Whether it is a holiday trip or a taxi driver’s working day, there are lots of mechanical issues to attend to before going anywhere by car. But nobody considers the car seat as one of them. Depending on the amount of driving hours to be spent behind the steering wheel, the car is subjected to many different mechanical services before the trip like, tire rotation, brake check, steering and suspension, etc. But what about the driver? He or she is as important as the car itself. The driver must be comfortable in the seat, feel safe while driving, and his or her body health must be kept intact. In order to enjoy the hours spent in the car, the driver must take into account that the need of a back support is compulsory not only for himself or herself but also for those riding alongside.

Let’s say that a driver might spend many hours behind the steering wheel. He or she must drive comfortably to prevent any abrupt maneuvers or cause any car accidents. A back support is perfect for keeping the back aligned and relieves the tension in the body caused by the long trip. The back support ensures the body remains in the appropriate position throughout the journey.

Besides, the seat itself must be checked before any long journey. It must have the seat belt in working order with the possibility of adjustment to fit taller or shorter people who might be driving that same car in the same trip. The back support is placed on the driver’s seat once it has been checked in the car service. The back support keeps the body of the driver in the correct position the whole journey contributing to a safe trip for the driver and his or her companions.

What is more, the driver must also be in good health to be able to withstand many long hours of driving. A back support offers the comfort, safety and healthy solutions that a driver needs for a good trip. The correct position of the back prevents the driver from suffering any back pain or even headaches usually related to uncomfortably long trips. The soft cushion places the pelvis correctly for a long journey keeping the pelvis from suffering any uncomfortable ailment.

Every driver should have a back support for their cars. It offers comfort for drivers who work all day in their cars, safety for those who are not used to driving many long hours non-stop, and keeps the body in good health since the back support improves the spine position while driving. It also helps the legs rest during the trip, and places the pelvic bones in the correct position in the special cushion. This gadget, the back support, was especially created for car seats to be used by people who spend many hours driving and whose discomfort or fatigue may cause a car accident, no matter how experienced they are at driving. A back support is not an expense; it is an investment for life.

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The most frequent activity that people do during the hustle and bustle of the day is sitting. Whether it is at the office, on a bus, or at home, people are not aware of the damage that they cause to their bodies when the posture is not the appropriate one. Bad posture may cause headaches, backaches, dizziness and the like, but few people know this. When consulting a doctor, the solution given could be a pill, exercise, massage, or a vacation. ‘Relax,’ they might say, ‘you are under too much stress, too many hours of hard work.’ But the real reason that your body is suffering is as simple as getting up from your bed. You should begin by changing your bad sitting habits and sitting properly, or your body will suffer the consequences sooner or later.

How exactly does the body suffer when your posture is bad? Headaches appear caused by serious spine-bending, and in some cases, even scoliosis is diagnosed. Those headaches might turn into dizziness, or nausea, which are very dangerous in pregnant women. In order to ease the pain, many people take pain relievers. Naturally, pain relievers stop the pain dead in its tracks, but abusive pill taking might create a drug addiction. Moreover, even though the pain itself is dealt with, the real cause of the pain is not, which is no solution.

Another problem caused by bad posture is backaches. The spine houses most of the central nervous system and the back mirrors the pain. Besides, the muscles stiffen severely deriving in serious back ailments. The nervous system is in appropriate alignment when the posture is good, and the pain will not appear. Sometimes, people do not pay attention to headaches or backaches, and they once again choose to treat the problem with pain relievers. But these drugs just hide the real problem and offer no solution to what’s really causing it.

Moreover, blood circulation is also affected by bad posture. Good posture contributes to adequate blood fluidity which in turn contributes to healthy muscles and joints. Muscles and joints are in constant movement, so when they are still, but under a wrong posture, they tend to get damaged. For instance, sitting with your legs crossed or your pelvic bones on top of a foot seriously harms the circulatory system. This might lead to the appearance of varicose veins, swollen legs, or even gout, provoking, thus, intense pain in muscles and joints.

Changing ordinary habits is very hard, but not impossible. You must understand that keeping your body healthy is important and that good posture could help you save a lot of the money spent on pain relievers, doctors, or alternative therapies.

Nowadays, there are different ergonomic seat designs, which contribute to a healthy body. These chairs help the body stay in good posture constantly and make a habit out of it. So remember, if your body aches, itches, or swells, try checking your posture. This might be the root of your ailments. Take care of your body; you’re stuck with it for the rest of your life.

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Most people abuse their backs and don’t even realize what they’re doing.

Would you be willing to walk around with your head turned to one side for eight hours or more? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

However, stomach sleepers remain hours with their heads turned to the side, putting unnecessary strain on their necks and spines. If you suffer from back pain, watch how you sleep, how you sit, and how you stand.

Here are some other common sure-fire ways to cause back pain:
•Bending forward while doing housework. Women, especially, tend to bend forward when performing everyday tasks such as ironing, cleaning, washing or vacuuming.  Men tend to do the same while gardening and fixing engines.

•Sitting too far from the wheel while driving. The seat must be adjusted for every driver. When you get in the car, adjust it so your arms stay slightly bent. A seat placed farther away than arm’s length forces your back to curve forward; a too-near placement forces your knees well above the hip level and you lose support.

