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Back Problems, Help?

4K views 22 replies 20 participants last post by  djiiams 
#1 ·
Ive come across a problem that ive been trying to solve for awhile with a my Fo' where in long distance trips my lower back starts to ache more than any other car ive owned and can get unbearable. I love my car too much to even consider trading it for comfort, and i know it probably has something to do with being a life long athlete and being 6'5 with long legs. I've solved it with sitting on a pillow, but you don't eat where you Sh%t, so i feal like that falls along the same category. Has anyone faced this problem and solved it? Or have recommendations that may help? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Not really sure as I've yet to really take a very long journey in the car yet, but usually the car doesn't cause me to have a sore back, but the desk chairs at work do as they are garbage. I would drive with the seat heater on and the a/c on, but the seat heaters in my car are fairly weak at the moment, so I'm having them looked at.

I'm not quite that tall though so I don't have quite the same height related issues however.
 
#5 ·
I drove my car up to Massachusets from Virginia onto Cape Cod to visit some family and the pillow was my saving grace for a 10 hour drive, but no i dont think the SE's do have lumbar support but ile check again, my next step is trying the seat beads, i've heard of alot of success there with those.
 
#6 ·
:p no recommendations, but I have the same issue with my Focus, along with my elbow going numb after about 5 hours ... I try to keep to just driving the focus for anything under 3 hours and use the Mustang for anything that requires longer driving. Only 4mpg difference between the two on road trips too.
 
#7 ·
I haven't had an isssue with this car, but when I have back pain from siting sometimes I use a rolled up towl in the lumbar region. You will have to adjust the size to fit your particular needs of course, but it may help.
 
#8 ·
Don't sit on your wallet, and lean your seat a little further back, like 1 click. The only thing sitting on a pillow is doing for your lower back is letting you rock your hips. If you realize your hips are tilted more forward or back on the pillow, you can use the seat height adjuster to better fit your body. Lean your seat a little further back if you sit very upright. The only support your seat can provide to your lower back will be while it is resting against it.

It is probably your wallet, though. Sitting on a pillow will help offset some of the wedge that drives into your hips.
 
#10 · (Edited)
When I first got my FoFo I tried every seat seat position imaginable, but my back still hurt. I then tried different pillow options and settled a tube shaped pillow stuffed in the base where the back meets the seat. Now my skinny rear [bootyshak doesn't slide into that large groove and my back stays straight. I tried illustrating below.

Before:
|
|
/____

With pillow:
|
|
/,____

After:
|
|
|____
 
#11 ·
2012 SE, no lumbar adjustment, no luck

I have the same problem described. Test drove any number of SE Foci and had the same lower back ache in all. Sitting on a pillow, with a lumbar pillow, and an ice pack probably saved my back from herniated disks on a long trip recently.
Will try the rolled up towel idea at the base.

But what I really want to do is adjust the padding inside the seat. Add padding above the base so the base no longer presses directly on my sacral vertebrae. Has anyone ever tried taking their focus to an upholstery shop for cushion mods? Anything I should know about to keep me from the attempt?

I am not especially tall for this car (5'9") but I have my own padding down there and don't need aggressive support that low. I have never had back problems but that may be changing as a result.of this seat.
 
#14 ·
I actually like the SE seats. All non-adjustability and everything. I'm 6'2" tall and typically don't use lumbar supports ever anyway. I've taken a good deal of 4-5hr trips in the Focus, and have even completed a few of them in one "sitting" without breaks at all.

I do keep the seat all the way towards the rear of the car, and the height adjusted all the way towards the floor. The back is usually more upright, but I might adjust it forward/back a little if I get ancy.

I move my feet a lot as well. Typically with my left foot "under" the front of the seat, and my right foot folded in front of it. Or vice-versa. Sometimes moving both feet to have heels touching the front of the seat.
 
#15 ·
I move my feet a lot as well. Typically with my left foot "under" the front of the seat, and my right foot folded in front of it. Or vice-versa. Sometimes moving both feet to have heels touching the front of the seat.
Wait - who's driving? Cruise control? lol
 
#16 ·
Under warranty?

Regarding my earlier post, after sitting in the passenger seat (and not getting a back ache), I realized that the padding in the driver's seat is different. The padding has compressed in the lower third of the back rest, such that those sinusoidal springs thejordan mentioned are pretty much pressing directly against my back.

It's very easy to feel the difference between the two seats. I bought the car used, from a fleet. Given this, I think I have an argument that the seat padding is damaged, and should be replaced under warranty. The car is still under the 3 yr 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.

What do folks think, do I have a case for a warranty repair?
 
#18 ·
Some interesting opinions in here. Everyone I've ever had in my car seem to share my opinion, that they are the most comfortable car seats we've ever sat in.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
 
#19 ·
I have had one car that hurt my back, a 2000 Mustang with cloth seats. My advice is there isn't much you can do about it but change seats or cars. I just learned I couldn't drive the car over 1 hour. Eventually, I sold the car. Just some seats will not fit you. Like I said, I have sat in a lot of cars and nothing hurt like that car. Nothing to it, but chalk it up to experience.
 
#21 ·
I just took a 1500 mile road trip in my SE. I was diagnosed with spondilothesis of the L5 along with degenerative bone disease. Needless to say my back is jacked to the point I cant sit or stand for longer than an hour with out the onset of pain. I found myself leaning forward granny style above the wheel to decompress the vertebra frequently. I usually start out with the hip to hip weight transfer to avoid all the weight be placed directly onto the spine. Good luck, I feel for you.
 
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