Backfriends in Cars

I too love the Backfriend. However the degree to which it helps in a car is variable: like you I find that my head is up against the roof when I use the BF.

However I also find that just using the backpiece alone is not nearly as effective as using the two together. To make matters worse, I find that I usually need the highest setting on a car seat to avoid pain while driving. So, I find myself looking at cars that I would not previously have been seen dead in, like small MPVs and 4x4s, simply because it is possible to sit on a high seat base with the backfriend and still see the road without getting neckache.

Most cars are something of a disaster area for back sufferers. I've never understood why fully adjustable (ie reach, tilt, height, lumbar (vertical and horizontal) seats are so rare (preferably with rake and tilt steering wheel adjustment too). Bizarrely the best seats (recaros etc) are only found on "boy racer" cars, and not on the sort of easier to access vehicles that taller back-tormented drivers have to use. And why oh why do car makers produce cars with no clutch rest... or even enough space to fit clutch rests?

We also had an Audi A4. What disordered intelligence could possibly believe that those seats are anything other than a recipe for discomfort, pain and numerous osteopathy bills?

Great site BTW. You've inspired me to check out the MBT shoes....

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Backfriends in Cars

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Mar 14, 2009
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I don' t know why car seats are so badly designed either
by: Steve

I've a feeling the basic problem with car seats isn't the car itself, but the fact that the human body wasn't really designed to spend such a long time in that one position.

Good luck on finding a car that works for you, and I'm glad you are finding the site helpful.

steve

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My Lower Back Pain

Please note that I have no relationship with the products or services I describe here. I developed this site partly to encourage me to put more effort into fixing my own back, but also to inspire others to go take control of their own back care.

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Thanks, Steve.