Pain in the ...... back

I have never suffered from a bad back but there have been a couple of times recently when my lower back has stiffenned up completely. I originally thought it was due to my first bungee jump just before Christmas, but there have been a few instances since. It takes a couple of days with limited movement and not sleeping well before it eases. Lots of painkillers help, especially with a few glasses of vino. Now I think it might be the 996. I have the standard seats with full electric adjustment, including lumbar thingy and electric memory. Has anyone else had a problem? The lumbar function has a 4 way switch. Up & down which I guess moves the point of support and forward & back which I think inflates and deflates the 'balloon'. Thanks.

Hi, Don't really want to commit to a clinical diagnosis but I would not at this point correlate your back to the seats of your 911. With the info you have given sounds like you are getting some fact joint lock in the lower part of your spine. Cause may be a consequence of the bungee as you may have generated some ligament stretch thus the joints are more mobile that they ought to be and the paraspinal musculature which are in essence your secondary constraints are now working over time. Basically your back vertebrae may be moving more than they should causing local inflamatory reaction and during the pain phase your muscles will go into a spasm. I would recommend you see a Chartered Physiotherapist to give you a MOT as it were and they should be able to direct you on the appropriate method of treatment. This may be local manipulation of tissue, joint and then involve a core stability regime of exercise. Just my thoughts. I qualified as a physiotherapist in 1993, been in the NHS then my own Ltd private practice for 7 years, now back in the NHS in a managerial role primarily but still have a substantial clinical list. You may have a local physiotherapy telephone advice line, (check with your GP), this is similar to NHS direct, I operate one for 3 Local Health Boards in my Trust. Hope you get it sorted. Regards Alan.

I also think the car is unlikely to be to blame... I'm not qualified except by experience of 4 slipped discs in the past 7 years - and one of the very few cars that I can do a really long journey in without problems is my 996! And I have M030 lowered chassis and the 18" lower profile tyres than standard. Ironically, my soft wallowy Trooper auto puts me in agony after about half an hour!

never been impressed with those lumber functions, unless the move a flat section outwards, it's just poking you which makes it worse now I have a bad back condition, so the car seat is tres important, although heated seats is always a good helper although the nomex gt3 buckets seats are unheated the nomex seems to retain warmt well and the straight back adjusted with foam pads makes it a much better fit, although one has to be careful getting in and out as that's poses the biggest risk to ones back I would say get some extra height in your seating position and be careful on entry and exit

Thanks for the advice chaps - will try and get things sorted. :?

Ive started getting sharp pain on the small of my lower back, also a tingling on the like a feather feeling on the top of my feet. Chiropractician friend says it could be due to the seat in the car . Mark Cuetos sold his 996 4s for the same reason. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/rugbyunion/story/0,,2139544,00.html

I've found the sports seats in my 4S the most comfortable I've had over long distances. I guess there is little adjustment, so you can't really set it up wrong. Have you tried experimenting with different seating positions? I read somewhere that the majority of people sit wrong in the car. It seems ironic that Mark Cueto is blaming his car for back pain when he plays a game like Rubgy professionally, but there you go...

I used to do a lot of travelling and always had back ache, the solution was found at the hands of a massage therapist oncea week. I've had no bother at all with my 996 bu I have with other cars. I actually find the firmer ride to be more comfy for some strange reason!!

Always get professional advice with bad backs as what is good for one problem may exacerbate another... However, having had 4 prolapsed lower back discs in the past, my particular problem is made a zillion times worse by sitting too upright... So by reclining the seat a bit more I'm much more comfortable: However, I distinctly remember constantly being told to sit up straight at school - else I would have back problems :roll: Also, I was mis-diagnosed by my GP first time and told to keep mobile - 6 weeks later I couldn't even get behind the steering wheel let alone drive! Seriously though, experiment with your seating position as that could be the problem.

I had a very nasty problem with my lower lumbar region - to the extent that I was in agony when sitting at work - I literally had to lie on the floor intermittently to seek relief from the pain! The extreme phase lasted about 3 months during which I went to a specialist shop in London who fixed me up with a decent chair for work. The difference was unbelievable albeit it took ages before I was able to sit in my car with anything other than severe discomfort. It was with trepidation therefore that I changed the 330D Sport for 996 Targa with sports seats. They have been excellent and I was able to drive to Scotland (over 400 miles) and back down either side of Christmas without any problems. So. I would be surprised if 911 seats are the cause of your problem, more likely that they are just provoking a reaction - if your back is injured, getting into, operating and exiting a car is one heck of a workout, irrespective of seat design! As a short term measure, a memory sponge cushion may provide some relief - it worked a treat for me with my Bimmer (despite that car having multiple electric adjustment). I'm certainly no expert and I would suggest that there are many ways to cause muscles to 'guard' and cause pain - as the good doctor has suggested above, you should get yourself along to one - I chose the osteopath route and continue to visit on a 6 week cycle - just in case! Best of luck & a speedy recovery. Peter