How To Get In A Car

At first glance, climbing into a car doesn't seem very difficult at all. You open the door, put one leg in, and just, well, sort of fall into your seat. Not too difficult, and probably not worthy of a chiropractic blog post.

But what if you have back pain?

People with low back pain have a very difficult time balancing on one leg while reaching the other leg out. This lack of low back stabilization causes pain and difficulty in a very simple everyday task. In fact, I see low back pain patients everyday who list this activity as one of their most difficult to perform.

So, there is a better way to get into a car if you have low back pain:

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- Open the car door.
- Turn around so that you are facing away from the seat.
- Stabilize your spine and lower yourself to a sitting position by bending your hips and holding onto the door, if necessary. You will find yourself seated with your feet still on the ground outside the car.
- Bend your hips and knees and pivot your body, swinging your legs inside the car, maintaining a neutral spine.

Voila! Now you are inside the car and you haven't bent or twisted your low back, making additional low back pain much less likely. If you already have a painful low back, this is an essential maneuver to avoid more pain. If you tend to have painful low backs, this is an important maneuver to remember, because it just might help prevent more episodes of low back pain.

When you are ready to leave the car, just reverse this procedure.