Why does my left leg hurt when I drive for a long time?

Specifically in the upper thigh. After an hour of driving, the pain starts to kill me. Keeping it bent or stretched out with the foot on the dash only helps a teeny bit. Sitting cross-legged helps more, but of course that’s crazy and dangerous!

The question is why. Why does my left thigh cramp up so bad? Is it because it’s inactive? If that’s the case, why doesn’t it hurt when I’m driving my desk all day at work? It only hurts when I’m driving. And it ALWAYS happens when I’m driving.

Anyone have any ideas?

What pocket is your wallet in?

Take out your wallet before your trip.

Sometimes I find that putting a rolled-up towel under my left leg helps it not hurt. If I don’t have that, a book or a rolled up magazine can help.

It’s probably the prolonged compression of your sciatic nerve in just the right way.

That sounds like something I can try. Thanks!

I suffer with sciatica in my left leg, so I drive an automatic… problem solved.

I also drive an automatic but still suffer from sciatic pain in my left leg. Might try the rolled up towel, though. Anything is worth a try.

And sometimes you can not avoid needing to do the drive =)

I make it work by stopping every 2 hours and gimping around the car once, and every 4 hours stopping to pee and get another bottle of water. When the car needs diesel, I get chow. I regularly do 16 hour drives that way.

For me, my right lower back starts to tingle after a couple hours of driving.

Make sure that the side of your knee, or some other part of your leg, isn’t pressed up against the window winder or other part of the door for extended periods.

Pressure can do strange nerve damage.

It could also be something as simple as the position (and adjustability) of the driver’s seat. My wife owns a Toyota Camry and I cannot get the driver’s seat to adjust to a comfortable position for me no matter how hard I try. Long road trips are a killer for me - I get the same pain in my left leg after a few hours that the OP describes. (Of course, that’s the side I keep my wallet on too. ;)) On the other hand I could drive my Hyundai Santa Fe all day and not feel any ill effects, probably because I am sitting more upright and elevated.

if you can adjust the height of the seat, do so periodically. Helps me.