The Health Effects of Working Under Your Car

As a car lover, you’re passionate about taking care of your vehicle. As much fun as it is, this process can also be quite physically demanding. One of the main reasons for using an industry grade lift is to avoid or reduce the effects that working on the floor can have on your body.

Cutting Corners

Cost is the most common concern among those who are hesitant to purchase a professional car lift. As a result, many DIY car enthusiasts will spend years working on their vehicles using other methods of elevation. Examples of this may be ramps or jacks, with the car often held up by jack stands or wood cribbing blocks. These will save money in the short term, but they will still generally require you to work on your back. This means that you may be spared the financial expense, but you won’t be spared the physical consequences for working on the floor. Only a 2 post or 4 post lift can facilitate the kind of elevation needed for comfortable standing work.

Physical Effects

So what’s so bad about working on your back under a car? If you spend a significant amount of time working on your vehicle, you may already be familiar with the physical effects. Even with decent padding on the floor under you, this can be very hard on your back for extended periods. Being cramped underneath a vehicle is also more conducive to uncomfortable and strenuous angles for the neck and arms, which can lead to neck and shoulder pain. The repetitive motion of standing and lying down when you move in and out from under the vehicle is also particularly hard on the lower back as well as knees and other joints.

Temperature and Ventilation

Things can also get quite uncomfortable underneath a vehicle in terms of temperature and air quality. Unless you’ve invested in some solid climate control for your garage, spending a few hours squeezed under a car in the summer or winter can make it difficult to get the most enjoyment you can out of your work. If you’re restoring a vehicle that has accumulated a significant amount of residue, it’s important to ventilate your workspace as well as you can and be conscious of air quality. With a lift, air can flow more freely around you and under the vehicle as you work. Once again, this optimizes comfort and minimizes health effects.

Time and time again, DIY auto enthusiasts who have been working on the floor for years will finally experience what it’s like to use a lift and never want to go back. If you’d like to radically transform your process and overall productivity, give Lift King a call at (403) 283-1020 today!