Your handbag may be causing you neck, shoulder and back pain. Especially those over-sized and over-weight handbags that we use to hold the kitchen sink. However, when you start to load these bags up with purses, phones, keys, laptops, water bottle, books, etc., you could be heading for trouble! The average weight of a ladies handbag is around 3-4 kgs. If you carried a 3-4 kg dumbbell over your shoulder for 2-3 hours a day, imagine how you’d feel?
Carrying this extra weight may cause pain in your neck, shoulder or back in different ways:
- Extra weight can pull on the sensitive nerve structures within your shoulder which can cause pain, numbness and tingling radiating from your neck down into your arm.
- Upper-back and neck muscles become strained from carrying heavy weight in one position over time. The muscles in your upper back which provide the stability around the shoulder blade, struggle to counterweight the weight of your bag leading to overworked, overloaded, tired muscles around your neck and shoulder which can be painful.
- The weight of the bag hanging off one side can cause your trunk to tilt to counterbalance the weight which can then lead to low back pain.
- Tension headaches caused by pressure on the muscles in the back of the head and shoulders
Here are some top tips which will stop your handbag from causing you pain!
- Put your purse on a diet: Make sure your bag is less than 10% of your body weight.
- Switch it up: Don’t hang your bag off the one side of your body all the time.
- Straps: Buy a bag that has a wide strap (at least 2 inches across) to distribute the weight. A narrow strap concentrates force.
- Avoid elbow overload: Hold your bag on your shoulder, not in the crook of your arm.
- Engage your core: Keep your core engaged, your weight centred over your feet, and your shoulder blades down and back.
- Wear your bag diagonally: Carry your handbag over your shoulder and diagonally across your chest. Avoid long straps if you are not hanging your bag across your body.
- Avoid oversized bags! The bigger the bag, the more stuff you haul around. Choose a medium style that won’t tempt you to fill it up!!
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms and think they might be caused by carrying a handbag that might be too heavy, it’s important that you don’t ignore your symptoms. So ladies lighten your load and come in to us for a visit! If you have any questions or queries, just give us a call straight away!
