BRZ causing sciatic pain... halp

[Prowl647]

I had the same problems. Solved them by stretching out a lot and using a foam roller and the pain is gone. You have to do this on a daily basis and hopefully the pain will go away. Good luck.

[TSY]

Is this an ongoing health issue? Have you had an MRI of your low back or been diagnosed with a disc herniation or have had back surgery? Is your pain shooting all the way down your leg or just in the thigh? to the knee?

Obviously you should take care of your health issues first. The car may just be aggravating something that is getting worse. It's hard to diagnose exactly what is going on with you from across the country but I would suggest checking in with your doctor. As someone mentioned, PT would probably be helpful and perhaps several other treatments.

This being said, try small adjustments in your seat. Changing the angle of the seatback can help, as can changing the seat height. These seats are designed for the 'average male', I just don't know if that's an average American or Japanese male! But the seats in our cars are quite supportive for such an inexpensive car, much better than the seats that were in my STI.

Good luck!

[Doborder]

Originally Posted by TSY

Is this an ongoing health issue? Have you had an MRI of your low back or been diagnosed with a disc herniation or have had back surgery? Is your pain shooting all the way down your leg or just in the thigh? to the knee?

Obviously you should take care of your health issues first. The car may just be aggravating something that is getting worse. It's hard to diagnose exactly what is going on with you from across the country but I would suggest checking in with your doctor. As someone mentioned, PT would probably be helpful and perhaps several other treatments.

This being said, try small adjustments in your seat. Changing the angle of the seatback can help, as can changing the seat height. These seats are designed for the 'average male', I just don't know if that's an average American or Japanese male! But the seats in our cars are quite supportive for such an inexpensive car, much better than the seats that were in my STI.

Good luck!

I would venture to guess average Japanese male
I go to Asia and try to buy cloths there and it's just doesn't fit
I'm 5'10, 170 so I wouldn't say I'm huge, but I'm considered "big boned" in Asia...

[burnt toast]

Originally Posted by TSY

These seats are designed for the 'average male', I just don't know if that's an average American or Japanese male!

Average American male is too fat to fit comfortably in these seats.

Sciatic pain sucks. I constantly readjust myself in my seat during long drives to try to minimize pain.

Good luck with managing the pain. There are options out there, just depends how much you're willing to sacrifice (and pay).

[s0sl0w]

thanks for all the replies guys. I do exercise and I've never had aproblem with sciatic pain before. I'm going to give it a few hundred-thousabd miles fr the seats to get broken in properly and see if between that and adjustments it doesnt resolve itself. Im not a particulary fat guy (5'11" 190) and i fit in the seat just fine. I will just suck it up in the meantime and if it doesnt sort itself than a few hundred at an upholstty shop will. I actually like the seats so this issue is somewhat surprising.

[Imrac]

Invest in a wallet you can put in your front pockets. HUGE help.

[TSY]

Originally Posted by s0sl0w

thanks for all the replies guys. I do exercise and I've never had aproblem with sciatic pain before. I'm going to give it a few hundred-thousabd miles fr the seats to get broken in properly and see if between that and adjustments it doesnt resolve itself. Im not a particulary fat guy (5'11" 190) and i fit in the seat just fine. I will just suck it up in the meantime and if it doesnt sort itself than a few hundred at an upholstty shop will. I actually like the seats so this issue is somewhat surprising.

If you don't have a history of 'sciatica' or back problems, you're probably sitting 'perfectly' (in a bad way) such that you are putting pressure on your sciatic nerve- just like when your leg falls asleep when sitting too long on the ground.

Again, try adjusting the seat so that you put pressure on a different part of your bum.

If not, you can always try one of these memory foam cushions you can buy online or in a 'relax the back' type store. If all else fails, you can buy some confor foam:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...conForFoan.php

They use it in airplane seats (you can imagine your foot falling asleep while flying would be bad!). It's useful for padding race seats and I'm sure would fit in the bottom of our seats without a problem.

Again, I hope this helps.

I'll send you my bill in the mail for the consult!

[s0sl0w]

Well I'm glad to report back that somewhere around ~1,200 miles the seat and my leg quit bothering me, I think I managed to find that "just right" seat position and the seat broke in a bit.

I'm a very happy camper.

[trafalgar47]

I have the same problem with the seat. I think adding spacers to raise the front of the seat so that it supports the thigh is what is needed. I have a 36" inseam, 6'1"tall and weigh 220 lbs. Are figuring a way of making the seat longer.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Seat rake in this car sucks.

[spdfreak]

It's not just me then!

I'm 6'1" and 165lbs
While I love the seating position and side bolsters... I do feel like the seat bottom needs to be tilted back a bit more.

Even with my wallet out of my back pockets, that nerve starts to get aggravated after an hour or so of steady driving. It's only on the right side and I'm sure it's because I normally drive with my wallet in the back pocket in the work van.
On my first road trip in the BRZ it got bad enough that I had to turn on cruise control, lift my ass off the seat, and massage my upper right glute for a little bit. Took care of it for about an hour til the pain started coming back.

Whatever though... it only bothers me for longish trips. Just means I'll have to get a racing bucket sooner rather than later.

What a pain in the ass. heh.