Pain

As others have mentioned part of the problem is adapting to driving hours longer daily then you have before. In a car we sit in the lazy boy position but in the truck its the dining room chair position. With the high quality highways we travel any position that alters standing at attention while seated will be eventually painful.

Adjust the armrests until they seem a notch or a few too high. Find the spot where they force your shoulders back. Adjust your seat back angle so you aren't slouching but more vertical. Adjust the lumbar support so you can't slouch. Adjust the seat cushion height so you are in the dining table position with your knees at 90* with your feet flat on the floor. Adjust the steering column up and back so you don't have to lean forward to turn lock to lock.

Stop taking the pain relievers. They mask the message your body is sending that you are doing something wrong assuming no underlying injury. By the way ibuprofen plays hell with your blood pressure and acetaminophen can fatally damage your liver a few days after you accidentally overdosed. On the other hand it may be that you have an injury that driving accentuates. If the pain persists despite anything you do you need to get it checked out.

Regardless what you do there will be days you feel like you've been a gorilla's play toy and The Greatest has been demonstrating the power of a kidney punch. Wait until your knees wear out...
Frank

 

It's called stress, It don't go away. The Best Drivers have it.

 

I decided to haul this. Never been here before. Across the country, I will deliver it. I get to see everything, You Pay Me to get it there. I like it. The Freightliner ran thru the night. It's all done with smoke & Mirrors.

 

Saddletramp1200 you better lay off whatever pain pill your taking !

 

You men are such whimps... if child bearing nad been left to men humans would be extinct... sorry, couldn't resist...


Seriously... what you need is two old goats... and I am being serious... it is a lotion that i. good for arthritis and fibro myalgia... works great.. also, stop with the aleeve and motrin.. pick up some Rescue Remedy. Comes as a chewable or gum... as a rookie, we tend to tense up in traffic and such.. therfore are muscles can burn... Rescue Remedy will relax you... it is not a drug..

Then, you need to park at a rest area with trees.. light a Nag Champa incense stick, take a few deep breaths then go and hug a tree.. but before you do, try and set up a way to record the faces of the other drivers and the CB.. it wil be entertaining...

But seriously, do check out www.twooldgoats.com

 

i lean into the steering wheel. i get tired of just sitting in the seat.

 

Get out of trucking and open a Asian massage parlor...

 

Check your sleeping position too. I always end up waking up on mine and hurts forever. Pain wise I would Alieve but that always works for me.

 

Saddletramp I dont fully agree with you on that... while I do believe that stress is a part of the job.. I believe the Best Drivers develop coping skills to lessen the effects of sress on their body and overall health...

I

 

Yeah the first four months of driving my left wrist would hurt from holding the steering wheel slightly to the right 11 hours per day. I thought I needed an alignment but they said that the trucks turn slightly to the right in case you fall asleep while driving. I wore a brace and after a while the pain went away for good.