Drivers Should (And Can!) Reduce Their Back Pain Risk

Do you drive a truck? Do you have low back pain? If so, you’re not alone. There’s definitely a relationship between driving and back pain, although the science is still developing about how much. One likely cause under investigation is known as “Whole Body Vibration.” (I’ll call it “WBV”) Two new studies (1 and 2 below) find that there is an exposure-response relationship for WBV and back pain in professional drivers. This means that the more whole body vibration you receive, the more likely you are to get back pain. But, short of quitting your job, how can you cut your exposure to WBV?

According to other new studies (3 and 4 below) you can significantly reduce your exposure to WBV by using a moveable back support and by changing your seating position. Here’s how:

1. Soften the load on your “butt-bones” by buying a squishy pad, like memory foam;
2. buy a low-back (lumbar) support that is not squishy but also is not rigid. This should be big enough so that it keeps about the same arch in your low back that you have when you’re standing up (the arch otherwise flattens as you sit); and
3. adjust the angle of your seat-back so that your thighs and low back make about a 110° angle (about 20° laid back from sitting straight up.)

Also, the ligaments that hold your spine together stretch while you’re sitting. So after getting out of your truck, try to be standing for at least 10 minutes before you start bending, twisting or lifting activities.


1.  Low back pain in drivers exposed to whole body vibration: analysis of a dose-response pattern. Tiemessen IJ, Hulshof CT, Frings-Dresen MH., Occup Environ Med. 2008 Oct;65(10):667-75. Epub 2008 Jan 23.                 2.  Metrics of whole-body vibration and exposure-response relationship for low back pain in professional drivers: a prospective cohort study. Bovenzi M., Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009 Jul;82(7):893-917. Epub 2008 Oct 25.             3.  Car driving with and without a movable back support: Effect on transmission of vibration through the trunk and on its consequences for muscle activation and spinal shrinkage. Kingma I, van Dieën JH., Ergonomics. 2009 Jul;52(7):830-9.                          4. Biomechanical effects of sitting with adjustable ischial and lumbar support on occupational low back pain: evaluation of sitting load and back muscle activity.Makhsous M, Lin F, Bankard J, Hendrix RW, Hepler M, Press J. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2009 Feb 5;10:17.