Weaver’s Bottom is a very painful inflammation of the bursa surrounding the pelvic sit bones and Mrs Gti has got it from doing 24,000 miles this year in her Ibiza, which has seats as hard as, er, the plank that weavers used to sit on. At the moment she’s in so much pain that she can’t sit down. She’s been prescribed a heavy-duty anti-inflammatory and another drug to protect her stomach from its effects. If she has to stop driving she will lose her job.

She has tried a rubber ring but she bought one in memory foam, whch works by collapsing so after 10 minutes it’s no good. I thought I might get a softer seat (Peugeot? Renault?) from a scrappie and bolt it in but there’s the issue of the side airbag to consider. I’m thinking I might buy her a sheepskin because they are used in hospitals to prevent pressure sores.

Any other bright ideas?

Isn’t it more to do with her posture/driving position than the seat?

Don’t think so, she’s driven hundreds of thousands of miles in her life as a retail manager and her posture is good. She bought the Ibiza a year ago for the new job and the pain has come on over the last couple of months while she’s been doing long trips. The Seat Ibiza base model seats are extremely hard and quite flat.

A guy I used to work with had an abscess removed from his arse crack, he used a child’s inflatable rubber ring on his Recaros.

Buy something more suited to high mileage comfort?

It sounds like your saying you’ve bought the wrong car. Treat the cause not the symtom is prob the best fix.

If you can’t afford that would a Leon, polo or golf sew the compatible (in terms of holes and airbags)? Is there such a thing as a more luxurious Ibiza? Can you order a seat from one of those?

Putting the car suggestions above to one side, the Ibiza is a great car but I’d still be tempted if budget allows to change it to something more suited and befitting of your STW demographic. I.e a Octavia / mondeo / vectra or BMW / Audi.

Or for the super cheap option a haemorrhoid / coccyx cushion ?

The side airbag can be disconnected, you can fit a resistor into the airbag connector that acts as a pretend airbag. It sounds dodgy but they are often fitted in lower spec cars that do not have the full complement of airbags.

I expect a Seat forum will be able to tell you the resistor value, or even the part number for a proper seat one that is built into a plug.

Thanks. I think she will need to trade the Ibiza in for something with softer seats; I guess Ibizas aren’t really designed for long-distance driving.

She finds my Passat seats very comfortable but she can’t use that for business driving.

Sounds like a new car or seat is the ultimate solution, but even if you decide to do that today it’ll be a couple of weeks before you can actually sort it. So to fix things short term try googling valley cushion. These are for post natal women, with inflamed ‘areas’ :O but might be low enough profile to work for her on a car seat. My wife used one for driving for a couple of weeks at a time at least.

Why can’t she use a passat for business?

Have a look at the golf, a3, 1-series (mk2), Leon. All of those medium family cars will be good on the motorway and round town.

What is the angle between the seat and the backrest?

I’d be surprised if it was solely due to the seats in the Ibiza. My OH has got the new shape one in FR guise with stiffer suspension and I wouldn’t have said the seats feel any firmer than any other car I have been in.

If you go down the ‘change the seat’ route, perhaps look at the Polo and Fabia seats. They are effectively the same car, so the seats would probably fit in the easiest. Only problem would be if they are exactly the same, as that would be no help.

If you are sure it’s the car seats, then if it was me I’d be chopping the car in for something else.
You could try places that sell foam to size for re-vamping sofas and get some foam to put on the seat, but you’ll need to cover it.

Our as someone above has suggested, I’ve heard of people using inflatable rubber rings, but that’s hardly a long term solution.

Has your wife fiddled with the height adjust on the seat? It will also adjust the angle of the seat base and might help to alleviate the problem?

Buy something French.

Peugeot/Renault/Citroen always have the softest seats of any car. Germans the worst.

Is it an fr model with firmer suspension anyway? Change of wheels away from low profile to steel and bigger tyres. Or just a mor comfy car, no amount of money can make up for being able to sit down comfortably!

Have you got a sunroof?

