[groom]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Sciatic nerve pain is due to medical condition like bulged/slipped/herniated spinal disc. Get treated for it first. After that you have to start sitting upright in office, home and car.

This is right and wrong.



I had a sciatic and the first diagnosis was lower back disc touching the nerves and hence pain. The real reason was inflammation of the bum muscles touching the sciatic nerves which lead to the pain of entire leg. The reason is sitting for a long time in flights as my long distance air travel increased.


If the problem reported in this thread is not related to disc and lower back vertebra and nerves, then simple physio therapy will get rid of sciatica, because there is something else other than the disc that is touching the nerve. And this could be due to long distance driving, inflammation of muscles and thus resulting in sciatica.



My sciatica is gone, because of physio therapy. But i also went to the doctor and covered an MRI and X-ray. It was concluded that it was not slip disc.

[speedmunster]

First thing first. Try driving without your wallet in your back pocket for a few weeks. If the pain still persists then the only option left would be to see a spine specialist with an MRI.

[Rahul Rao]

I have both an AT and an MT vehicle, and I also do upto 700km in a single day two or three times a month. On occasions I have experienced pain in lower back, and also in left leg, knee etc.
In my opinion if we have a medical condition, an unsuitable seat position can aggravate already existing pain. Depending on individual height and body flexibility, some vehicles will not have seat height and lumbar support suitable for your body.
In my immediate previous Polo lower back ache was common after long drives, while among current two cars, the Terrano MT is a bit uncomfortable after long runs, but any amount of travel in my Ecosport AT is comfortable.



Rahul

[CarJunki]

In my personal experience pain originating from spine issues may co-relate with incline at which the spine is kept. Essentially seating posture. In car we tend to not like the upright seating position for driving or even as passenger.

Few years back, I had some back pain and doctor advised physiotherapy to correct the posture in addition to incorporating some light yoga in daily life.

[petrol_power]

This may sound unscientific, but please try this. I remember reading this in bhpian "frankmehta"'s GT TSI thread 3 years before in which he was having back pain while driving and was trying multiple back rests with no result. Finally the crack he found was "not to use the dead pedal". Infact I also have disc issue and I also found the solution spot on and I dont use dead pedal. But both of our problem was lower back pain and may be some lower disc feels better with a flat feet angle.

So it may not work here at all, but can give it a shot though.

[sandygordon]

Originally Posted by petrol_power

This may sound unscientific, but please try this. I remember reading this in bhpian "frankmehta"'s GT TSI thread 3 years before in which he was having back pain while driving and was trying multiple back rests with no result. Finally the crack he found was "not to use the dead pedal". Infact I also have disc issue and I also found the solution spot on and I dont use dead pedal. But both of our problem was lower back pain and may be some lower disc feels better with a flat feet angle.

So it may not work here at all, but can give it a shot though.

My few cents as a neurologist, seeing patients with root pain.

I feel that using the dead pedal is a stretch for many especially in low sedans. Any root pain (called sciatica as a misnomer) increases when you stretch your leg, or lift your leg up when you lie down. Here when you drive an AT you basically stretch your left leg and use only the right feet. When you alternate your right leg on the a and b pedals, you are automatically putting pressure on the left leg as a stabiliser. This happens more when your legs are less flexed and stretched, This will be much less in a tall boy / suv automatic when your left leg will be more flexed at the knee and not stretched.

I have patients with worsened "sciatic" pains after swicthing over to sedans. I d seen a guy with a slipped disc and root pain who felt more comfortable to drive his manual innova than his Audi A6.

[Chillout]

I hurt my back a decade back and encounter pain if I lift any heavy weights, however I have been using AT Ecsoport for over three years and haven't experienced any pain. I have traveled nonstop from Coimbatore to Chennai, haven't had any probem.

[bharatbits]

I have been driving manuals for the last 16 years. First time i took my BILs AT Vento on a 300km trip covering in 5 hours. I must say coming out of the car after the 5 hour drive was not really comfortable. My left leg was extremely relaxed while the right leg tired just like when i drive a manual for a similar stretch. I was literally limping after i got out. The feeling of very tired right and very relaxed left was not really pleasant. Had i driven a manual for a similar stretch my left and right both hands and legs are used evenly and i feel evenly tired and a good sleep sets everything right. Using just the right arm for steering wheel and the right leg for accelarator cum brake with left being unused was not very comfortable.