•Sitting straight or leaning over the desk.  Ergonometric studies suggest disk displacements are more frequent among people who adopt an upright sitting posture (a 90-degree angle between the spine and the floor). No matter what you’ve been told, an upright posture is not healthy. Likewise, people who work hunched forward are at risk of significant wear and tear of the low back disks.

•Spending too much time on soft couches. Although a soft surface may feel comfy, it will make the muscles of your lower back work harder than necessary. Sooner or later, muscles tire and the back loses its normal curvature.

And Sure-fire Ways to Prevent It
If you are guilty of some of the common bad posture habits mentioned above, the following tips will prove helpful.

Fasten your belt… and towel. Before driving, if don’t have a car seat support, try rolling a towel and placing it behind your back at the level of the lumbar zone. A rolled up towel provides good support in bed as well. Try it before going to sleep and you’ll feel the difference the next morning.

When seated, keep your lower legs vertical. Stretch the legs every now and then; but don’t sit with the legs straight forward for a long time.

Learn how to lift things. This is the right way: stand in front of the object with a wide stance and kneel until one knee almost touches the floor. Firmly grasp the load and stretch the legs while keeping your back straight. Don’t bend. Always, always keep your back vertical when lifting heavy objects.

Twist and shout, baby; but… never while lifting things. If you want to turn to the side while carrying a heavy box, shift your feet instead of twisting the back.

Minimize the time spent sitting. Whether you are at home or office, sit for as short intervals as possible. Whenever feasible, choose an ergonomic seat with adequate back support.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.trucomfort.com as the original source).

“Discomfort is based on poor biomechanics,” concluded researcher M.G. Helander after investigating how people perceive whether a chair is comfortable or not.  “Comfort is based on aesthetics,” he concluded.

People have in mind mechanic features, such as seat depth and height, stability, back rest angle or its consequences (i.e.: fatigue) when they determine that a chair is uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, buyers choose their chairs based purely on inconsequential characteristics, like…

…Aesthetic features: plushness, upholstery and color

…Emotional perceptions: “It feels good”; “I like it”; “Makes me feel relaxed”; “Ain’t them beautiful?”

Thus, chairs that were perceived as comfortable when bought end up discarded or replaced because the owner became aware of the bad mechanical design. Unfortunately, most often than not, when the buyer realizes he made a bad decision, it’s usually too late. Even worse, most people are resigned to using a cumbersome design.

If you selected or are about to buy a chair based on emotional perceptions, you better reconsider your decision. Perhaps it’s time to get rid of your “comfortable” but not so well-designed chair.

But… How to find out whether you are facing an ergonomic seat or a bad design? This remains a controversial question among manufacturers and researchers.

In an attempt to predict subjective evaluations or ergonomic seats, DeLooze et al reviewed more than 20 studies. All of them measured objective parameters, such as:

Pressure at the backrest and seat pan

Number of body movements needed

Posture

Muscle activity (using electromyography)

Spinal loading

They found that the best predictor of subjective comfort was the first one: the amount of pressure and its distribution over the backrest or the seat pan.

Amazingly, if the chair was designed to provide uniform pressure distribution and seat support, the users reported too much discomfort. Chairs that were evaluated as the most comfortable offered varying levels of pressure in the seat pan and the backrest.

How can this be explained?

It so happens that most human spines are not symmetric. If you looked at frontal-view X-ray plaques, you would see many people have asymmetric backs; that is, either the left or right side is slightly wider.

In fact, human bodies show asymmetries everywhere: one leg larger than the other, an eyebrow higher, etc. and the back is not an exception. The greater the asymmetry in the length of legs or arms, the more likely the individual will suffer from back pain.

Problem is… chair designers assume symmetry when they develop a new product.

During an ergonometric study, subjects were allowed not only to adjust the height of their backrests, but also to displace it sideways: some adjusted it to the left, some to the right and some left it aligned to the centerline.

About 70% of the participants evaluated chairs with left-right movable backrests as more comfortable that chairs with fixed support.  In a similar study, chairs with lumbar support ranked better than chairs without support for the lower back.

So, how does your chair feel now?

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If you’re anxious about suffering from back pain, it’s important to take care of your back health. First, review this list of 12 risk factors associated with back pain and determine whether you are likely to encounter future back problems:

1.Age – Surprisingly low back pain typically occurs more frequently in people aged between 30 and 40. It becomes more common as age increases but this risk drops after the age of 65.

2.Fitness level – People who are not physically fit are more at risk of developing back pain since they are likely to have weak back and supporting abdominal muscles. Those who take up moderate exercise each day or practice low-impact aerobic exercise promote good spinal disc health – these discs cushion the vertebrae of the spine.

3.Diet and obesity – A diet that is high in fat and calories is likely to lead to obesity. Additional weight on the body can put extra strain on the back.

4.Heredity – Some causes of back pain, including disc disease, may have a genetic component.

5.Race – Studies of a condition called Spondylolisthesis – when the vertebrae of the lower spine slip out of place – have indicated that African-Americans are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop the condition than Caucasians.

