Road trips can be all fun and games until your butt, back, and tailbone start to hurt! Pelvic pain, when more severe, can limit people from traveling. This means missing out on fun experiences, seeing friends and family, and can limit work if business trips are in the job description.

If you’re someone who suffers from pain in your pelvis from long hours in the car, keep reading for suggestions on how to make your next ride more enjoyable and comfortable for your body.

How to Avoid Pelvic Pain on Road Trips

Below are some helpful tips that will hopefully leave you with a more comfortable car ride. 

1. Buy a Tailbone cushion

A tailbone cushion can be helpful, as the name implies, especially for tailbone pain. Tailbone cushions have a cut-out that is meant to go toward the back of your body. This way, the tailbone area has no pressure on it! Less pressure means less tailbone pain.

Plus, they can help you sit a little higher in your seat, elongating your body and keeping it open instead of crunched up.

2. Check your posture

Have you checked your posture after a few hours on the road? It’s probably shifted quite a bit from how you were sitting at the very beginning of the trip. If you’re the driver, here’s a list of items to check before you hit the road to ensure you stay in a neutral posture:

• raise/lower the steering wheel

• raise/lower the seat

• adjust lumbar support

• ideal: spine neutral, pelvis neutral, neutral hips

3. Use a Lacrosse ball

Always have a lacrosse ball with you! When your lower or upper back starts to hurt, put the lacrosse ball between the painful area and the car seat. Lean back into the ball to release any knots in your muscles!

4. Take breaks

I know it sounds obvious, but stopping every couple of hours is super important. This allows you to stand up and eliminate pressure on your booty. It also keeps the blood flowing throughout your body. 

These tips are not only helpful on a long car ride but can be applied to a long plane ride! Or a train ride or sitting at your work desk all day, apply these strategies wherever they are needed. Your body will thank you during and after your travels.

Take Action

If you are struggling with pelvic pain and some quick fixes are not enough to solve your problem, pelvic floor physical therapy can help. Our physical therapists in Gaithersburg, MD, help those who struggle with pelvic pain. If you are ready to solve your problem, contact us and speak with a pelvic floor expert today!