The best cars for your lower back are those that have seats designed to be ergonomic, supporting the lumbar region strongly to prevent stiffness from either short or long hours of driving. It is advisable to try the seats first when buying a car, as poor lumbar support can either cause injury or help you avoid it, according to this article. What seems like a comfortable seat at first sight may turn into a catastrophe after sitting or driving for long hours. While driving, it is advisable to change and maintain comfortable postures every half an hour to avoid a stiff spine and hips.

Improving core stability and balance can occur while sitting in a car. Lisa Ann McCall – Physical Therapist from McCallMethod.com demonstrates sitting properly in the car.

Best Cars For Your Lower Back

Driving is a frequent aggravator of pain in the lower back and can even be the initial cause of pain.

I own a 2001 Toyota Highlander with 270,000 kilometres on it. It has been a wonderful, reliable vehicle, but as I age (66) my back has become my focus. My criteria for searching for a new SUV (Lexus RX350 has caught my eye) now starts with exceptional back support for my frame (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) followed by high reliability and good efficiency. My wife and I enjoy touring by car and hope to continue, my back willing. – Ron in North Vancouver

 

Cato: Ron, 85 per cent of working Canadians can relate. That’s the percentage of working Canadians affected by low back pain, says the Global Wellness and Chiropractic Centre. I’m one. The lower-back stress fracture I got from rowing in the 1980s plagues me to this day.

 

Vaughan: Ronnie, great seats are a must in any car. I’m always commenting on seat comfort both for the short drives and the long hauls. Seats are hugely important for your enjoyable use of the vehicle, and while you should understand some of the principles of seat ergonomics, there is just no substitute for trying the seat on. It’s like buying a pair of shoes. Until you put them on, you simply can’t know if they will fit or be comfortable for the long run.

 

Vaughan: It’s time you agreed with me on something. Now here’s what I’ve recently learned about seats. A couple of weeks ago, I took a new Ford Flex on a good, long road test. Two days of solid driving. At the end, I could hardly stand up and, unlike you Cato, I’ve never had any back problems. I couldn’t believe it – I had sharp back pain.

 

When I left on the trip, I thought the Ford’s driver’s seat was extremely comfortable and I adjusted it so it felt like a comfy armchair. But at the end I was bent over and in pain. Now I think it was my fault, not the seats.

 

If you’re doing a long drive, then you have to find a range of comfortable postures and keep alternating among them. Vary things over long drives, at least once an hour. I didn’t do that. I was lazy and decided to set it and forget it. Ronnie, learn from my mistake.

 

Read more here

 

If I were buying a new car, I would first try out the seat on a test drive to confirm whether it is designed to be ergonomic so that even after long hours of driving I am not feeling stiffness in my back or hips. Those having the right kind of seats are the best cars for your lower back where you have minimum chances of developing lower back pain. This is a perfect reason to buy the best car that you can afford for comfort rather than aesthetics.

In this video, Dr. Quinn Bui of Chiro Health and Rehab from Houston Injury Solutions Network discusses low back pain caused by motor vehicle collisions.

In this video Lorna of SittingWell.co.uk talks through some of the Sittingwell range of specialist back care products which can give you lumbar support whilst driving to to avoid back pain.