Back Care Advice

Handy Hints For Car Drivers

1. Getting Into & Out of The Car

This is often difficult particularly if you are suffering with some discomfort in the back. The following tips may help

– Try to avoid twisting. Turn the whole body towards the door, lower your feet to the ground then stand up. You may wish to stand up by pushing your hand on your thighs or the seat or else pulling yourself up on the door arch

– When getting into the car, sit on the edge of the seat first then rotate the whole of your body into position

– If there is restricted space in your vehicle, it may be helpful to slide the seat backwards to provide more room for getting in and out

– When driving high vehicles always use the footstep to climb down from the vehicle. Repeated impact on the spine from jumping can be damaging

2. Loading or Unloading

If you have just spent several hours on the road, one of the worst things you can do is lift, especially out of the boot of the car. Even lifting small items in and out of a car boot is risky as the combination of high boot sills or bumpers and restricted access can produce awkward postures that make the back vulnerable to injury. If loading or unloading the boot then, when possible, plan it so that the lightest objects are at the back and the heaviest towards the front

– Before lifting, stand upright, place your hands in the small of the back and arch backwards a few times

– The golden rule is to keep your head up

– If you are taking objects out of the boot then slide them towards you before picking them up to reduce the danger zone. When placing items into the boot, place them down as close to you as possible and if there are several objects, place it down then slide it towards the back to create more space nearer to the front

– Don’t twist whilst lifting and keep the objects as close to you as possible

– If you need something out of the back seat, don’t twist and reach for it, use the back door