Caution: Driving is dangerous to your health. If you find a car door with a sign saying this, you’d probably laugh and shrug it off. After all, while driving can cause injuries, it seems absurd that it can cause illnesses.

But think about it. Whenever you go for a long drive, do you feel exhausted right after the trip? Does your body feel stiff? Do your neck and shoulders feel sore? Does your back ache? Do you suffer from leg cramps? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I guess you somehow agree that driving can make you unhealthy.

Workers at Risk

In truth, there are many hazards related to driving, particularly in doing this activity frequently or for a long period of time. Below are just a few of them:

• Neck, shoulder and back pain
• Cramps and pressure points in the legs
• Poor circulation in the legs and buttocks
• Low back injury
• Long-term risk of degeneration of spinal disc and disc herniation

While all people who drive are at risk of suffering from any of the conditions above, bigger candidates are workers who spend a great fraction of their day driving. Most of them make a living out of driving or operating big vehicles.

Below are examples of workers most at risk of the unhealthy conditions caused by driving:

• Truck drivers
• Bus drivers
• Taxi and limo drivers
• Heavy equipment operators
• Industrial Truck/Forklift Operators
• Delivery people
• Farmers operating tractors
• Ambulance drivers

Ergonomics and Healthy Habits

• By using an ergonomically correct seat and developing good habits while driving, you can combat the stress and unhealthy conditions it may pose.

• Add extra padding over your seat as needed. This way, your seat absorbs much of the vibration from the vehicle.

• Adjust your seat and steering wheel in such a way that you can step on the pedals without having to move your lower back forward off the back of the seat.

• Keep the back of your seat tilted at 110 degrees from your legs to minimize pressure on your spinal disc.

• Support your lower back by placing a pillow or rolled-up towel between it and your seat.

• When going on long trips, tilt your seat a notch or two every 20 minutes. This effectively changes the direction of the vibration on your body.

• Break your driving into sessions by taking at least 5 minutes of break every hour. Take the opportunity to rest and stretch a little during each break.

• Regularly change your seating positions while driving to avoid poor circulation of your blood.

• Never slouch while driving.

• Right after driving, rest for a while before lifting heavy baggage. The same is true if you have to perform strenuous work. Rest for a couple of minutes and do some stretches before carrying out with your task.

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