By friendly lurker aka deb on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 08:48 pm:

Hey people.

I'm not used to dislocating or subluxing, so I'm in new territory here.

I live in a city and don't drive often, but when I do, I drive a standard-shift car. I'm about 5'2 with shoes on (about 157 cm), so I have to reach a bit with my left leg to push in the clutch. I've driven twice in the last couple of weeks and my left hip is killing me. The logical conclusion is that my hip is subluxing when I drive.

Sometimes it feels like the joint will buckle and give way under my weight. If I bend my left knee, go up on my toes (well, the ball of the foot), and don't swivel the hip joint itself, I can walk. Thankfully, this has only happened inside my apartment. (It looks extremely silly.)

Most of the time, it just hurts. I can walk on it and hide the limp, but it hurts. I've been taking ibuprofen, which is not terribly effective but better than nothing.

How do I know the joint is back in? Is it slipping? What's causing this and how do I make it go away (between car drives)?

By Hamfist on Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 03:18 am:

Hello Deb
You are relatively short but of course we do not have intimate details so you could have short legs and long body for your height. In reaching for the clutch and then using strength to floor it there is a definite possibility that your hip does sublux.
Taking pain killers is not getting to the root cause! The problem is driving your manual car where the leg length required is greater than is comfortable for you. Perhaps a block on the clutch pedal would help if you are not able to change to an automatic vehicle.
Sublux or dislocation is a problem with hyper mobiles and good muscle tone will help reduce the problem.
The problem with unintentional sublux or dislocation is that the muscles surrounding the joint usually go into spasm and the tightened muscles do not always allow the joint to seat properly - hence the hurt.
Regards, Ian

By Rosie on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 02:27 pm:

Hiya

Really quickly - Have you tried adjusting your seat so you dont have to reach as far for your clutch pedal. You should be able to push it to the floor without stretching your leg. I am the same height as you and I have to shift my seat way forwards to reach the pedals properly.

HTH - sounds painful

Love Rosiexx

By Deb on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 04:25 pm:

Hi again.

Oddly enough, I have a pedal extender on the clutch pedal. The problem is that I've gained weight, which has somehow affected my posture as to make my legs seem shorter. I have the seat cranked up as far as it will go. This car is just not designed for short people! Next time, I want a Mini Cooper.

Thanks for the advice. I hope to land a job accessible by public transport, which would allow me to just sell the car.

By Myke on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:01 pm:

NOT for short people?! What car!

I'm afraid of having to buy an SUV or a van to accept my 6'3" height, with MOST of that in my legs.

By Deb on Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 01:32 pm:

Hey Myke!

I drive a Saab 900. It's my fifth Saab in a row, but the first one with the newer body style. The older Saabs were easier for me to drive. Even with a pedal extender, the steering wheel is practically in my lap.

You would have liked my MGB-GT. My 6'3" friend drove it sometimes and he had both leg room and head clearance.

By Myke on Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 08:32 pm:

A >SAAB<? Puh... rich girl ;)

By Deb on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 11:57 pm:

I'm not rich. I'm kept. ;)

But seriously, I always buy used Saabs, and not the super-expensive ones. They'll keep going forever if you keep an eye out for their usual problems (CV joints, water pump at 100K, avoid turbos unless you're willing to baby them).

Also, I totaled my last car and walked away from it. They're built like tanks.

Aaaaaand I drove tonight and guess what hurts?

By Rosemary Small on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 09:43 am:

We bought a very used 9 year old Lexus. Wonderful electric seat adjustments and my first automatic. Our daughter is just under 5 feet, Hubby and I are 5 foot 5 inches, so there is frequent seat adjustment and we are all happy now. Daughter and I have EDS: this car really reduces finger dislocation issues with its electric seats, windows,and mirrors. No more clutch and gear shifting is a godsend to toes, hip, shoulder and elbow joints. Our previous vehicle(15 years)was a manual shift Toyota Tercel Wagon. It was cheap to run but, hard on the EDS body.