I’m gearing up for a 9 hour drive from Mi to upstate NY to attend my daughter’s graduation from chiropractic school (look out there’s a Doctor in the house!). As I’ve gotten older- change that to matured, I find it’s harder to sit for long hours without my hips bothering me. To the embarrassment of my children I have been know to stretch while traveling. I can always find a place to do it, a chair at McDonald’s, the grass outside of a restaurant, the top of a picnic table or to lean into a tennis ball against a wall. The best thing I can do for myself is to stretch while I’m driving. I try to do these stretches every 20 minutes or so. Here are the two best stretches to do while your driving. Remember, keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. Happy trails!

Hip stretch for the car

Pectoralis stretch for the car

After a long car ride do you have backache, shoulder pain, hip pain, calf pain…….? A lot of driving pain can be eliminated with good posture. Check out my video and see what your doing wrong or right when it comes to driving in your car.

Finally it’s here! The wait is over! Number 3 of the all time best stretches! Three exclamation marks must mean this is important news. This is my personal favorite stretch, as a long time low back pain suffer I know a great stretch when I see (do) one. Low back, sciatic nerve, and hip pain are all addresses when doing
this stretch.

The Periformis muscle runs from the side of the tail bone (Sacrum) to the top of the femor (leg bone), these are deep to the gluteus maximus (Butt). Periformis is one of the “deep six” muscle that are responsible for lateral rotation of the hips, needed for walking, running and turning.

This sweet little stretch packs a punch. Many of my clients do this stretch in bed before they get up in the morning. It works several large muscle groups: The lower back and hips, the Erector muscle groups (the long muscles that run from your pelvis to your neck) and the Latissimus Dorsi and Posterior Serratus muscles which help you rotate.

For all you golfers who want to hit the links one last time, be prepared. Remember golf is primarily a game the requires eye hand coordination and not a lot of physical strength. Having said that, I know “putting” requires low physical effort while “driving” is a high effort activity. The action of your swing is a real stress-er on the shoulder and low back. Remember to warm up and to stretch before you play. In this cooler weather you may be more prone to injury.