Expert Advice
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What hurts you after driving a kart? Pains (and cures) for kart drivers
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Some time ago, TKART launched a survey on its website, asking kart drivers what part of the body hurt the most after a day on the track. Forearms (44% of the votes), whose fatigue is almost taken for granted, was the top answer, given the important vibratory stresses to which they are subjected since the kart is a vehicle without suspension. However, the figures immediately following this element highlighted problems and discomfort in the spine (37.3%), with the cervical spine alone causing pain in 14.6% of the drivers. A figure that deserves careful consideration.
Looking sideways at the picture of a driver driving a kart, we can see how the cervical spine is completely inverted in relation to the physiological lordotic curve; but the cervical spine is not separated from the other components of the column, on the contrary it is tightly bound to them and all the forces are transmitted up to the sacrum thanks to important ligamentous, muscular and fascial connections. We could also say that the human system works through different forces acting on it, such as traction, flexibility, compression and twisting, influencing movement and its stability through the myofascial system. These forces act on a component which spreads to the whole system due to the presence of the connective tissue that distributes them based on the principle of tensegrity.
The words can be translated as "tension integrity": the mechanical models that recreate this concept are composed of flexible elements that react to traction and rigid elements that react to compressive forces so that overall stability is achieved.
This three-dimensional model is able to deform and return to the original neutral position with any force exerted on it, whether compression or traction.
It is representative of the cells of the body, and it is the best simulation of the connective tissues of which the myofascial system is the main element. Thanks to this characteristic, forces, impact and movements can be transmitted uniformly without causing any structural damage, even if strong blows are received. When we consider the biomechanical aspect of the column, we must remember that from a fetal point of view this is a single large kyphosis, and it is only afterwards that the typical curves of the bipedal posture are created according to postural needs.
The vertebral column, seen as a whole from a frontal plane, is rectilinear, although in some individuals small transverse curvatures can be found, without these meaning there is a pathological problem.
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