If you own a car a considerably big portion of your time will definitely be spent in our cars. For the sake of convenience, you would drive to work; drive back home, run errands, visit friends and family, and so on. Unknowingly you spend hours seated and this can have negative effects on your posture and spine. You can also experience joint and muscle stiffness and pain.

So, unless you can figure out how to teleport, you will be stuck driving our cars for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, below are some tips to alleviate back issues.

Drive Carefully

This is the most obvious tip when it comes to protecting your back while driving. A car accident can be fatal and cause joint misalignment and muscle strain. Even a slight fender bender can cause an injury. So, the first step to protecting your back while driving is to be safe on the road. Give yourself space to react and even if you drive carefully be aware of other reckless drivers.

Support Yourself

After driving carefully this is the other most important tip to protect your back while driving. Most high-end cars have lumbar support seats and some even go a step further to have air lumbar support systems.

If your car doesn’t have lumbar support, then you can have a lumbar cushion that can nicely support your back’s natural curve.

Check Your Posture

Many of us sit with a poor posture on our car seat. We lean back against the seat which pushes our backsides forward. This posture creates an unnatural and painful curve on the spine. So, what you should do is sit with your backside touching the seat. This ensures that you are sitting straight.

This will not only make sure you have a good posture but also help you react better at the wheel.  Adjust your seat properly if sitting straight makes it hard for you to reach the pedals.

Head Rest

The headrest is a very important set up of your car seat. You probably think that the headrest is just for comfort, but this actually has a functional use. The headrest is what keeps your head from snapping and prevents whiplash in an accident.

Adjust your headrest so that your head is as close as possible to it and the top of your skull should align with the top level of the headrest.

Don’t Strain

If you are straining your head forward, with your chin in a thrust-out position, make a conscious effort not to. Sit back with your head tucked in and your head comfortably on the headrest.

You’ll still be able to see the road but with less strain on your neck.

These are some ways you can protect your back and spine while driving. If you are driving continuously for a long time for example on a road trip, it is recommended that you stop and take a break from time to time.