Reducing Pain While Traveling by Car

Enjoy Traveling by Car Again

I have suffered with the chronic pain condition, Fibromyalgia, for over two years now, and I have noticed certain activities are more painful than others. One activity that is particularly painful for me is riding in the car, so I would like to share some tips I have learned to reduce pain while riding (or driving) in a car.

You may also be interested in reading more about relieving Fibromyalgia pain naturally. I have written a number of posts on this topic, and you may start at the beginning of the series by reading my post on Fibromyalgia and Sleep.

While I usually ride on the bus to get from one place to another in my place of residence, at times I ride with my friends in their cars in order to run errands or to spend time with them. When I ride in a car, I find that it hurts my muscles a lot. I believe the pain is caused by the vibrations from the car. Something else that hurts me is if the driver is hard on the brakes when he or she stops at stoplight and stop signs.

Reducing Pain While Riding in the Car

I have learned a few things that may be helpful to other individuals who suffer from Fibromyalgia or chronic back pain while riding to your destination in a car.

Pillows

I’ve discovered that putting a pillow behind my back as well as putting a pillow underneath me helps to reduce the amount of vibration I feel from the vehicle, which in turn helps my muscles not tense as much as they normally do while I am in the car. I use a memory foam pillow behind my back, so you may want to put two regular sized pillows behind your back if you find that one regular sized pillow is not enough and if you do not have a memory foam pillow you can use.

Soft Suspension

If you drive a car, you may want to consider getting a car with soft suspension rather than a sports suspension. A soft suspension buffers the impact when you encounter bumps and potholes in the road, which will reduce the amount of pain you feel when you go over such obstacles in the car.

Movement

If I find myself in pain while I am riding in the car, sometimes I can find a more comfortable position to sit in by moving around in my seat. If I find a more comfortable position in which to sit, I will also be in less pain. You may want to try to find a different position in which to sit if you are experiencing pain while you are riding in the car as well.

I hope these tips will help you reduce the amount of pain you feel from Fibromyalgia or chronic back pain while you are driving or riding in a car.

2 Comments

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Loolwa Khazzoom

Posted June 30, 2008 at 12:56 am | Permalink

Thanks for this post. At times, my chronic pain has been so bad, that it is been extremely challenging, if not impossible, for me to drive a car. But I have found that beyond the physically challenging aspect of driving, there is also the emotionally challenging aspect — given that a hit-and-run, head-on car collision instigated the chain reaction of events that left me in chronic pain. I think it’s common for people who’ve been in a car crash to have difficulty driving again. I wrote an article about it on my blog, Dancing with Pain® http://dancingwithpain.com/driving-again/ .
lucirose

Posted August 13, 2008 at 12:17 am | Permalink

I liked the tips that your post offered, I will definately try those! One that I would like to share that affords me some extra comfort while riding or driving a car is heated seats ~ they help a great deal and even in the summer I use them! I also have one of those car outlet converters that allows you to plug in anything in your car, and if you don’t have heated seats then this is a way you can plug in a heating pad. I would just advise that you make sure you are allowed to use heat, if you are on any transdermal medications you shouldn’t use heat - just check with your doc if you don’t know!
Hope this was a welcome addition, God Bless!!
Luci