For additional padding until you find a more permanent solution (like changing the seat or car) then instead of memory foam look for something closed cell that isn’t going to squish as much – packing materials like Stratocell or even some cut up camping matt. You can get small thermarest pads for sitting on too.

It might also just require a change of habits. Its maybe the amount of sitting she’s having to do rather than what she’s sitting on and maybe she needs to try and break up long journeys more.

It might be worth going to a Seat dealer and sitting in a few variants of the car just to see if theres any difference between the different trim levels. I find the higher spec and sportier models are the ones that are hardest to get on with seat wise. Being more sculpted and supportive they can prevent you from being able to shuffle about in the seat on long runs.

Totally off the wall idea but how about those covers that massage you? It wouldn’t be any softer but the constant movement might promote greater blood flow and help things that way.

I’d speak to HR; driving aids are part of the companies health and safety responsibilities, effectively if the amount of time she spends in the car is a requirement of her job she has suffered a workplace injury, the ball should be firmly in their court.

Theres a guy in my company who had a ‘special’ seat fitted to his company car due to back issues caused by the amount of driving he was doing, the company paid for this.

As above, if she’s doing 24K / year work miles then shouldn’t her employer provide a car fit for purpose ?

Some useful suggestions there, thanks.

I also thought bubble wrap would work, a bit sweaty though. I’ve given her a soft wool blanket folded into a square to try tomorrow.

Decades of taxi drivers on crap car seats can’t be wrong!

What’s wrong with a wedge cushion? I use one in the car and on the PC chair/dining chair.

This is where I got mine from:

http://www.spinalproducts.co.uk/Seating-Wedges/c-1-6/

Ha ha! Beaded seat covers are still widely used in Turkey.

How adjustable is the seat base? In some cars where I can’t change the height or angle of the seat (rather than just the back) I can end up with all my weight on my butt only because my knees up and theres no weight being taken by my thighs. Where I can (I hire lots of different cars and vans) I tip the seat base backwards so the backs of my knees are supported.

Can you change the seat altogether? Put in a recarro? (a la boy racer)

The cushions on these might appear ‘harder’ but support really well. I had recarro seats in my last car and they were easily the most comfortable I have ever know.

Another vote for adjusting the seat height. I often drive different vans at work, it doesn’t matter if the regular driver is fat, thin, tall or short…the seat is always jacked up front and rear. Much comfier (for me) to drop it right down which means the seat can go back further and still reach the pedals, and then if the seat allows, lift/tilt the front edge a tad to support under the legs.

Hard seats are not necessarily bad, I have an Iveco with hard seats but they are well designed for long distances. Generally regarded to be one of the best commercial driver seats.

How about a “Whoopee Cushion”…..if it doesn’t work at least it will make her laugh when she sits on it. 😳

Err I’ve done 20k on C1 seats. The most simple shit seats ever and I always get out fresh. I think your missus would suffer on any seats tbh.
Worsecase buy her a S60/V70. Best seats 😀

+1 for company providing the vehicle – one more suitable for lots of mileage. Mondeo sized something or other.

Why can’t she use a passat for business?

I’m guessing that she can’t use this particular Passat as it’s not her own…

Seats in my Ibiza Cupra are very comfy, not at all flat and hard. Might be worth a look if you can find any.

Another vote for it not being your problem.

As for the car, we had an Ibiza and did a lot of miles in it without issue. Either your wife had some other issue revealed by the driving (in which case changing the car won’t help) or she sits in a particular way.

And if they sack her for not being able to drive you can buy your own nice new car wit the compensation you’ll surely win…

Erm – I may have to revise my comment about the seats in the Ibiza.

I have driven my OH’s new shape Ibiza to work this morning and the seats are actually noticeably firmer than in my car (the previous shape Ibiza).
Not having really considered it previously in isolation, I have just got in the car, found it to be comfy and not really noticed how firm they were compared to other cars; I didn’t really think they were any different to other car seats I have sat in.
But getting in her car this morning I remembered this thread and realised that the seats are quite hard under your sit bones. Depending on seat angle etc. I could imagine this potentially being uncomfortable if you are going many miles/yr in the car.