P.S Based on my experience i feel auto manufacturers instead of giving a dead pedal on AT cars must give a pedal that mimics a accelerator or clutch say with just a dummy spring underneath the pedal so that you can flex your left leg muscles occasionally by depressing it.

[docmech]

Yet another Orthopaedic Surgeons opinion

Not all back pains are sciatica neither do all disc prolapse seen on the MRI scans cause sciatica. ( Most of them do not cause sciatica!)

Sciatica is sharp shooting pain arising from the back and coming down below the knee (less commonly above the knee) which increases with any impulse ie. cough, sneeze etc.

As we age its not unusual to have disc prolapses in the spine, not all of them are clinically relevant, the degenerative process of ageing is responsible for these discs to prolapse. This degenerative process with weak core muscles causes low back pain and pain above the knee. As there is no cure for ageing in any form of medicine, there is no permanent solution for it but for strengthening the core muscles (swimming is fantastic) and making sure that you have proper nutrition (check your vitamin D and B12 levels).

MRI scans are not required for most of the patients with simple back pain symptoms. As a matter of fact they complicate things more often than not, many unnecessary back surgeries are performed every year by showing the MRI pictures to poor patients and frightening them by telling stories of paralysis. Simple medication and core exercise suffice. MRI is only indicated in very severe cases where a diagnosis of radiculopathy (nothing but a nerve root being irritated) is made.

With a bad back, any car would be difficult to drive. My advice would be to get a good clinical examination & do core exercises. MRI only when severe

[kotirajendra]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I have well over 15 years experience with ATs, so may be able to help. Basically with an AT your left leg is lazy. The most important thing is to keep moving it. Also, having an idle pedal is often a big help since it stops you keeping your foot at a bad angle. All my cars have (and had) these pedals.

On the same argument and not related to AT- I have noticed knee pain on long rides. Last week while returning from goa, I lowered the seat height so that my feet were comfortably placed in a proper angle and the knee pain went away. I am also an Iyengar yoga practitioner and guru-ji used to say that malaise in our body arise because some part is used more than others and that alters the equal and symmetric flow of blood across the body. This happens because of the way we walk or sit or even sleep.
In this context, this can be related to sitting position and unequal usage of muscles or bad resting angles.

Guru-ji's interview, watch the first 10 minutes in this context.

https://youtu.be/GD37MGMJdyg

[GeeTee TSI]

While not in anyway a medical or scientific explanation, I had initially experienced some numbness in my left leg owing to it lying motionless on the dead pedal in my GT TSI. Maintaining a better angle of at the knee (closer to 90°) by positioning the seat suitably and then adjusting the steering reach and rake helped to an extent.

Subsequently I started moving my left leg to different positions in the foot well area (dead pedal, closer to seat base as well as slightly cross legged resting on the ankle rather than the sole), which helped me find comfort in many a long drives.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

While not in anyway a medical or scientific explanation, I had initially experienced some numbness in my left leg owing to it lying motionless on the dead pedal in my GT TSI. Maintaining a better angle of at the knee (closer to 90°) by positioning the seat suitably and then adjusting the steering reach and rake helped to an extent.

Subsequently I started moving my left leg to different positions in the foot well area (dead pedal, closer to seat base as well as slightly cross legged resting on the ankle rather than the sole), which helped me find comfort in many a long drives.

Based on my long struggles with lower back soreness i can add the following points:-

Lower back pain is common due to prolonged sitting and bad ergonomics of the chairs.

To treat the problem, in addition to the normal points one has to get one's muscular strength assessed. In most cases the matters are aggravated due to weak Core, Hip Flexor and Glute muscles. Sometimes stiff Hamstrings or Calf muscles also are the cause.
All round stretching and strengthening exercise will help.

[B103]

Originally Posted by spirits999

Hi folks,
I've tried various seat positions but nothing seems to be helping. I'm really worried. I would like to know if there are other folks using automatic cars and are facing this kind of issue. Is there anything that you suggest or you did to solve this problem. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What a coincidence. I too suffer from the same or a similar problem and my experience could help others in this forum.

I have been driving a low slung Honda City AT since many years. Plus, my profession needs me to sit for many hours in a day. Could be that both of these factors contributed. Couple of years back, after a long drive, I started to have pain in the tail bone region. Getting out of the car was so painful. And since then, the pain recurred after every long sitting experience be in the car or office or home.

