There are plenty of accessories available to make driving with arthritis a pain-free process.

One of the most commonly overlooked activities people living with arthritis need to deal with is driving. While operating a vehicle is clearly something most people with arthritis can do, sometimes inflammatory symptoms can worsen, potentially making it more difficult to safely drive a car. Luckily, there are plenty of neat accessories that can help people dealing with symptoms of arthritis to make their driving experience much smoother and safer.

Remote start

Whenever your wrists or fingers start to stiffen up, tasks like pulling your keys out of your pocket, turning the lock and twisting the ignition can prove more troubling than expected. Yet installing a remote start to you car may eliminate this nagging process. Plus the electronic device comes in handy when the weather is nasty, since it allows you to start your car from inside your home while it's raining or get the vehicle warmed up on a snowy winter morning.

Rearview camera

Another unforeseen consequence of arthritis for some patients is losing flexibility in your neck when you start to feel severe pain. This can make turning around to back out of the driveway or looking over to change lanes an aching issue that could potentially result in injury to yourself or even an accident with others. A rearview camera can help you see perfectly while backing up or checking to see if someone's behind you without putting your neck through a loop. Once installed, the camera will display its view on your dashboard whenever you put your car in reverse, and can always be turned on whenever you need it while driving.

Get comfy

The driver's seat is much like your bedroom, office or lounge area. You spend a lot of time there, so why not make it as comfortable as possible? You can boost your comfort by purchasing a number of car accessories, like a customized seat cushion to better support your back or different grips or handles for your steering wheel to make holding it on long drives easier. There are also six-way power seats that can be installed in your car to help you customize your driving position to accommodate how your body is feeling on any particular day.

Pop the hood or trunk

Put an end to the tedious irritation of having to pop the trunk or lift the hood up by using a powered lift mechanism or an automatic trunk release. Having this installed in your car will help you check your engine or place luggage in the back with just the push of a button.

GPS

Avoid the tedious navigational methods of opening the glove compartment to unfold the map or writing down endless notes of directions by simply purchasing a GPS system for your car. All it takes is setting the device up on your dashboard, punching in your destination, and you'll be arriving before you even realize it!

To learn more about living with arthritis:

How to Talk to Kids about Arthritis
Talking about Arthritis: Encourage Family to Share Their Feelings
Moving Past the "Why Me?" Question