How to avoid aches and pains while driving: 5 tips revealed
This is pain in areas such as their back, neck, shoulders and hips while driving.
To help them out, Helen O'Leary, director and physiotherapist at Complete Pilates, has teamed up with Cazoo.
Together, they have created a driver-friendly car guide on how drivers can best position themselves when driving, to avoid aches and pains.
How to avoid aches and pains while driving
Adjusting your seat
It's important to if you're driving a shared car to adjust the seat so it bests fits you when you're behind the wheel.
Helen explains: "First of all, you need to ensure that the seat is not pressing against the back of your knees - many cars allow you to lengthen or shorten the seat to achieve this.
"Seat height is also key - you should be sitting upright, similarly to in a desk chair.
"Finally, when thinking about the steering wheel height, you should ensure that your arms are slightly bent.
"Most modern cars allow you to adjust the seat exactly, so ensure you take time to set it correctly before each drive.'
Lumbar support
Supporting your spine is the most effective way to avoid RDS, which can be done fairly easily.
Helen says: "The easiest way to do this in a car is getting Lumbar support, or finding a way to support your lower back - for example through a cushion.
"Ensuring you have enough support in your lower back will help you sit up straight without overextending.'
Cruise control
If you have the option for cruise control in your car, then that can help reduce RDS.
Helen explains: "This feature can be incredibly useful for preventing pain. Having a car with cruise control means that you can take your foot off the gas and therefore not work your foot and ankle muscles constantly.
"This will help reduce the chances of a sore and tired foot and ankle, particularly those muscles at the front of your shin.'
Cars with options for this include a Volkswagen ID5, and a Ford Mustang Mach E.
Take breaks
It's important to take breaks from driving to give your body a chance to move and lubricate its own parts.
Recommended reading:
Helen adds: "It is also worth taking time to stretch in this break, as it can help to prevent any further stiffness'.
Staying flexible beyond the car
It is important to maintain a good strength and flexibility routine to aid recovery after long drives.
Exercises Helen recommends include back extension, Reverse Nordics, sumo squat, high step up and book openings.
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South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- South Wales Argus
How to avoid aches and pains while driving: 5 tips revealed
It comes as research from Cazoo found that 57% of drivers surveyed say they suffer from 'Repetitive Driving Strain' (RDS). This is pain in areas such as their back, neck, shoulders and hips while driving. To help them out, Helen O'Leary, director and physiotherapist at Complete Pilates, has teamed up with Cazoo. Together, they have created a driver-friendly car guide on how drivers can best position themselves when driving, to avoid aches and pains. How to avoid aches and pains while driving Adjusting your seat It's important to if you're driving a shared car to adjust the seat so it bests fits you when you're behind the wheel. Helen explains: "First of all, you need to ensure that the seat is not pressing against the back of your knees - many cars allow you to lengthen or shorten the seat to achieve this. "Seat height is also key - you should be sitting upright, similarly to in a desk chair. "Finally, when thinking about the steering wheel height, you should ensure that your arms are slightly bent. "Most modern cars allow you to adjust the seat exactly, so ensure you take time to set it correctly before each drive.' Lumbar support Supporting your spine is the most effective way to avoid RDS, which can be done fairly easily. Helen says: "The easiest way to do this in a car is getting Lumbar support, or finding a way to support your lower back - for example through a cushion. "Ensuring you have enough support in your lower back will help you sit up straight without overextending.' Cruise control If you have the option for cruise control in your car, then that can help reduce RDS. Helen explains: "This feature can be incredibly useful for preventing pain. Having a car with cruise control means that you can take your foot off the gas and therefore not work your foot and ankle muscles constantly. "This will help reduce the chances of a sore and tired foot and ankle, particularly those muscles at the front of your shin.' Cars with options for this include a Volkswagen ID5, and a Ford Mustang Mach E. Take breaks It's important to take breaks from driving to give your body a chance to move and lubricate its own parts. Recommended reading: Helen adds: "It is also worth taking time to stretch in this break, as it can help to prevent any further stiffness'. Staying flexible beyond the car It is important to maintain a good strength and flexibility routine to aid recovery after long drives. Exercises Helen recommends include back extension, Reverse Nordics, sumo squat, high step up and book openings.
Sky News
6 days ago
- Sky News
'My son died from a milk allergy at school - I want to make sure it never happens again'
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A previous reaction This was the second time Benedict had an allergic reaction at school, having previously been sick while eating a pizza. And while she was keen to stress she did not blame individual staff members, the inquest found no allergy plan was created by the school, and there was no specific allergy policy when he started school. Staff responsible were also not privy to key information about Benedict's allergy. "Benedict's death was preventable and was caused by a cascade of failures - individual, institutional, and systemic," Helen said, shortly after the inquest returned its verdict. In a statement, Benedict's former school said: "The only comment that Barnack Primary School wishes to make at this point in time, is to offer its sincere and heartfelt condolences to Benedict's family at the tragic loss of Benedict." Benedict's Law There is currently no legislation that exists to protect children with allergies, and so Helen is working to ensure no other children die at school from an allergy. "Schools are left to interpret patchy, vague guidance and to carry life-or-death responsibility alone. This is unforgivable," she said. Following a campaign by the Benedict Blythe Foundation, set up in his memory, Redditch MP Chris Bloor presented the Schools (Allergy Safety) Bill, also known as Benedict's Law to parliament on 9 July. "With an ever-growing number of children requiring allergy care, it has never been more vital that the place we entrust with the care of our children - the school where we drop them off every day - is a safe and secure environment, but too often it is not," he told the House of Commons. The law would require an allergy policy in every school, training for staff on how to identify reactions and deal with them, and spare adrenaline pens in every school. 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Helen Swan's voice is quiet yet urgent when she answers the phone at her home in Stonehaven. It doesn't take long to understand why. When we spoke, the 54-year-old mum was just days away from boarding a flight to Frankfurt, where doctors would inject powerful chemotherapy drugs directly into the tumours spreading through her lungs, bones, liver and soft tissues. It's a procedure called TACE — targeted arterial chemoembolisation — and Helen believes it is her only real hope of slowing down her cancer. She knows from experience that as soon as the drugs enter her body, she's in a race against time to get home before the side effects strike: searing nausea, crushing exhaustion and days where she can barely stand. Yet for Helen, the urgency lies not just in the cancer invading her body, but in something else – the knowledge that if she can't keep raising the money to pay for each £6,000 trip herself, her treatment will stop. 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