The Fitness Drive

Driving long distances can aggravate back pain. Isometric exercises that can be done at the wheel may help alleviate it, by Aasheesh Sharma.

Five days a week, even as his neck and lower back protest, Varun Puri, 31, who works with a leading international bank, drives 35 kilometres from north Delhi’s Civil Lines to his Gurgaon office. “After having done 350 kilometres during the week, on the weekend I just feel like lying down simply to recover from the commute. The pain is aggravated on days I need to go for sales meetings. My doctor has recommended I don’t drive for more than an hour at a stretch, but that isn’t realistic,” he says.