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Drivers Education

We all know someone who has suffered a serious driving-related injury that had nothing to do with being involved in a motor vehicle accident. For example, turning your head suddenly and swiftly for a last minute check of your "blind spot" before changing lanes on the interstate could result in a painful neck sprain. Getting out your car in a crowded shopping center parking lot can often be awkward and may even result in a low back injury. Bending over to lift a grocery bag out of your back seat or trunk can even cause a herniated lumbar disc with very painful consequences. Thus, driving can be dangerous, even without taking account of your innumerable fellow drivers who are talking on their cell phones, texting, combing their hair, putting on makeup, or even shaving when they should be 100% focused on the road. Even if you're a highly skilled, appropriately defensive driver, doing driving-related things can cause real physical injury.

Why do such injuries happen? The cause is the same as for the person who, while getting dressed in the morning, bends over to put on his or her socks, stockings, or tights and experiences a sudden, sharp pain in the low back. Later on, that pain may worsen and radiate down one leg, and a likely diagnosis of a herniated disc may ensue. "But I wasn't doing anything wrong," the person exclaims to his chiropractor. "All I was doing was putting on my socks." But the chiropractor knows that the movement that apparently caused the injury was merely the last physical insult in a long chain of musculoskeletal and biomechanical deficiencies.

As with the person who injures his or her neck or back at home while engaged in innocuous activities of daily living such as housecleaning or taking out the trash, driving-related injuries that are not the result of an actual accident are caused by being deconditioned or out-of-shape. If your neck and back muscles, ligaments, and joints are not used to doing physical work while engaged in a full range of motion, suddenly putting them in mechanically stressful situations will very likely lead to injury. For such persons, the primary missing fitness factor involves the core muscles, the body's group of central, deep, sheath-like muscles that provide the base for almost all movement and motion.

Lack of core fitness is the culprit for most neck and back injuries that happen when you "weren't doing anything". The good news is that core training is readily available. You are training your core muscles whenever you do strength training or yoga. You are doing core training when you walk, run, bike, or swim, provided you are doing these activities effectively and efficiently. You don't need special equipment. All that is required is the willingness and persistence to engage in regular vigorous exercise. The many benefits are broad and longlasting, including getting more enjoyment out of the time you spend in your car.

1Rietveld AB: Dancers' and musicians' injuries. Clin Rheumatol 32(4):425-434, 2013

2Micheo W, et al: Basic principles regarding strength, flexibility, and stability exercises. PM R 4(11):805-811, 2012

3Steele J, et al: A review of the specificity of exercises designed for conditioning the lumbar extensors. Br J Sports Med October 2013: doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092197. [Epub ahead of print]

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  • "We have been coming here for years. They are attentive to our pains and ailments. John and Maggie have helped to keep me and my wife's maintain active lifestyles."
    Russ Q.
  • "I have met Dr. Maggie through the Dance Fitness world and Her and Dr. John are amazing. I started going to their practice from time to time for a few years now to get an alignment. I always walk out feeling better, especially when I am sitting all day at work and all that hip action I do while teaching dance fitness classes. Check them out."
    Anthony C.
  • "Awesome service, have been coming here for years. Dr. John and staff are the best. Every time I come here I am treated like royalty. My needs and expectations are met. Keep up the good work!!!"
    Mark R.
  • "Wow. I've been dealing with sciatic nerve pain for 8 months already and after seeing multiple chiropractors (one even sent me to the ER twice), PCP, orthopedic surgeon, and multiple acupuncturists FINALLY found relief with Dr. McHaney. He took the time to really listen and figure out what the root cause was. After just one treatment with him, I was able to walk outside and play with my toddler for the first time in almost a month. After being bedridden, doped up on all kinds of pain meds and still be in excruciating pain from the slightest movement for what felt like an eternity, I can tell you-- it made me extremely emotional and so grateful for Dr. McHaney. Finally a doctor who doesn't just use a one-size-fits-all approach and truly cares about his patients. Five starts just isn't enough."
    Michelle L.
  • "Love your services. Thank you for fixing me up. I'm telling everyone that you all totally rock. I can't wait to come back again."
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  • "Great therapy and the staff is so professional I recommend this to anyone who needs a chiropractor I feel so much better when I leave there"
    Elvia R.