# Why does my left leg hurt when I drive for a long time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649 "2011-07-19T23:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/1 "2011-07-19T23:59:06Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/2 "2011-07-20T01:12:05Z")
What pocket is your wallet in? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/3 "2011-07-20T01:12:34Z")
Take out your wallet before your trip. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/4 "2011-07-20T01:47:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/6 "2011-07-20T09:49:39Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > 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! ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/7 "2011-07-20T10:24:59Z")
I suffer with sciatica in my left leg, so I drive an automatic… problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/8 "2011-07-20T10:37:32Z")
> [@Lobelia\_Overhill](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/9 "2011-07-20T10:38:57Z")
> [@Shown](#): > > Hey monstro, we should avoid to drive too much because our leg muscles can’t work so much. this problem is also with me. I feel lot of pain in my legs when i drive. My doctor has given me advice that i should avoid to drive too much. 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. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/10 "2011-07-20T15:22:37Z")
For me, my right lower back starts to tingle after a couple hours of driving. ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/11 "2011-07-20T22:33:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/12 "2011-07-22T13:33:31Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-left-leg-hurt-when-i-drive-for-a-long-time/589649/13 "2011-07-22T17:15:58Z")
if you can adjust the height of the seat, do so periodically. Helps me.