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You lean to the right and it can harm your body: The Rock Hill/Charlotte commute

The average U.S. commuter spends roughly an hour each day going to and from work, and that lengthy time in a car, on a bus or in a traffic jam can impact your health.

There is a confluence of commuters in the Rock Hill region. They travel back and forth, north-south, between Charlotte and Rock Hill. They also travel east-west in a network of roads that traverse North and South Carolina. The roads cut a swath that spans Union, Gaston and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina and Lancaster, York and Chester counties in South Carolina. Those roads include I-77, U.S. 521, S.C. 160 and a host of other rural roads as people navigate between south Charlotte, Waxhaw, Indian Land, Pineville, Ballantyne, the Steele Creek area, Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lakey Wylie, Clover and, of course, Rock Hill.

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In 2019, the average one-way commute nationwide reached a new high of 27.6 minutes — up from 25 minutes in 2006, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2006, about 15% of commuters spent less than 10 minutes traveling. That percentage dropped to about 12% in 2019. Meanwhile, the percentage of workers reporting hour-long commutes (or longer) increased from about 8% in 2006 to about 10% in 2019, the data shows.

Most commuters spend that time in a car. In 2019, about 85% of U.S. workers over age 16 — or more than 133 million people — drove to work, the data shows. And about 76% of them drove alone.

Over the years, multiple research studies have demonstrated that driving a car, especially for a long period of time, is a risk factor for low back pain. Gary Of, an orthopedic clinical specialist at Atrium Health’s Carolinas Rehabilitation in Charlotte, said commutes also impact a driver’s posture.

“There’s little so far linked between commutes and postural changes,” he said. “There’s plenty of research that looks at sitting and postural changes and cell phone use and postural changes, but as far as longer driving times, the research isn’t out there. I will say I believe (commuting) does have an impact just because it is an activity that involves sitting. And there’s plenty of research that shows sitting can have an impact on our posture.”

Of said he routinely evaluates how his patients sit and move, and that often gives him clues into cause of some of their pains.

“When we sit for a long period of time, we tend to overuse certain muscles and other muscles get underused, so we get a little bit of an imbalance,” Of said. “When we have that imbalance, what happens is heads start to move forward, shoulders get rounded, backs get tight and hips get tight.”

That imbalance can start to impact other everyday movements, he said.

“That can affect our ability to first move,” Of said. “For example, try to reach up and put something into an overhead cabinet or squat down to tie our shoes. Then, eventually it could ultimately lead to some sort of musculoskeletal or joint pain.”

While sitting in an office chair throughout the work day is just as likely affecting a commuter’s posture, Of said sitting in a car is slightly different. In an office, some workers have the ability to take breaks to stretch and walk.

“Unfortunately, if you’re driving in a car, you can’t do that because you can’t pull over on the side of I-77, get out stretch and get back in your car for obvious safety reasons,” he said. “When you are in the car for an hour, hour and 15 minutes, you’re trapped, especially if you’re stuck in traffic.”

Lean to the right

Something most commuters won’t notice: a car’s layout could be altering their posture, Of said.

“A lot of stuff when you’re the driver is on your right side,” Of said. “You have your drink holders on the right side. Now, most cars have like a computer screen or monitor on the right side. Sometimes if people have their phones, they put that on the right side. Everything’s toward the right, so a lot of times people will lean a little bit to the right, which can make things a little tighter on the right side.”

When possible, drivers should lean to the left more during their commute, he said.

“Just remind yourself, ‘Let me lean a little bit on the left armrest once in a while,’” he said. “That will break up the prolonged positioning of being on that right side.”

Drivers should position their seat at a slight recline to lower the chances of postural changes or back pain, Of said.

“A lot of literature is showing that if you recline your seat about 10 degrees from being totally upright, that seems to be more of an ideal position,” Of said. “If totally upright is 90 degrees, it would be like 100 degrees. So, you’d go 10 degrees backward.”

Of said the position of a car’s mirrors also is important.

“You should adjust your mirrors — not adjust your body and your posture to the mirrors,” he said. “Sometimes what people will do is they’ll bring their head forward to see their rearview mirror because they haven’t adjusted it appropriately for their height.”

Time inside the car

Of said commuters also should be aware of what they’re doing during their drive.

“A lot of times people are listening to something,” he said. “And if it’s certain podcasts, like I know political podcasts can sometimes get people a little riled up or podcasts that have a very animated host, there’s a lot of yelling. Sports ones are like that too. That can increase our tension.”

Those podcasts or radio shows can inadvertently force drivers, especially ones in traffic, to tighten up already overactive muscles, Of said. He suggested drivers listen to music.

Of pointed out that a commuter’s time inside the car could disrupt their time outside it — especially if their drive is getting longer.

“Instead of getting home by a certain time, they’re getting home 15 or 30 minutes later,” he said. “They get home and now they have to start cooking, they have to take a child to soccer practice, they have to care for an elderly parent. That may reduce the amount of time they have to take care of themselves.”

That’s why what a commuter does during their drive is important, he said.

“Do a little bit in the car by having nice music that you enjoy, that can be different for everyone, and think positive thoughts,” he said. “That can definitely start some of that self care.”

And when commuters finish their drive, Of suggested they take a few minutes for themselves, if possible, before rushing into work.

“See if you can park maybe a little further from the building,” he said. “It gives you a little bit more time to walk to the building because walking is wonderful for our bodies. ... It allows us to ramp up certain muscles and then ramp down certain muscles. Our body loves that alternation between the two.”