Bangalore drives people crazy

CAR SICK
IT’S DRIVING THEM CRAZY
Driving in stressful conditions is affecting the physical and mental health of Bangaloreans
Times of India

DRIVING is becoming a pain in the neck. Literally. City doctors say that they are seeing more cases of spondylitis, in a younger age group than ever before. Spondylitis is not the only fallout of driving in a tension-filled environment, spending hours in a vehicle commuting or battling traffic jams. Motorists in Bangalore are also falling prey to a plethora of other pain-related ailments ranging from myofascial pain syndrome to pinched nerves, because of the stress of driving in the city and the poor posture they adopt, while trying to beat the traffic.

Dr Thomas Chandy, medical director and chief or orthopaedics at a city hospital says, “The anxiety of driving is causing both short term and long term disorders. While you can get a pinched nerve or frozen shoulder because of several weeks of stressful driving, spondylitis usually takes years to develop. Earlier we used to get spondylitis cases in the 50-70 year age group, but now it has gone down to 35 years. When you get tense while driving, your body posture is altered and you are under a lot of strain, a combination of the two over a period of time does affect your body.”

The average Bangalorean is said to spend anywhere between one to three hours a day in a vehicle — not while just commuting to work and back, but non-work related driving too. “City driving is tough and you have to be alert all the time to see that no one cuts lanes just when the signal changes, or to ensure rash drivers don’t scratch your vehicle. The honking and the noise when I am in a traffic jam gives me a headache and I get so tense that the nape of my neck hurts a lot,” says techie Sandeep Charloo who spends nearly 18 hours a week driving.

Dr Pranjal Shamsher, cofounder of a pain clinic says, “Nearly 70 per cent of the pain related cases I deal
with are because of driving stress. Constant clutching and braking can lead to Repetitive Stress Injury syndrome. Four wheeler drivers are more prone to sciatica and two wheeler riders are prone to carpal tunnel syndrome. In heavy traffic, all the steering, braking and manoeuvring puts stress on the joints involved while driving and can also lead to tennis elbow or tendinits of the achilles tendon.”

And it’s not just the stress, even actions like turning back while reversing or turning, instead of using rear and side mirrors, talking on the phone while driving, slouching and leaning your seat way back can cause complications. Adds Dr Chandy, “The traffic won’t clear out if you get angry or tense. Relax and try to get your mind off it.”

Minimise pain by

• Not holding your head or arms in one position for a long time
• Relaxing, not getting stressed out
• Sitting upright, way back in your seat
• Wearing your seat belt
• Using rear and side-view mirrors instead of turning
• Using a small cushion in the small of your back

Driven off the road

• K a v e r i Chodha recently quit a great job she had on Hosur Road, primarily because she couldn’t handle the commute and the deadly traffic. “Three years ago it used to be a 35-minute commute in the company shuttle, which I really enjoyed for many years, until the recent traffic jinx hit Bangalore,” says Kaveri. After which, it began to take her an hour-and-a-half to reach office. Although not the only reason for her quitting work, the traffic situation definitely contributed to Kaveri’s decision, “especially with the jams, noise, toxic pollution and commute time, all increasing by the day. It was impacting my health and mind.”

• Aparna P, a marketing-communication manager, tries to walk to work as often as possible. “Otherwise I use the driver or an auto. I love driving, but I can survive Bangalore’s traffic only on holidays. Otherwise, I’d rather have someone else deal with it,” says Aparna.

• Earlier, Ashok Sadhwani, general secretary of the Bangalore Bars Restaurants and Pub Owners Association, used to drive to his office on MG Road. “Not anymore. It takes nothing less than 45 minutes to get from one place to another.” Although Ashok sits next to his driver, who deals with the traffic, the entire commuting effort isn’t less painful for him. “I still get frustrated. I have to deal with the pollution and stress even though I am not driving,” says Ashok. And some days, Ashok walks to work or gets off the car and takes an auto to his destination. “I reach faster,” he adds.

• For emcee Divya, it’s a cab or auto, depending on whether she has to go for an appointment or to meet friends. “A cab’s my first choice. You reach your destination much fresher. Otherwise, when I am meeting my friends I just take an auto. Driving? Forget it. It’s such a pain.”