Stand in front of a full-length mirror and turn to your side, to reveal your profile.
Ideally, you should see your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles aligned.

If these four points do not form a straight or almost straight line, chances are you will develop lower back pain in the upcoming months or years. And you are not alone.

Springtime
The spine works as a spring, absorbing pressure and shocks as you walk or remain seated. However, when the spine bends beyond its ideal posture, this natural spring effect diminishes or works against its intended job.

For instance, some people have a tendency to lean the torso forward, causing strain in the neck. When your shoulders, hips and knees misalign, your face looks slightly downwards. Thus, to level the sight, you need to lift the nose, compressing the back of your neck. Meanwhile, to recover balance, your hips have to move backwards; conversely, if you keep your feet in the same place, the knees move to the front for the same reason. The result is a profile somewhat similar to an S shape.

In America, where people can hardly do without a car, more than half the population suffer from pain. Of these unfortunate souls, 25% reported pain in the back. Pain in the knees and headaches follow (12% and 9%, respectively). Male drivers aged between 30 and 49 have double the risk of back injuries and chronic pain. Why? Because they are getting older, yet remain active.

Since most of the time you remain seated, an ergonomic seat would suffice to prevent injuries and bad posture; but, unfortunately, most seats are poorly designed:

•    Most seats in cars, planes and long distance busses cause the reverse spring effect. Badly designed or badly positioned seats force torsos to lean backwards. If you do not have a back support yet, place the back of your seat as near to the plumb line as possible. An upright seat may not feel too comfortable at first, but it surely provides a healthier support.

•    Tall people often have to seat with their knees way higher than their hips, which is exactly the opposite of a good seating posture. Whenever possible, keep your knees below the level of the thighs. To do so, put something between the seat and your thighs or, better yet, set the seat higher.

However, more often than not, the problem lies with bad posture. Sometimes, an ergonomic design is not used in the right way:

•    Inexpert drivers face a common seat-related problem. As they release the clutch pedal with the left foot, they show a tendency to shift the center of mass to the other thigh. Just as your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles should ideally align together, the line connecting shoulders should remain as parallel to the hips as possible for an ergonomically correct posture. When these lines are not parallel, the vertebras in the spine suffer unnecessary compression.

Take the time to watch yourself in a full-length mirror. For your back’s sake, remember these tips on ergonomics and get yourself the proper car seat support.

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Some people endure terrible back pain for many years without really knowing the reason why.  People try exercises, medicines, and even change their posture, but yet they still have no luck.  People buy car seat support for their automobiles, spend thousands of dollars on ergonomic chairs or even get expensive massages, but yet they still have back pain.  Many people just don’t realize that they might have nerve problems in their back commonly caused from a trapped or pinched nerve.  Usually a doctor or chiropractor can identify this problem quickly, usually in only one examination.

People who experience pinched nerve pain, sometimes do not even have a pinched nerve at all, but may be suffering from more serious nerve injuries.  The pinched nerve feeling they’re having could very well be caused by the nerve being inhibited in some way from its normal function.  It may be constricted, compressed or even stretched causing further damage to the surrounding nerves and tissues.  Sometimes this can be caused because of the surrounding tissues and bones putting pressure on the nerves.  Sometimes it’s the other way around.  However, when this is the case the problem will only intensify if further left untreated, and should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Back pain, in general, can be very hard to diagnose accurately, due to the fact that people experience back pain in different ways.  Some people experience short and often unpredicted tweaks to their back, while some endure constant nagging pain.  Others might have regular spasms which can lock your back, while others might experience a stinging feeling or even numbness.  If you are experiencing any of these symptoms the best thing to do is to go see a chiropractor, so you can get properly diagnosed.

There can be a long list of causes and reasons for back pain, including bad posture, having poorly made furniture, to serious nerve injuries.  However, as long as the list is of symptoms of back pain, there is an equally long list of treatments and cures.  You don’t have to suffer from back pain, forever; the sooner you take action the sooner your back pain will be a distant memory.  The most important thing you can do is to get your back looked at by a professional chiropractor, so he can diagnose the problem and begin treating it immediately.

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