6.Presence of other diseases – Other diseases which are present in the body may contribute to back pain. These include certain cancers and forms of arthritis such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

7.Occupation – If you have a desk or driving job that requires you to sit all day in an uncomfortable chair or if you are involved in work that requires heavy lifting, pushing or pulling (particularly when this involves twisting the spine), then you are more at risk of incurring back injuries or developing back pain.

8.Smoking – Though the actual practice of smoking does not lead to back pain, it can inadvertently lead to injury for the following reasons: repeated coughing can lead to back muscles being strained; smoking can slow down healing of existing back injuries; smokers are less likely to be physically fit which is another risk factor; smoking limits the body’s ability to deliver essential nutrients to the back’s tissues and discs.

9.Poor posture – If you have learnt poor posture habits over time, it is likely you will develop back pain in the long term. This is because poor posture leads to extra and unnecessary strain being placed on the back – over time this can lead to significant back problems.

10.Stress and emotional factors – Studies have shown that stress and long periods of depression can contribute to conditions such as chronic back pain. This may be because of elements such as the sufferer unconsciously tightening their back muscles when tensed or unhappy.

11.Pregnancy – A woman’s body – and in particular her back – is significantly burdened by the weight of the baby she is carrying.

12.Sports – Some sports carry a significant injury risk when they are practiced, e.g., skiing, snowboarding, wrestling, contact sport such as football and rugby, and gymnastics. Other sports may put extra strain on the back, leading to pain.

If you find you are at an increased risk of developing back problems, make sure you learn how to care for your back’s health every day to prevent back injury and keep it in good form. This includes investing in a good posture and back support for your desk chair or car, undertaking regular exercises which help strengthen the back, and learning good posture techniques which reduces unnecessary back strain.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.trucomfort.com as the original source).

If you’ve sustained a whiplash injury, you might be anxious about how long it will take you to feel better. Whiplash injuries can be painful and uncomfortable to live with and sometimes sufferers can exacerbate their injury without intending to.

Read this quick guide on how to make a full recovery from your whiplash injury.

What is Whiplash?

Whiplash is an injury that occurs when the neck muscles, tendons and ligaments are pushed outside their normal range of motion. Often it is a sudden, extreme movement of this type – such as the head being thrust forward and backwards like the motion of a whip – this results in whiplash, e.g, during motor vehicle accidents, sporting activities, accidental falls and assault. Repetitive stress and chronic stress involving the neck can also be causes.

What are the Symptoms?

Most symptoms of whiplash become apparent within 24 hours of injury.
These include the following:
- neck pain
- neck swelling
- headaches, most commonly this will occur at the base of the skull
- difficulty moving the neck and stiffness
- pain shooting from the neck into the shoulder or neck
- dizziness
- blurred vision
- fatigue

Seek Medical Advice

If you have sustained an injury which caused your whiplash, it is essential that you contact an Emergency Department to be checked out by a physician. This is because there are many severe risks associated with neck injuries so self-diagnosis is not recommended. For other causes, it is also wise to be seen by a doctor before any attempt to self-treat so a correct diagnosis can be made.

Treatment for Whiplash

Short term

- Whiplash will normally cause inflammation of the soft tissues in the neck. To reduce this inflammation, apply a towel wrapped in ice to the area of pain for 20 minutes at a time. This can be carried out for the first 24 hours after injury or until the pain subsides. Heat treatments that are applied to the neck are helpful at a later time to help relax the muscles – especially before performing rehabilitation exercises or stretches recommended by your physician.

- Take acetaminophen for pain relief or ibuprofen which also has anti-inflammatory properties.

- Bed rest and an avoidance of excessive neck strain may also be recommended for a period following the injury.

Long term

- Your physician is likely to recommend gentle stretching exercises to help restore the neck’s range of motion. They may include neck strengthening exercises to help rehabilitate muscles and prevent future injuries.

- Depending on the severity of your injury, you may be referred to a physical therapist to help you cope with pain and help restore the health of your neck tissues and muscles. The physical therapist may introduce further exercise and stretches or use ice, heat or ultrasound treatments. They may also perform specialized neck massage which has been known to help whiplash injuries.

- For severe cases of whiplash which include acute pain, prescription painkillers may be used. The patient may also be offered a corticosteroid medicine or lidocaine – a numbing medicine – to relieve muscle spasms. Muscle relaxants may also be prescribed.

- Acupuncture has been shown to relieve persistent neck pains caused by strain. This may be an alternative treatment choice for some patients.

- Chiropractic has been likened to physical therapy and may be pursued by the patient. It pairs spinal manipulation with exercise and takes a holistic approach to treatment.

Outlook

Most whiplash injuries are resolved completely within six weeks of injury. However, some sufferers experience symptoms for a year afterwards and a further 18% are estimated to have severe injuries that cause discomfort beyond a year. It is always recommended – before and after injury – that good back care practices are followed to prevent injury and speed up recovery times of existing problems. These include adopting good posture techniques, using good back supports when at your desk or in the car, and also undertaking regular exercise to keep back muscles strong and flexible.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.trucomfort.com as the original source).