struggle with poor posture / back pain?

https://youtube.com/shorts/OaFJSrh6CIQ?si=lTMkJ_8r9QMMHVMY

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ft745UmDoFQ?si=yFPC3DU2NyUEHuet

 

Aside from the long term pain it can cause you, it is bending and putting pressure on all those credit/debit/reward cards.
Those things are fragile. If they crack in the wrong place you may not be able to use them.

On the road and possibly with little cash on hand, needing a shower... do you really want to take that chance?

The easy part is finding a small space or cubby to store the wallet, while the far more hard part is the mental discipline to do it.
After all, you have to both store it and then retrieve it when you leave the truck.
Keeping track of both the front end and back end can be a daunting task.

 

Funny, my wallet was so thin while trucking, I never felt it,,, really, a wallet is a small part of the back fatigue, I used a back brace( still do) and that helped some, but not much except get out and walk around the truck.

 

Just ordered myself a back brace, 20 years of playing driver, mechanic, and unloaded has finally caught up to me I guess,

I’m about done with narrow cab trucks too

 

Be careful with how you use it. When your lower back is hurting, the support that a back brace gives does help and helps a lot. The problem is, wearing it all the time while driving will never allow what is weak to strengthen. In fact, stabilizing muscles can atrophy.

It’s like wearing a cast for a broken bone. The cast offers stability, but the muscles become weaker from disuse.

The most common cause of back pain for drivers is caused by the hip flexors tightening so much that it strains the lower back muscles. What causes this imbalance between the hip flexors and the lower back?

Answer: Sitting leaned back.

Fix this situation by learning to stretch the hip flexors and by positioning the back of the driver’s seat straight vertical. Driving this way allows the hip flexors to relax. I also found that the mistake that I made was when sitting in the sleeper for hours. Either support yourself by sitting against the back wall or lie down.

“But Six, I’m used to driving with my gangsta lean!”

I did too…but I rather drive like grandma with low visibility than to suffer from lower back pain.

 

No wallet for the past 35 years. Never carried cash in my wallet anyway. Front pockets only. Small amount in one pocket, Large amount in the other. Age old advice. Faced by a drug crazed idiot with a gun, give them the small amount. They’re likely to grab it and run off.

 

Good advice. Back supports have their place. Mainly when lifting heavy objects. Local Beverage Drivers who are usually in good shape can help guard against ruptured discs. Strengthening stomach muscles is key. Strengthening back muscles is often overlooked. Lying flat on face, arms and legs spread out, like an X, lift opposite arms and legs simultaneously, equally as if a puppet. This exercise builds the back muscles fast. I’ve actually made pain disappear almost immediately by adding this exercise to my stomach exercises. Learning limits and using leverage, I’ve been able to function relatively well for over 26 years after back surgery. Lot of info available today. The physical therapy type exercises really work. They strengthen muscles to support bones. Keeping everything aligned. Same thing a Chiropractor does when muscles no longer can. A combination of whatever works. Certain exercises work on everyone differently. Learning which work best, based on weaknesses. Any exercise is better than none. I don’t do much. Just enough to keep me out of the Dr.s office.

 

The issue with a back brace is it accelerates the weakness in the muscles used to support your spine. The back brace will absolutely reduce or eliminate the pain, but it doesn't fix the problem that causes the pain. Ever know anyone that broke their arm or leg and wore a cast for a couple months. How did their arm or leg feel when the cast came off, very sore because they hadn't moved the arm or leg in so long and the muscles were very weak now.

If the back pain is caused by sitting, and not a previous injury, strengthening the muscles around your back will reduce the pain. The video I post below shows a product called a Roman Chair. It allows you to the the opposite of a sit-up or stomach crunch. You don't need the device in the video, the main thing is to see the exercise and then do that exercise, not buy the device because it's the only device that will help. You can use a wight bench or piano bench or even your bed, or a closed door to hold your feet down while you do the roman chair exercise.

You use a closed door to hold your feet, imagine you have a closed door at end of hallway. Stand with your back to the door. Kneel down on your knees and put soles of your feet touching the door. Attach this $11 device to your door and let it hold your feel down. Now on your knees do sit-ups where you start out on your knees and bend over toward the floor and then straighten back up. Normally you would do sit-up laying on your back and raise your torso up and toward your knees. You do the same motion as a sit-up but your back is to the door and you are on your knees. When you bend you bend toward the floor, and the device will hold your feet down so you don't fall onto your face, and then straighten back up. If you look at the model demonstrating the device, she is sitting on her but facing the door. For the exercise I describe you have you back to the door, your feet are under the device that is holding her feet down, and you are on your knees facing opposite direction as her. Now bend toward floor and raise back up.

Doing these roman chair exercises strengthens the muscles around your hips and lower back. Since we sit all day, it's a bit like your arm in a cast, the joint just doesn't move for hours every day so the muscles get weak.