight seat in close to the wheel and wheel flat like I am still in my 82 COE