Have you ever suffered with any of the following symptoms:-
· Neck & shoulder pain, stiffness or tension
· Headaches or Migraine
· Pain or tingling in your arms or hands
· Dizziness or memory loss
· Poor concentration or irritability
· Acute Whiplash Injury
· Low back pain or sciatica
You could be suffering from what I call Chronic Minor Whiplash Syndrome. This is a condition common to people who drive a lot but in my experience particularly relevant for driving instructors. It is brought about by repeated minor whiplashes caused by hard braking together with sitting still for long periods. You don’t have to have had a major whiplash injury to have these symptoms.
How do you combat it?
Let’s tackle the easy one first: Sitting for any length of time has been linked to many serious health issues including diabetes, heart disease and cancer, regardless of how much exercise you get. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/sitting-and-sedentary-behaviour-are-bad-for-your-health.aspx
All day movement is now seen as just as important as exercise for maintaining good health. As a driving instructor all you have to do is knock on the door of your clients and don’t park outside their houses. Problem solved!
Whiplash is a more tricky condition to combat and serious ones have far reaching effects, the symptoms of which (see above) can last a long time or recur many years later as early osteoarthritis of the spine.
The first things to consider are your car seat and head restraint. Are they well designed and adjusted correctly. That means is the car seat supporting your spine and adjusted so the head restraint touches the back of your head between your ears and crown.
Now all you have to do to avoid these symptoms is combine this advice with regular spinal check-ups and daily loosening exercises.
If you’d like to book a free whiplash neck assessment please call 020 8954 2254
