People who do a job where they stand on their feet for eight hours a day often envy people who don’t, such as truckers. Indeed, most truckers spend a good chunk of their time on the job sitting in the driver’s seat, watching the road, and getting their cargo to the places it needs to go.
Move More to Protect Your Health
Here’s the thing, though– sitting for long periods of time can mess with a person’s health, leading to chronic back, neck, shoulder and hip problems, among other ailments.
Basically, for every twenty minutes of sitting a person should do eight minutes of standing and two minutes of moving, according to research done by an ergonomics professor at Cornell University. How practical is this, especially for truckers? Well, it’s not. However, there are some things a trucker can do to make sure they’re not sitting too long every day.
Things Truck Drivers Can Do to Move More
For starters, any chance a trucker gets to make a stop, get out of the truck, walk around, stand up for a couple minutes, stretch, and move the body, is time well spent.
There are things a trucker can do while seated, too. Neck stretches involve nodding your head up and down and side to side a couple times to loosen up. Bending backwards, reaching your arms over your head, and rolling your shoulders are also good exercises to do in order to combat the effects of sitting too long.
When not on the job, truckers should do muscle-strengthening exercises, so it’s a good idea to work out at the local gym. Also consider aerobic exercise that involves walking, running, jumping, and getting the heart beating quicker. Many truckers do planks, where they get down on their knees and elbows, keeping their shoulders, hips and knees in a straight line. They maintain a lifted position for about 10 seconds and then relax, repeating this several times. Planks are kind of like push-ups, and help a trucker’s body grow stronger, especially at the core.
Finally, one thing most truckers don’t even consider is this: dehydration happens too often, and it’s not good, especially when combined with sitting too long. Therefore, make sure to get enough drinks of water daily so that your spinal discs, which rely on water intake, stay healthy. Also, caffeine drys a person out, so avoid it when possible. Consider adding a portable humidifier to the truck cab to mitigate effects of long periods being blasted with dry heat or air from the vents.
Ideally, the more you move and stretch your body every day, paying attention to your health and well-being, the better you’ll feel.
Whether you’re a truck driver who needs a job or a trucking company who needs a driver, learn how Platinum Drivers can help.