Self-massage for those who spend a lot of time driving: how to prevent stagnation of blood circulation and lymph flow
The main problems for people who spend a lot of time behind the wheel are stagnation of blood circulation and lymph flow. In this case, there is discomfort in the neck, collar zone, lower back, buttocks and pelvis. Since people are usually driving for a long time in one position, the muscles simply stop working.
The first thing to consider is the location of the car seat. If the back of the driver’s seat is tilted back strongly, then the neck and head will reflexively stretch forward. Because of this, the blood and lymph vessels will be pinched. As a result, stagnation will form, circulation of blood circulation will deteriorate at times, headaches will appear, discomfort will arise in the cervical and upper thoracic regions.
To prevent the appearance of such signs, it is enough to perform the following preventive exercises.
1. Twist a small roller out of a towel. We lie down on the floor, take a horizontal position. Place the roller under the neck and relax the muscles on the back of the neck. We lie for 2-3 minutes.
Further, if you felt that it needs to be removed (that feeling when the body wanted to change its position), remove the roller and begin to stroke the upper part of the chest with our hands.
Duration – 3 minutes.
2. After that, we take the skin fold with our fingers and within a minute we move it from the center of the chest to the left shoulder.
Then we move to the second half of the chest and also shift the skin fold from the right shoulder to the center. After that, draw the skinfold from the right shoulder to the left through the entire chest.
3. Next, we move on to rubbing the cervical spine and upper shoulder girdle. This is the first step in doing the upper body exercise.
In the starting position, lying on the floor, we transfer our hands behind the head and perform the usual head lifts. As you exhale, we stretch our chin to the chest. In this case, the arms remain on the floor, the legs are straight. We perform 15-20 repetitions. This is how we put the neck flexors into action.
When we pull our head forward while driving, the neck flexors are automatically turned off and go into a relaxed mode (hypotension). With this exercise, we will be able to tone them up and bring them into a new normotonus. Then the neck will take the correct position, spasms in the muscles of the neck and upper shoulder girdle will go away, the pinched vessels will be slightly unblocked.
4. We pass to the lower part of the body (abdominal cavity, lumbar region). The abdominal muscles relax in a long sitting position. Our task is to stimulate them. First of all, we stroke the abdominal cavity. We put the brush on the brush and stroke the stomach clockwise for 2-3 minutes.
5. In a sitting position, the diaphragm relaxes, which leads to a violation of the correct rhythm of breathing. With improper breathing, blood circulation in the body deteriorates significantly. In order to improve the work of the diaphragm, we perform a breathing exercise – we put our fingers under the ribs (as if we want to penetrate deep into the abdomen) and begin to breathe in the stomach (not the chest). This stimulates the diaphragm.
6. We turn to the warm-up of the lumbar spine. As in the case of the muscles of the back of the neck, we form a roller from a towel, but of a larger size. Our task is to choose such a roller diameter so that we feel comfortable. We place it clearly under the lumbar spine and lie there for 4-5 minutes. Thus, the muscles of the lumbar spine will relax and restore their normal tone.
7. After that, we recommend that you pay attention to the warm-up of the feet and calf muscles. Stretch your feet and calf muscles while sitting. This will allow the outflow of stagnant venous blood in the lower extremities and improve blood circulation in general.
Thus, we worked our three target areas – neck, lumbar / abdominal and foot / calf muscles. Naturally, if you have a need for a professional examination of these zones, then it is better to contact a specialist who will help you solve these problems. Self-massage can be done at any time and anywhere – at home, while driving and in the workplace.