Haveyoutriedyoga
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
I found two cushions which helped me to be a passenger in a car again. Whenever I rode in a car I was in a lot of pain in my lower back/tailbone, upper back and neck, shoulders, and a little going into my arm. I have heard of “coat hanger pain” and it looks very much like that to me. I was also getting headaches and migraines and becoming more sensitive to the hard headrest. I know people with MECFS talk a lot about that so I thought I would share my research, because it took me a lot of pain, trial and error, and perseverance to find these solutions and they might be useful to someone.
I ended up going for three things.
1. Narrow inflatable cushion for my lumbar and upper back
2. Inflatable cushion with individual air cells for the base/to sit on
3. A few gardening knee pads tucked into the footwell to allow my short legs to rest on something and support better posture
Links not necessarily the supplier I used but sharing to give an example.
I went for inflatable cushions because I was feeling every bump in the road and bracing a lot, the bumps caused more pain in my spine and bracing caused more tension and made it all worse. I went for the base/bottom cushion with multiple air cells because the multiple cells seem to absorb shocks more effectively, and I got that idea from a rumour that the RNLI use a similar design (although using gel) in their cushions on boats. The movement of air seems to help a lot with the shocks, especially with the back cushion.
The back cushion is narrow because I found that the seat of the particular car I was in was pushing my arms forward and causing me to round my upper back and also causing the headrest to push my head forward. At first I tried a cushion which fit between the side bolsters of the seat, creating more of a flat surface, but I still felt my shoulder blades being pushed forward a bit and still felt every bump. When I tried the narrow air cushion I felt so much more comfortable, I can sit in a sensible comfortable posture and can move about a little to change posture as needed. Because it is air, it moves with me, so if I need to slump for a little while I can. It takes some getting used to but is worth it.
I had a gel cushion to sit on, which had a gap for the tailbone, but it wasn’t shock absorbing enough. I looked at “the purple cushion/purple royal cushion” but the original version is too costly. I also tried at the giraffe cushion, which as I say above didn’t leave room for my shoulder blades to move, but may be worth a try if you don’t like air cushions.
I still find the hard leather headrest very uncomfortable, but because I improved my posture with these items, my head isn’t forced against the headrest it just rests there momentarily. I wanted to find or make something to make the headrest situation more comfortable but any modifications at all to the headrest look unsafe, as it is there to act as a head BRACE and anything that interferes with its action may cost me in an accident. I am thinking about finding something bulky to lean sideways on so that I can really rest when I get a wave of fatigue.
I ended up going for three things.
1. Narrow inflatable cushion for my lumbar and upper back
2. Inflatable cushion with individual air cells for the base/to sit on
3. A few gardening knee pads tucked into the footwell to allow my short legs to rest on something and support better posture
Links not necessarily the supplier I used but sharing to give an example.
I went for inflatable cushions because I was feeling every bump in the road and bracing a lot, the bumps caused more pain in my spine and bracing caused more tension and made it all worse. I went for the base/bottom cushion with multiple air cells because the multiple cells seem to absorb shocks more effectively, and I got that idea from a rumour that the RNLI use a similar design (although using gel) in their cushions on boats. The movement of air seems to help a lot with the shocks, especially with the back cushion.
The back cushion is narrow because I found that the seat of the particular car I was in was pushing my arms forward and causing me to round my upper back and also causing the headrest to push my head forward. At first I tried a cushion which fit between the side bolsters of the seat, creating more of a flat surface, but I still felt my shoulder blades being pushed forward a bit and still felt every bump. When I tried the narrow air cushion I felt so much more comfortable, I can sit in a sensible comfortable posture and can move about a little to change posture as needed. Because it is air, it moves with me, so if I need to slump for a little while I can. It takes some getting used to but is worth it.
I had a gel cushion to sit on, which had a gap for the tailbone, but it wasn’t shock absorbing enough. I looked at “the purple cushion/purple royal cushion” but the original version is too costly. I also tried at the giraffe cushion, which as I say above didn’t leave room for my shoulder blades to move, but may be worth a try if you don’t like air cushions.
I still find the hard leather headrest very uncomfortable, but because I improved my posture with these items, my head isn’t forced against the headrest it just rests there momentarily. I wanted to find or make something to make the headrest situation more comfortable but any modifications at all to the headrest look unsafe, as it is there to act as a head BRACE and anything that interferes with its action may cost me in an accident. I am thinking about finding something bulky to lean sideways on so that I can really rest when I get a wave of fatigue.