New Driver Legs And But Are Killing Me!

Another thing to keep in mind when sitting for long periods of time is the risk of blood clots. Blood that pools, as in the feet, has a tendency to clot. It's a good idea to do leg exercises while you are driving every once in awhile.

I bought a nice little seat cushion that I use, but not all the time. Just use it if getting tired of sitting for to long, the slight change seems to make the difference. I do not know how long you go between stops but when I am driving all day, meaning 10+ driving with no stops I take at least 5 minute breaks every couple hours and make sure you use your 30 minute to your advantage and take a walk when possible. I do not have in the truck but when I was farming we would have longer days and I really liked the heated seats for my back, I would crank the heat to high for about 10 minutes then off.

How do you drive ten plus without stops?

Pete, I believe he meant "stops" as in "customer".

OK that makes sense.

Two things I do to keep the blood flowing. When I'm on a straight Road I pump both feet at the same time to exercise my calves. Another thing I do is again on a straight Road is to try to stand up in my seat with my seatbelt on. I try to do sets of 20 to 25. Of course you don't stand up all the way but it does help my knees. On the East Coast with all the traffic on the turns it is hard to do this. Another thing I mentioned in a thread months ago is if you have swelling of your lower extremities think about getting compression hose. All of these have work for me greatly.

Yes I meant 10+ hours with no stops which I do about 2 days out of every 2 weeks. My normal day is about 450 to 500 miles with 1 drop and hook then one live drop and onto a live pickup them back home for the night. So I know getting out every couple hours if even for a few minutes helps a lot and does not cut into your miles that much.

Another thing to keep in mind when sitting for long periods of time is the risk of blood clots. Blood that pools, as in the feet, has a tendency to clot. It's a good idea to do leg exercises while you are driving every once in awhile.

This is crazy. I already do each and every one of these subconsciously, and pretty much in the order, she showed. As I was watching this video I was like..wait, I do that...ok, cool. Then the next exercise and so forth...too funny.

I also kick my legs straight out under the dash and flex/stretch them and also stand up off the seat.

As for the butt issue, I'm in the same boat. I'm about 155-160lbs, and my butt has 2 pressure points w/ this Peterbilt seat. I purchased a seat cushion from Costco hoping it would alleviate the issue, but in fact, all it did was put pressure on my hamstrings, so I tried lowering the seat as mentioned a few times above, but to no avail.

I then purchased a double-sided purple seat cushion and it actually made things worse as it wasn't big enough to fit the dimensions of these large truck seats and rolled my legs inward and caused groin discomfort.

So THEN I purchased the super-duper-deluxe purple seat cushion as it was large enough to cover the entire truck seat....only to not provide any relief of 2 pressure points I get when just sitting in the seat w/ no cushion at all. All I can deduce as it pertains to the purple seat cushions is if you're a bigger person, then you might have enough weight to get proper support cushion...and that aside, it's so dang slippery that it slides all around the seat, especially as you exit the truck.

So $300 in seat cushions and I'm no closer to being comfortable than I was day one.

Back to the drawing board.

It took me about 6 months to get used to what your experiencing. I highly reccomed everyone get a lumbar pillow before you get chronic lumbar pain from driving 11 hours a day. The lumbar pillow wont cure you or help much if you don’t practice good posture. Your leg pain will be nothing compared to back pain. My trainers emphasized good oral hygiene but didn’t mention how hard this job is on your back. When you see that trucker with no teeth don’t think it can never be you if your not seeing your dentist every 6 months for cleanings. Good luck.

Any tingling or numbness in feet/ankles/calves? Is the pain in your butt deep in the joint?

Solo, it's very clear to me that your butt is too skinny. Silicone implants might be the answer.

As with most drivers, the skinny butt syndrome will usually cure itself over time.

Serious cyclists often have problems with sore butts. Maybe a cycle shop might be able to suggest some material that will let you be comfortable.

If you go online, or even to the mega truck stops, you will see that you can purchase high-tech seats for up to $8,000 or more. I saw one with Bose technology, not for sound, but for canceling out vibrations. If you are living in your truck and keeping expenses low, maybe one of these seats would be a good investment for you. If your factory seat is causing you trouble, a new seat may be your salvation. If you go that route make sure they have a no questions asked return policy if the seat doesn't perform to your satisfaction.

In 'hind sight', maybe you just need to eat more and fatten up those buns!

Grumpy asked: "Is the pain in your butt deep in the joint?" Grumpy, that's such a personal question. Shame on you!

Get your mind out of the gutter Bruce!