Health Creation Centre: Driven to the limit

How many hours of driving are you racking up a week?

Are you spending more time behind the wheel than the time spent at your destination?

Driving begins as such a wonder, giving us an amazing sense of freedom and exploration… but, the novelty can wear off. Time spent driving to and from work wears us down, traffic increases our anxiety levels and extended periods of time devoted to a seated position can influence the structure and function of our body.

As allied health professionals, one of the most common areas of complaint we see associated with driving is lower back pain. Too often we endure lower back pain for longer than we need to because of daily travel responsibilities.

So why is sitting and driving so bad for our lower back?

When we sit, our hips bend, allowing our hip flexors to shorten. One of the most vital hip flexor muscles to our lower back health is the iliopsoas.

Your iliopsoas muscles are large, strong muscles (just have a look on Google Images!), attaching from your hip bone to your spine from the front. They have a considerable impact on your lower back, particularly when dysfunctional.

Although these muscles aren’t necessarily contracting whilst sitting down, they are still being given the opportunity to shorten, eventually growing accustomed to a flexed, seated position. If we maintain this position often enough on a daily basis, it becomes our “new normal”. This change in conditioning makes returning to an upright posture such as standing, all the more demanding on muscles such as the iliopsoas.

No wonder we feel even worse when we have to get out of the car!

Taking care of our lower back can be easy, but a little anatomical and exercise based knowledge can go a long way. If you’re experiencing something similar to above, or just want a few more pointers on how to stay healthy, happy and mobile, know that there are people who can help.

Book in with an allied health professional today!

The Health Creation Centre is at 74 The Avenue, Ocean Grove. Phone 5255 3411 or head to healthcreationcentre.com.au.