I was looking for ice packs for my OH’s dodgy knees and found this page on the site I was looking on:
http://www.physiosupplies.com/rehabilitation/car-seat-back-cushions/sitting-wheelchair-cushions.html
If you could work out whether a cushion would fit OK (not raise the seat base up too much) then perhaps it would be worth considering one of these; they are not very expensive and are designed for people who have to sit for long periods in wheelchairs….

Change the seat to a Recaro, they are available aftermarket with adaptors that will enable it to be a “Bolt in Swap”

Comfort isnt always about “Soft” its about support in the right places.

My Project car has a Carbon Kevlar Sparco seat in it with about 6mm of padding, but its the most comfortable seat I have ever used as it supports you properly.

Get a full roll cage and 5-point harnesses while you’re at it – she’ll look awesome rocking up at client’s offices and trying to get out!

+another for company should be providing appropriate vehicle if that amount of driving is a prerequisite.

Yeah – my Impreza had proper Recaro seats and they were the most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat on.

Rachel

Thanks for all the comments. As JD suggests, she can’t use my Passat for her employer’s business because it belongs to my own employer.

Maccruiskeen and later Stumpy01 have hit the nail on the head – I drove the Ibiza yesterday to get the winter wheels fitted and realised that I was sitting with my legs up and my thighs unsupported by the seat, meaning that all my weight was on my bum bones. As Stumpy01 says, the seats are actually very comfortable; the backrest is an excellent shape. Then I realised that Mrs Gti has got the steering wheel pushed as far forward as it goes and that if she pulled it back towards her, she could sit further away from the pedals and her legs would flatten out a little for more thigh support. For once she didn’t insult my idea and took it on board quite thoughtfully so when she’s better (she hasn’t actually sat down for a week now) she can try that, along with a sheepskin I bought her. I will also look at raising the front of the seat cushion, either with a wedge or with spacers under the rails.

I’m impressed by the amount of time you guys are prepared to spend typing replies to my little problem – thanks to you all!

globalti – Member
Maccruiskeen and later Stumpy01 have hit the nail on the head – I drove the Ibiza yesterday to get the winter wheels fitted and realised that I was sitting with my legs up and my thighs unsupported by the seat, meaning that all my weight was on my bum bones. As Stumpy01 says, the seats are actually very comfortable; the backrest is an excellent shape. Then I realised that Mrs Gti has got the steering wheel pushed as far forward as it goes and that if she pulled it back towards her, she could sit further away from the pedals and her legs would flatten out a little for more thigh support. For once she didn’t insult my idea and took it on board quite thoughtfully so when she’s better (she hasn’t actually sat down for a week now) she can try that, along with a sheepskin I bought her. I will also look at raising the front of the seat cushion, either with a wedge or with spacers under the rails.

I’m impressed by the amount of time you guys are prepared to spend typing replies to my little problem – thanks to you all

Seems like we’re helping each other out to be honest!!

In my previous post I mentioned buying ice packs for my OH’s dodgy knees.
She has recently developed infrapatella bursitis or something, which is inflammation of the fluid sac below the knee cap. Currently she is in a lot of pain with her knees and is seeing a physio about it, who is telling her part of the problem is a lack of muscle supporting the knee, but she can’t exercise to strengthen the muscle as her knees are too sore.
All this started after she got her new Ibiza (could be a coincidence as she was also doing a bit of regular running at the time) and I wonder if she has set the car up like you suggest; steering wheel pushed too far forward, as her thighs are definitely lifted off the seat base.

I think we will have to have a bit of an experiment to see if we can get her in a more ergonomic position. She has got long legs, so could probably do with having the steering wheel as far out as it will go like you say, so she sits further back and straightens her thighs in relation to the seat base for more support. Cool! Something to try!

I also get occasional mild bursitis at the backs of my knees, not bad enough to be painful but definitely swollen and puffy after vigorous exercise. I also started getting it in my left hip because I was in the habit of canting my pelvis to the left when, er, attending to personal hygiene on the WC so all my weight was pressing down through my hip onto the hard seat. I started leaning forward and putting my left foot behind me so that more weight was carried on my thigh and the problem went away.