Long Commute Might Be Causing Your Hip Pain
Lacey 
What Long Commutes Can Do To Your Body
You may think that driving in your car is only slightly more different than if you were sitting in a chair, but it is worlds different. When you normally sit, muscles called hip flexors engage to keep you upright and in driving that is no different. Except those muscles are working overtime without you knowing it. When driving, you obviously have to use your driving leg a lot and it puts a lot more impact on the muscles trying to keep you upright. During long drives, you overuse those muscles causing them to freeze up. Forming tension & knots which cause pain.
How Can I Fix It?
There are a few items that you can purchase to make your seat more comfortable and better on your hips. While they provide some support, it’s better to learn the correct sitting position. If you depend on your commute, MASJ has a Corrective Exercise Program App that can assess your posture and show what to do before you even get into the car for a drive. You want to stretch your muscles before you start your commute. Our suggestions are to do hip circles or lunges for about half a minute.
Hip circles are pretty easy. Just stand up straight with your hands on your stomach and gently lift one leg up bent at the knee. Lift it until it is parallel with the floor then turn your leg out away from your body while lowering it back down to the standing position.
Lunges are also pretty simple and can help strengthen the legs. Start by standing up tall and slowly take a step forward until your front leg has created a 90-degree angle. Then lift your front leg and return to the standing position.
Taking a quick walk after your drive can help loosen up stiffness. It doesn’t have to be much, just park at the back of the lot or farther from the entrance.
How Yo Sit When Driving
The biggest issue with proper sitting position is slouching, since for most people it’s their natural way of sitting so breaking that habit needs some work. Otherwise you’ll need to mess around with your seat controls to find the optimal position that has your knees at a 90-degree angle, your feet can sit flat on the floor. While all this may sound easy to do, you might need extra help to prevent your commute from causing you daily pain. Our Online Corrective Exercise Program is base in an App that you can do all on your own. Its affordable and start & stop anytime. Best part is the evaluations are reviewed by a live person specialist. Sign-up today!