My pain was localized to the tail bone area but did not extend much to the legs. It is a condition known as 'Coccyx' and may be related to 'Sciatica' where the pain further extends to the leg.

Solution 1:
------------
I bought two of these special purpose cushions:
https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I keep one in the car and one at home/office. Once seated on this, tail bone never touches the chair and it works. Overall, I am able to manage the condition with this cushion and I am able to do long drives also now.

There are problems in instance like when I go for a long office meeting in another room without the cushion or when I take my wife's car where the cushion is not available.

Solution 2:
------------
This should be done along with Solution 1.

In addition, I started doing these physiotherapy exercises from Youtube. Can recommend these videos below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4nE9s8PjT8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg-y8jYBnLg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBCzQ-RfvEM

This one can be done from office desk as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zXWCVlPEb4

These exercises help a lot in pain management. When driving long, stop every hour and try to stretch the buttocks. Now a days, I try to get up from my work desk and climb at least 8 to 10 floors every 1 hour or so.


Solution 3:
------------
If the condition is not improving, you should definitely see a good orthopedist and get medical treatment.

[EDDY21.05]

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Then I met a doctor in Andheri who after doing a through examination told me that the problem was my hamstring which had become stiff. He gave me 2 exercises that helps stretch hamstring and in 2 weeks my back pain is almost gone. So YouTube hamstring stretching exercises and try doing it and see if it helps. Q

Hey, can you please share the details of the doctor? I am suffering from a similar problem for the last 6 years. I have tried multiple treatments but they have all given only temporary relief.

[skatte]

I too experience pain in the left leg quite often while driving. But thankfully, no backpain yet. I don't remember when I last drove with the wallet in my back-pocket because when I tried it during the early driving days, for sheer irritation, I could never do more than a couple of kms with it. Then on, the wallet either goes into a side pocket or somewhere in the car.

The pain started about 3 years ago. I used to own a Tata Manza which is very comfortable to sit - at the front and the rear alike. I never got this pain during outstation drives, but only during my daily 40 km office commute in the continuously worsening Bangalore traffic. I used to drive happily for 6-8 hrs a day, 2-3 days continuously in the hills but I used to surprisingly get the pain back as soon as I entered city limits and drove through bumper-to-bumper traffic from the toll gates. I always thought this has got something to do with the hard clutch Tata diesels were then famous for.

Then, the Manza had to be sold off due to unreliable parts and unaffordable maintenance costs. I also landed in a job which provided me a car lease but after trying my limited choices (am 6'2"), I bought a Wagon R. A Maruti car with a very light clutch - that too a petrol, was expected to be easy on my left leg. But the pain came back within 4 months of driving (the new job was also a 40 km commute).

Since the time I've got this pain, what I have observed is:

1. The pain is only in city traffic. That too, not when I don't drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
2. The pain has nothing to do with the seating position. The relaxed position in the Manza and the high set position in the Wagon R are all the same for me. (For other reasons, I prefer the high set seat for city and relaxed for highways)
3. The pain is initially felt only while driving but if I drive painfully for a few weeks, the pain is felt even after I stop driving - even on my bed.
4. A proper dead pedal may help but my car doesn't have one. But I try to take the left leg off the clutch and keep it on the floor when the pain gets intolerable during a drive. It helps to some extent.
5. Whenever I get this pain, I force on myself a week-long break from driving. I use a combination of Uber/Ola and bus. It increases my commute time but this has always fixed the pain in a week. At the least, I stop feeling the pain when not driving.
6. When the season permits, using my two-wheeler for a couple of days in the week (such that I don't drive the car 5 days continuously) has almost always helped.
7. I've been on a couple of month-long international assignments where I used taxis. I don't feel the pain at least for a week or two after such a trip - however bad the traffic may be.

I've not seen a doctor yet but I guess I've figured out what I shouldn't do. I've learned to respect my body and plan my commute in non-peak hours. This has helped me a lot. However, I have stopped enjoying city driving and drive a car only due to necessity. My time at home is already nothing to talk about and I don't get any family time if I use public transport and Uber/Ola every day. Having a car helps. An AT car for the city is an obvious next step even though I like to drive MTs.

However, I still enjoy my drives outside the city and never get any pain till I hit Bangalore limits again. The only exception to this is when I started the trip with an already screwed up left leg!

Hope this helps.