Making a long car journey more comfortable

If you have a condition that causes joint pain and stiffness, long car journeys can seem quite daunting. Here are my top tips for making a journey more comfortable:

Stop regularly

This seems like an obvious tip, but it's really important not to just "power through" and do a long journey all in one go. Plan ahead to schedule in stops so you can get out of the car, walk around and stretch. You may even book an overnight stop somewhere if you're going particularly far - you could make it into part of your trip!

Adjust your seat position

It's worth spending some time before setting off adjusting your seat into the most comfortable position. For safety, you need the head restraint directly behind your head (the top of the restraint should be slightly higher than your head). This is very important to avoid whiplash if you have an accident.

Cushion the seat belt

If the seat belt across your chest causes discomfort, invest in a foam seat belt cover. It doesn't prevent the seat belt from working if it's needed, but it help distribute force over a greater area and should be more comfortable.

Move regularly

If you're the passenger in the car, you have more options to keep moving about, but even drivers can shift about in their seat a little (as long as it's safe and you're still concentrating!). A particularly helpful movement for the spine is to gently and slowly lean your weight onto one hip, then onto the other. Passengers can extend this movement to lift the hip they're leaning away from, creating a gentle bend in the spine. Doing this repeatedly in a rhythmic fashion can reduce spinal stiffness when seated for a while.

Use cushions

Place cushions on the seat and around you to provide support (positioning depends on where you have the problem)

Breathing techniques

If you get pain or stiffness in your spine or ribs, breathing techniques can help loosen them. These techniques are also a great relaxation technique for anyone to try.
Try abdominal breathing: place a hand on your stomach. As you breathe in slowly, try to keep the top of your chest and shoulders still, while you breath down into your lower ribs and allow your hand to rise up on your stomach. As you breathe in slowly, contract your stomach muscles to draw your hand towards you. Repeat this as many times as it feels comfortable.

Keep hydrated

When travelling, people often reduce the amount of water they drink to avoid having to stop for breaks. However, if you're already following my first tip and stopping regularly, I'd also recommend ensuring you keep well hydrated (with water!)

Loosen ankles and knees

As a passenger, you can use gentle movements with your ankles and knees to keep your legs feeling loose and also boost circulation. Try pumping your feet up and down, then rolling in circles, before gently bending and straightening your knees. Like the breathing 
techniques, you can do these movements as often as you feel you need.

Heat can be your friend!

Try using a heated car seat, heated seat cover or topical hot pads to help relax your muscles and soothe your joints. Personally, I keep a stash of heat pads with me at all times, because if an AxSpA flare up is looming, these can provide a lot of relief!


I hope you've found these tips helpful. If you have any techniques you find useful that I haven't listed, please share in the comments below!



About Zoë:

Zoë is a registered osteopath qualified from the British College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2013.

Practising in Howe, near Norwich (01508 558373), and Burston, near Diss (07543 557746).