To let everyone know this is not a pity party just a warning for all drivers. I’ve been a driver for 3 years, drove 70+ hours a week 7 days a week. Never thought that driving for long period of time would affect my health. Well today I lay up in the hospital after having surgery on my neck. I was having numbing, tingling and shooting pain in my right arm. After 4 months of unbearable pain, I went to the ER for the second time and they finally did an MRI where the surgeon tells us " this is the biggest bulging disc I have ever seen in my career", need to remove it. After hearing how they remove it, I almost opted out of getting it done. They went through the front of my neck, removed the bulging disc and replaced it with an artifical one. Now I can’t move my neck without looking like a robot, 6-8 weeks before I can drive again which happened to be my full time job between uber, lyft, postmates and doordash.
Please be carefully and don’t push your body to the max. This shit sucks laying up in the hospital all because I was spending to much time behind a wheel giving shitty passengers shitty rides. I’ve never had an injury to my neck, back or shoulders so Dr’s state it’s from all the driving us drivers do.
Get well soon! Apply for disability, you pay into it!
Ask the hospital social services support. They should be able to direct you. You’ll need forms signed by the doctor.
Get well soon. Yeah sitting for too long and for long periods of time is a health risk. Thank God I have a standing desk at my day job…
This is where proper stretching and breaks come into play. Take care of your body, you only get one.
So who did your surgery? Also wondering how you became a Lyft mentor.
Good health must be a priority- if you have a family it’s impossible to serve them and work 70 hours a week and take care of your health. I was actually in a wheelchair and had this surgery and was up walking the next day. I’m forever grateful and it was amazingly easy and painless. I had two discs crush and they were done with the same surgery, in through the throat next to the larynx and not allowed to speak for 10 days-they vacuumed out the rubble and inserted rubber replacement discs. Totally worth it, 10 years later I never have pain but I also do at least 30 minutes of walking every day if nothing else
where did you do your surgery and what’s the doctors name. I’ve had 4 children all born through C section and they’ve given me a shot directly in my back. I can’t remember the name of it but I have never had back problems until I started driving for Uber and LYFT. I only drive part time now due to the low fares, high miles on my car and now my back hurts from the bumpy roads… Horrible. Meanwhile Travis is rich, doesn’t care about our finances, much less our health. Meanwhile you have drivers posting their earnings on her (weather they’re fake posting by Uber trolls or if they are real drivers) we are all risking our health for nothing. In the short over 2 years I’ve worked my driver friend have had heart problems, cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol and swollen leg/joints all due to driving long hours sitting. If we can’t drive for 4 hours max and make money driving for Uber and LYFT it’s not worth ruining our health.
I climb telephone poles, carry 100 pound ladders ect ect for a living… I drive mostly Saturday’s and Friday nights and it’s harder on my body in a lot of ways then my normal job…
Get out every few rides and stretch and walk a bit… That will do wonders…
Ouch 
feel better soon. I always have thought being behind the wheel for hours on end will have some repercussions in due time. I only do 20 - 30 hours per week when I drive but have not driven in 6 weeks.
Did you get a disc replacement or a fusion? I got a disc replacement done in c5/6 for a ruptured disc and have full range of motion… I was back fighting again 3 months after surgery. What you got sounds more akin to a fusion. I was driving 3 days after surgery with a neck brace, and that was only for the week.
I’m so sorry that’s happened to you, I had the exact fusion (with titanium rod,) and followed post op to the letter. All I can say is take care & I sincerely wish you a full recovery as I had from it. After it was completely healed (months) I was sorry I waited. Just be sure your surgeon is recommended by either someone you know or a site like health grades, etc.
I hope you get better and recover soon. No job or any amount of money is worth us losing our health. I know I was sick for 10.5 years and lost not only my health but all I had ever worked for and I was making 30k to 40k per month and look at me now… I got reduce down to a Uber and LYFT driver.
They try and make drivers brag but these drivers really don’t know what they are putting themselves up against.
ALL THE ABOVE ARE THE HEALTH RISK OF SITTING FOR MORE THAN 6 hours. NOT GOOD AND NOT HEALTHY.
WHAT IS YOUR HEALTH WORTH.
In between rides we have to get up and out of the car and move around , few jumping jacks, little stretching and go to the gym… speedy recovery and protect your health !!!
Posted all these symptoms so that drivers will know the risks. Uber doesn’t want us to know because they would all lose their jobs is we stopped driving
It’s up to each individual to have workers compensation insurance. This is not a Lyft or Uber responsibility
it’s apparently not Uber responsibility to cover for anything. They just turn a blind eye to everything. Do you have ride share insurance? If so with who? Lol not! Most drivers, drive dirty… With regular insurance and a thousand prayers
you do know that workers compensation is completely separate from collision or liability coverage right? One has nothing to do with the other. But to answer your question no I do not. I’m fully aware that if something was to happen and I was found at fault the only ones covered would be my passengers and the vehicle I would have damaged.
I’m 6 months pregnant. Went to doc yesterday for severe back pain. (I’ve had 3 kids I know what normal back pain feel like)… I was sent to a physical therapist and found out my pelvis has shifted and it’s shifted MORE on the right side from working 50 hours a week driving for uber. Not ubers fault, it’s mine, but you guys HAVE to be careful.
thanks for sharing. My God, how is the Baby doing in all this… Jeez. I keep telling people and they don’t understand. I know it’s hard times with these companies trying to get away with pain peanuts but driving your car to the ground is one thing but when we drive our health to the ground it’s something else it’s something that we have to deal with for the rest of our lives sometimes and it suck.
Posting stuff like this will help other expecting mothers to be.
Thanks for your post.
I am not sure where you live but please apply for state disability and welfare if they have it. If they do not have that apply for unemployment. If you were working that many hours your family budget will take a hit. If that is not available if you start a medical go fund me page I have $20.00 to contribute. Google “medical go fund me page”. SRY and good luck.
you must keep your posture straight and strong in the driver’s seat. The slightest slouching shifts all body weight to the lower back pressing into the seat. It leads to arthritis and spinal stenosis. My body gave out recently, too. basically it boils down to getting a new profession