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-   -   Suggestions to avoid knee pain while driving (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifications-accessories/251715-suggestions-avoid-knee-pain-while-driving.html)

I apologize up front, since I wasn't sure which forum was appropriate for this question.

I am a 'large' individual and, as such, my legs go off to the side when driving my Fortuner, i.e. I end up resting my right knee on the door when driving. The issue is that this causes a lot of pain on the specific part of my knee that rests against the door. Do you all know of some kind of knee brace that I can wear, to protect the side of my knee?

I guess people might say that my driving style sucks, but I am used to it now. And I had the same issue with all the cars that I have owned

Thanks

The obvious one comes to mind: Foam padding on the door.

Second one I can think of is those knee protectors bikers wear. I am not sure what they are called.

Thirdly, and I am sure you have heard it before, try to lose some weight. That will do wonders not only to your knee pain, but overall health.

I have no idea what you mean exactly when you say large, but walking in waist high water could be a good start. Needless to say, consult a qualified doctor and/or expert before attempting anything.

Get yourself checked by an Orthopaedic for underlying ACL or MCL related injury, which may require a medical treatment and postural correction, else you run the risk of this worsening significantly with age.

Short-term = padding on the doorpad or on your knee.

Long-term = get off carbs, sugar, junk food, start intermittent fasting, watch your portions, workout. All this & more in our weight loss thread. Read it, follow it and it will change your life :thumbs up. Many of us lost weight thanks to the advice on that thread (I personally dropped 22 kilos 4 years back, as did my kid bro earlier this year).

It's knee pain today, can become back pain tomorrow. Get fit & lose weight.

Contrary to what others are assuming, I understand that you may be a tall individual with long legs. And hence you have to rest your knees/legs sideways instead of straight ahead.
In doing so your right knee is constantly brushing against the right door.
Is the pain that you get similar to impact injury (e.g. a cricket ball hits you and causes blue bruise mark)?

I have had this for sometime now. Your feet are not perpendicular to your thighs for prolonged periods and that is the problem statement. Refer image. https://images.app.goo.gl/8ZMKDR17xALVcGrp9

Yes. You are correct. I am tall and overweight. The pain is due to my knee brushing/resting against the door. I brought a knee brace with some padding, from Amazon. I will report back on whether it reduces the discomfort over long drives.

- How long does it take for knee pain to hit you? Take a break every 1.5 to 2 hrs for coffee/tea, walk around a bit and see if it helps. Getting to a destination 30 mins or 1 hour later than usual is immaterial because nobody else other than yourself is keeping a tab on how long your drive took.

- I have difficulty imagining that knee resting on doorpad is causing the pain (unless you drive on terrible roads all the time). I suspect your seat height is either too high or too low. Go for the opposite of current setting and see if it helps.

It usually takes about a couple of hours before the area gets sore. I think it is because I rest the side of my knee against the door. I even did a control experiment where I consciously avoided manspreading and the pain disappeared.

I will try out your suggestion about going the opposite way or trying a different seat alignment. Thanks. :thumbs up

Most likely, you are setting up your seat wrongly for driving. Your legs should not be going off to the side, nor should your knees be knocking on the door or the central console. You probably need to push back the seat a notch or two.

There are dozens of videos on YouTube telling you how to set up the seat correctly - the one I like is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9gMaf99-mI

Try setting up your seat correctly first, then reassess if the problem persists.

I drive a small car and I have I too had knee pain initially when driving. If it is purely from pressure/friction in the contact are in the knee, buy a yoga mat or gym mat, tear it up in to small pieces and paste them one over the other on the door at the point of contact. If it is internal, check if you are moving your knee while pressing the accelerator. If you do, then you reposition and relearn to use the waist to press the accelerator. This motion involves the glutes and hamstrings and is similar to climbing stairs. This worked in my case.

Thanks. I didn't realize that this would be a factor. I thought I would be pivoting on my ankle, but your post makes me wonder if I actually do use my knee.

Those neck pillows that look like a bowtie and are strapped on the headrest, perhaps strap one to your knee?

Have you considered making this a habit? This would probably be a long term solution.

Like some people suggested, it is a good idea to get fit to avoid such discomfort during most normal activities. Always address the root cause rather than going for stop gap arrangement.