Nobody’s essentially comfy whereas slogging by means of bumper-to-bumper site visitors. However once you take care of again ache, prolonged automotive rides aren’t simply an annoyance—they are often downright hellish. It’s a actuality that Olivia Sabedra-Buck is aware of effectively due to years of power lower-back points from a herniated disc. A pointy jabbing sensation used to radiate right down to the tops of her thighs shortly after she’d buckle up. “When it was at its worst, even driving 10 or quarter-hour sucked,” the 36-year-old advertising and marketing supervisor from Santa Barbara, California, tells SELF.

When you, too, have again ache that will get worse once you’re confined to a car, we’ve bought some hopeful information: Just a few small modifications earlier than, throughout, and after your drive could make rides much less grueling—and none of them contain convincing another person to get behind the wheel or staying dwelling completely. Listed here are a number of the most necessary modifications to make, in response to consultants.

1. Plan your journey fastidiously to scale back bodily—and psychological—stress.

Sitting, on the whole, isn’t nice in your physique—and that’s very true when you’ve got power again ache or are recovering from an damage, like a strained muscle from lifting weights on the fitness center. That’s as a result of it could put stress in your backbone and surrounding muscle mass once you do it for extended durations. Minimizing the period of time you spend within the car may assist, Arya N. Shamie, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgical procedure and neurosurgery at UCLA College of Drugs, tells SELF. That will imply scoping out your route on Google Maps earlier than you got down to keep away from trafficky spots, even when it’s the identical drive you do every single day. In case your commute is the difficulty, maybe you attempt leaving earlier to dodge a freeway gridlock and arrange in a close-by espresso store to kill a while earlier than heading out.

A much less chaotic journey may also reduce on psychological stress, which may make your again really feel even worse, Dr. Shamie explains. Create a playlist of calming tunes, obtain a chill however entertaining podcast, maintain a comforting snack or drink close by (thermos of chamomile tea, anybody?), and switch the AC or warmth to a pleasing temp. Even simply taking a number of gradual, deep breaths (eyes nonetheless open, clearly!) at a stoplight might help. “When you’re tense in your arms and gritting your tooth, you’re additionally tensing up your again muscle mass,” Dr. Shamie says. “It’s actually necessary in your complete physique to be relaxed.” Attempt the 4-7-8 method when you’re brief on time: Inhale by means of your nostril for 4 counts, then maintain your breath for seven counts. Lastly, launch the air and breathe out for eight counts.

2. Arrange your seat ergonomically.

While you hunch over your steering wheel—or sit in any place that overly flexes your backbone—you may pressure your decrease again muscle mass and add strain to your vertebrae, Dr. Shamie says. As a substitute, situate your self so your again follows the light, S-shaped curve of a wholesome backbone.

One of the best ways to do that? Get your seat in the precise spot. Transfer it shut sufficient to the steering wheel and pedals so that you just’re not overly extending your arms or ft to succeed in them, and guarantee there’s roughly 10 inches of house between your chest and the wheel. Attempt to maintain it low sufficient so your elbows and shoulders keep relaxed as you grip the wheel. (Inserting your palms at 9 o’clock and three o’clock is finest.) Your higher thigh ought to at all times be resting on the cushion beneath you (which means, you shouldn’t be too far ahead on the seat), and your hips must be in keeping with (or barely greater) than your knees. “In case your thighs aren’t supported, you’re placing extra stress in your decrease again,” Dr. Shamie says.

3. Help your backbone with a pillow.

Talking of posture: Inserting a small pillow proper above your tailbone might help you preserve a pure spinal curve and cease you from slouching. “It places strain in your again above your waistline and pushes your stomach ahead a bit, which is a greater posture for driving,” Dante Implicito, MD, a backbone specialist and chair of orthopedics at Hackensack College Hospital, tells SELF. “That’s a more healthy posture once you’re driving.” You could find them from retailers like Amazon—this one or this one would probably get the job achieved—however in a pinch, Dr. Implicito says a rolled-up towel can do the trick. Some automotive seats have built-in lumbar cushions you may inflate or deflate, however these aren’t often sufficiently big to supply assist, says Julie Sherry, PT, a bodily therapist at UW Well being.

4. Change positions every time you may.

Make it some extent to do small—however impactful—actions all through the drive that’ll restrict stress in your again and maintain you from getting fatigued. For instance, when you at all times lay your proper arm on the center console, shift it to the opposite facet and drive together with your reverse hand each 15 or 20 minutes. “You need quite a lot of postures so your muscle tissue isn’t stagnant and static,” Sherry says. Even a mild twist of your torso whereas briefly stopped is a good suggestion.