Ladies – how much do you think your handbag weighs? I’ll be honest, mine weighs about the same as a 2-year old. A well fed 2-year old at that.
In the physical therapy clinic, we see so many women with neck, shoulder and upper back pain and unfortunately, hand bags are a large part of the problem.
When you carry a heavy bag….
Your natural gait is thrown off: One of the consequences of carrying a bag on one shoulder is that it significantly interferes with your normal gait (the way your arms and legs swing when you walk naturally. When you put a handbag on one side of the body, it means the arm on that side can’t swing properly and the other arm has to swing more. People can develop problems because of that, because…
Your muscles are off balance. Since all of the weight of your bag is on one shoulder, you’re carrying an asymmetric load, which throws off your posture. Most people tend to carry bags on their dominant side. This causes the muscles in your dominant shoulder, particularly the trapezius muscle, to become overworked. This can cause the muscles on the dominant side to get bigger (and the non-dominant side to get weaker), and you see asymmetry in posture, often one shoulder higher than the other, from constantly forcing the muscles on one side to become more developed than the other side. This asymmetric load also causes muscles in your spine to compensate for the weight, which can cause the opposite side of the spine to go into spasm. This overcompensation can also affect your lower back and your sacrum (the bone at the base of the lower spine) – the more asymmetric the load, the more everything below the shoulder will have to work. Add high heels to the mix, which force the pelvis to tilt forward and the muscles of the trunk have to work even harder to keep you upright!
As a result, your muscles become stiff. Carrying that heavy bag can cause the trapezius muscle to become over worked and stiff. The trapezius is a diamond shaped muscle, which starts at the nape of your neck, sits on top of the shoulder, and follows down the upper back, below the shoulder blades. It is this muscle that tightens to keep the bag on your shoulder, and not fall off – this can cause a lot of stiffness in the upper back, the shoulder area and the neck. It can also cause a decreased curve in the neck, as the head pulls forward to balance the weight. Women also report pain in the neck or radiating down the back as they turn their head, as the delicate muscles that help you carry your bag also assist with turning the head, making that action painful. Some people will develop tension headaches from the muscles being forced to do all of this heavy lifting.
What can you do to combat this? The obvious answer is a smaller, lighter bag. But a diary, laptop (and charger), purse, phone, keys, files, snacks for the day, water bottle, mini deodorant can, small make up bag for touch-ups, usually a pair of flats (for when you need to rush – heels might be feminine but they slow progress!) – all absolutely necessary and I would struggle with chosing what to leave out, as would most other busy women it would seem – have you noticed the new trend of ‘kangaroo bags’- a little bag in the bigger bag to help you organise the wide-open space of your hand bag? Side note: We had the kitchen remodelled recently and my other half joked that we should use my handbag instead of one of those ‘Skip Bags’… That was not well received!
Here are some tips to help keep you (and your bag) balanced.
- When choosing a bag , opt for bags with wider straps. The wider the strap, the better, because it distributes t
- he weight over a wider area. This protects the delicate structures in the shoulder where your nerves go from the neck into the arm, an area that is very prone to injury from repetitive strain.
- Do clear out your bag. There will definitely be things you can get rid of – old magazines, the book you keep meaning to read but never do… every little bit helps!
- Exercise matters! Stretching, Pilates, yoga, and other forms of exercise can help ensure that your shoulders are equally strong and toned. Working the arms on the Reformer in Pilates is one of the best ways to promote strong and stable shoulders, as well as working on using the core muscles to do most of the work when lifting anything. You need to strengthen the upper back and the muscles around the shoulder blade, as well as all the other muscle groups. It’s also helpful to simply try walking without a bag from time to time to restore that natural gait. When you go out for lunch, for example, just carry essentials, and walk with your arms swinging, as they would do normally. You don’t even need to exaggerate the swing; just a natural swing is really very good for the shoulders.
- Posture matters! The ideal stance is shoulders relaxed, back, and down, and no leaning to one side, forwards or backwards. To see how far off you are, try sitting in a chair and looking straight at a point in the wall. Do you have to cock your head back? If so, it probably means your shoulders are rolled forward. This posture is often exacerbated by working at a computer or driving. Try to pull your shoulder blades down towards your back pockets, soften the ribs, pulling them down towards the belly button and instead of forcefully pulling the shoulders back, try to widen the collar bones to open the chest and relax the shoulders.
- Try to switch shoulders as often as possible. Or can you carry things like your laptop case in your arms? Leave your flats in your car? Try to keep as much at your desk as possible – water, hand moisturised etc. This will all help to lighten your bag.
