Headrests cause neck/back pain; alternatives?
- Thread starter bulwnkl
- Start date
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
Yes, that may be the cause. I drive with my seat reclined further and I need to move my head backwards to touch the headrest as well. Now, that doesn't mean the back is in a C shape, I think it is more like the driver here:
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
- :
- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
CX-7's=LOVE: (hear ya)Have you ever ordered anything from that china wholesale site?
Yes, that may be the cause. I drive with my seat reclined further and I need to move my head backwards to touch the headrest as well. Now, that doesn't mean the back is in a C shape, I think it is more like the driver here:
Maybe so. How'd you find that image?
- :
- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
I became curious about the topic so I actually checked it out when driving yesterday. I could not find any related seating image on the Web except this one above, which is the Premacy Hydrogen Hybrid.
You are correct, my other car does not have such a "pronounced" headrest angle, but I never noticed until now
Oh well, share the pics when ready so we know the outcome (yes)
Bulwinkl, you've got a real kindred spirit here!
I haven't been here in the forum for quite awhile, or I would've immediately replied, because I had even posted my own complaint about this very same issue earlier on this forum! (and I continue to be surprised that we sufferers apparently are in such a minority....)
I am a 5'3" woman, so obviously not a big head size. I immediately found the driver's headrest intolerable, and thus a MAJOR problem. Like you, it forces my head way too far forward and down, making even a few minutes' drive uncomfortable and then painful. Apparently choosing to have the seat back in a very upright position -- like you, I sit with back and head upright, like I do when walking -- results in the forward/downward backrest. Guys at the dealership laughed and said that some people like to put the seat so far back that some of them even drive with their knees since their hands won't reach the steering wheel; obviously for them the backrest would be ok.
As soon as I drove my new Mazda 5 home, I immediately ached--literally--for the headrest in the '87 Camry I was giving up: those headrests ratchet front to back. Mazda could simply have made these headrests, at least in the front row, similarly adjustable both up/down AND front/back, and that would have, I'm sure, totally resolved the problem. (This was one of my complaints in my response to the "new owners survey" sticky thread, btw, along with wishing for more/better overall seat adjustments: I really had to mess around with the levers and pumps to FINALLY come up with ONE decent combination for my body and driving style).
The upshot, after talking with Mazda parts people, going to auto supply stores, etc., and being told there was nothing, was to simply turn the driver's headrest backwards. Yes, it does fit in just fine, tho without the up/down notches working; but I leave it down, so that's ok with me.
In this backward position, tho, it's actually a little bit too far back for me, but not pain-inducing as the normal position is. I'm still thinking about finding (or making) some sort of additional little pillow or bean bag to hang over the top of the headrest that would bring my head just a tiny bit more forward, and that would be just right.
Thanks, 07MZ5SA, for the details on a better fix. Still too involved for me to run out and do, but I'll remember this in case I decide to go that route.
Have I increased my chance of whiplash? Dunno, but I've saved the ONGOING cost of chiropractor appointments I would've faced if I hadn't turned that darned headrest around!
Hope you've found a workable solution for yourself by this time, but maybe someone else will check this older thread for the same reason.
Cheers
I haven't been here in the forum for quite awhile, or I would've immediately replied, because I had even posted my own complaint about this very same issue earlier on this forum! (and I continue to be surprised that we sufferers apparently are in such a minority....)
I am a 5'3" woman, so obviously not a big head size. I immediately found the driver's headrest intolerable, and thus a MAJOR problem. Like you, it forces my head way too far forward and down, making even a few minutes' drive uncomfortable and then painful. Apparently choosing to have the seat back in a very upright position -- like you, I sit with back and head upright, like I do when walking -- results in the forward/downward backrest. Guys at the dealership laughed and said that some people like to put the seat so far back that some of them even drive with their knees since their hands won't reach the steering wheel; obviously for them the backrest would be ok.
As soon as I drove my new Mazda 5 home, I immediately ached--literally--for the headrest in the '87 Camry I was giving up: those headrests ratchet front to back. Mazda could simply have made these headrests, at least in the front row, similarly adjustable both up/down AND front/back, and that would have, I'm sure, totally resolved the problem. (This was one of my complaints in my response to the "new owners survey" sticky thread, btw, along with wishing for more/better overall seat adjustments: I really had to mess around with the levers and pumps to FINALLY come up with ONE decent combination for my body and driving style).
The upshot, after talking with Mazda parts people, going to auto supply stores, etc., and being told there was nothing, was to simply turn the driver's headrest backwards. Yes, it does fit in just fine, tho without the up/down notches working; but I leave it down, so that's ok with me.
In this backward position, tho, it's actually a little bit too far back for me, but not pain-inducing as the normal position is. I'm still thinking about finding (or making) some sort of additional little pillow or bean bag to hang over the top of the headrest that would bring my head just a tiny bit more forward, and that would be just right.
Thanks, 07MZ5SA, for the details on a better fix. Still too involved for me to run out and do, but I'll remember this in case I decide to go that route.
Have I increased my chance of whiplash? Dunno, but I've saved the ONGOING cost of chiropractor appointments I would've faced if I hadn't turned that darned headrest around!
Hope you've found a workable solution for yourself by this time, but maybe someone else will check this older thread for the same reason.
Cheers
Thanks for the reply, High5er. I have also just turned the headrests around. They're too far back that way, but at least I don't get a neck & backache from them. I haven't gone to see the upholstery shop because they don't bother my wife and we've backed away from most family trips due to high fuel costs.
So, my solution has been to continue driving the Neon before, and now drive my '05 Subaru Baja (replaced the Neon). Both of them have headrests that are properly built for me. Interestingly, though, I sat a couple of Foresters before buying the Baja and Subaru has changed their headrests as well. The older one I sat in ('04? '03?) had a perfectly fine headrest, but the newer one ('06? '05?) had the obnoxious angle like our 5.
If we return to long trips (or even if I just go back to riding/driving in the 5 more), I may yet go to the upholstery shop or get those DVD screen headrests. Until then, I'll keep loving the 5 for everything else, and wishing they'd just make the headrests angle-adjustable.
So, my solution has been to continue driving the Neon before, and now drive my '05 Subaru Baja (replaced the Neon). Both of them have headrests that are properly built for me. Interestingly, though, I sat a couple of Foresters before buying the Baja and Subaru has changed their headrests as well. The older one I sat in ('04? '03?) had a perfectly fine headrest, but the newer one ('06? '05?) had the obnoxious angle like our 5.
If we return to long trips (or even if I just go back to riding/driving in the 5 more), I may yet go to the upholstery shop or get those DVD screen headrests. Until then, I'll keep loving the 5 for everything else, and wishing they'd just make the headrests angle-adjustable.
HotRodSaint
Member
- :
- Mazda5 Touring 5 Speed
Would the notches work if you switched the left headrest with the right?
