Are You Sitting in Your Car Correctly

In this health video you will learn if you are sitting in your car correctly.

Raena Morgan: I’m speaking with Dr. JaDean Anderson who is a chiropractor. Let’s talk about the ergonomics of cars. Are we sitting in our cars directly, of our car seats? Dr. Anderson: In lots of cases, what I tell patients or friends is when you’re trying to adjust your car seats depending on the type of car. I know some of them the bottom seat is really close to the floor and they’re not elevated like in SUV or pick-up truck. In those cases I recommend not having the back be much passes 90 degrees because the further back you are it puts more pressure on your low back and your muscles touch, help hold you upright as well. So I’ll try to say just about five degrees past 90 is a good area to have your car seat tilted back and then if you’re on a low riding car it’s hard to change the angle of the front or the bottom cushion. But if you’re in an SUC I know some of them you can angle how the seat sits and what I would have people do is angle it so the front of the bottom cushion is a little bit higher than the back maybe about five degrees as well and that’ll just help form your low back as well and if there is a lumbar cushion support to always have that forward because that will help keep your low back in its proper position. Raena Morgan: That’s a good suggestion. How about car seats are they okay? Dr. Anderson: Car seats for children in lots of cases you need to form a little bit of lumbar support even for an infant or young kids as well because they sit in those seats just as long and sometimes longer than the parent. so having the proper support for their low back is just as important, you can use some thicker foam to cut about the right length to fit your child and sit in there to where that’s going to keep their low back in the proper alignment as well. Raena Morgan: So add to the car seat. Add the foam to the car seat. Dr. Anderson: Yes. Raena Morgan: To create good alignment for the baby. Dr. Anderson: Yes. Raena Morgan: For the little one, okay. Dr. Anderson: And in some cases I even tell patients to use a pillow to help prop the child’s head so they have a tendency to sway from side to side to minimize that as much as possible because I guess if you wake up and you were sleeping with your head cocked to one side for a long time, you’re head is going to have some aches from that as well. Raena Morgan: Very good. Thank you Dr. Anderson.