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-   -   Automatic Transmissions & DVT problem in the left leg (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/215966-automatic-transmissions-dvt-problem-left-leg.html)

Can driving an automatic car over long distances without taking a break be dangerous? Well, it may be if we take into account this news in Times of India. My father sent me a link to this news. Link

Apparently a healthy 30 year old had gone on a long drive in his automatic transmission car in tight jeans and he ended up suffering Deep Vein Thrombosis DVT .


How can one overcome this?

• Taking regular breaks.
• Stretching your legs and little bit of body movements.
• Wearing comfortable clothes.
• Keeping self hydrated.
• There are medications but I don't think it should be taken as a prophylaxis until and unless advised by a doctor.

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Learn something new everyday - thanks for sharing!

I'd say whatever the car, one must take a break & step out every 90 - 120 minutes. Also, keeping yourself otherwise fit with good exercise + food + sleep might help.

This article in ToI was rubbish. It has nothing to do with automatic transmissions causing this. The guy probably had an underlying condition and didn't take a break when needed.

If this were true half of America would suffer from DVT since they drive automatic cars over a lot more distance and a lot more time covering longer distances. Plus movement inside the car on freeways is even lesser.

I've always found tight jeans ridiculous and uncomfortable, seems to be a rage in India with teens these days.

Me, I'm an old fashioned guy, I wear the regular fit cotton pants and regular stretchable jeans. I still avoid jeans as much as possible (they are uncomfortable as hell when driving).

That being said, only some people are more susceptible to DVT, its not something that happens in mere hours or even days normally. I'd put this as a one off case which wont apply to 99% people. Still, I've never done long distance cruising (max 150 km) and will never do so. Our internet/smartphone gen today seem particularly delicate and fragile, on top of that they work on a desk all day. Glad I'm in a more physically active line of work.

Thanks for putting this out there. Useful for people to be mindful. Personally I do not feel concerned about this because I simply need a break every couple of hours for coffee or something. When driving long. The analogy is no different from being on a long haul / transatlantic flight. Like GTO said, you need to take a break and move around. Some people even consider wearing compression socks. Personally I did it recently on a Chicago india flight but that was partly to aid recovery post running a marathon. But in general if you google on long flights and DVT you will get a lot of material and the analogies I would imagine are the same on a long drive with one foot not moving at all.

Very true GTO. One learns something useful and new everyday. But these luxury cars are becoming so comfortable both to drive and be driven in with each passing generation that driver fatigue levels are going down steadily. So one can do more kms non stop in them. I shudder to think what will happen when the age of fully autonomous cars dawns on us. People will start taking naps while behind the wheel then :D.

One more question regarding this. Isn't this problem applicable to back seat passenegrs? They also can sit in the same posture for extended periods of time enjoying the massage and reclining seats in these luxury cars. Of course they have far more room to stretch out in the back than the front, but still.

Well, I somewhat agree with you. But if you look at incidences of DVT developing in truckers in the US of A, there are many articles. There are multiple factors that can lead to DVT.

Link1 from USA.


Link2 from Denmark.

When we were in the US, I sent my wife on a long flight back to India in her 7 month of pregnancy so that our kid would be born on Indian soil (!) and her Doctor back in the US told us exactly these 2 factors (long periods of sedentary seating + pregnancy) to be high risk causal factors for DVT for her. So I booked her on an Emirates A380 and it worked out well for her. She got lots of walking space and seating space all around during the flight. Our kid is a rambunctious 4 year old and the wifey is a harassed but non-DVT afflicted mom today :)

As to why this link was made between DVT and driving an automatic transmission equipped car - I can only guess that you are bound to be far more motionless in an AT car than in a MT. Add to it the fact that AT cars are ripe for Cruise Control, you are far more likely to be absolutely motionless in your body's lower half when cruising out on the highway.

OT: I personally found that the Cruise Control feature in my erstwhile CVT equipped CSUV was a somnolent feature and without active feet, I would fall asleep at the wheel quickly.

Passengers in your car, semi sleeper bus get much less movement than drivers of automatic or manual transmission cars do. By that logic half our country should have DVT already :D The dude had some underlying condition that got aggravated by the extended immobility.

I'm sorry I feel I haven't been able to explain the reason what the person suffered from as a sequelae to DVT. He developed Pulmonary Embolism which is a potentially fatal condition. Pulmonary_Embolism

So it could be a possibility that many people end up suffering from DVT but few develop catastrophic issues. In periphery, these cases often go undetected. Why do I say so? Because I've had some cases presenting with different symptoms post fracture. Recently, a fairly active person known to me developed DVT and diagnosis was missed elsewhere. He was aggressively treated thereby preventing Pulmonary Embolism.

Agreed.

The article seems to imply that driving an AT car for a long time "causes" DVT, which is totally incorrect. However, if there is an underlying condition, then not moving the left leg for a long time while driving AT car can trigger this medical condition.

My mom had a surgery recently, and DVT was a risk. While she was at the hospital for a week, we had a DVT machine "massaging" her legs so that there is no clotting.

That was my first reaction as well. Have some first-hand experience with DVT in the family and, while it does show up rather rapidly, it beggars belief that a long drive in tight jeans could cause something as serious as this.

However the Mayo Clinic cites "sitting for long periods of time, such as when driving or flying" as one of the Risk Factors of DVT, so I suppose it's possible. Highly unlikely, if you ask me, that not only did DVT develop in the time span mentioned but also dislodged and manifested as a pulmonary embolism. Especially given the source of the "news" :p

I've covered 125,000 km in my automatic, most of it in bumper-to-bumper traffic, so must consider myself at risk too! But usually what happens is you get stiff and move the leg about anyway. Sitting with the left leg absolutely motionless seems like a really unrealistic scenario.

Risk factors, yes. Cause? No. Because when we are sleeping, our legs are mostly still for 6 to 8 hours! If still legs can really cause DVT, then all of us should be sleepwalking!