Everyone carries a bag or a purse at one time or another, but some of us do it on a regular basis.
Regularly hauling your personal belongings around on your shoulder can have its consequences.
Here are a few things to consider for avoiding neck and shoulder pain:
- Attempt to limit the weight of the bag you are carrying to 10% of your body weight. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, your bag should not weigh more than 14 pounds.
- Consider a bag that can be worn across your chest instead of on your shoulder. Messenger style bags help to distribute the weight a bit more equally.
- Try to schedule a “purge” of your purse on a regular basis, this helps to remove trash and other things that do not belong in there.
- You could assign different bags to different tasks. You can swap out for a smaller purse for simply running around town, and a larger one for day trips. Multiple purses can help you assign each one with a function and limit you to only carrying what you need.
- Think about switching arms regularly so that one shoulder or elbow isn’t doing all of the work.
- Consider choosing a bag with multiple compartments. This can help with keeping things stored evenly.
- You might want to consider a bag that is equipped with adjustable and wide straps.
- If you like to carry your makeup, lotions, or sanitizer in your purse, look for travel-size containers.
- Think about getting rid of the cards in your wallet that you do not use.
It is likely that all of these suggestions will not work for you, but just a few can help make sure that your bag or purse is not causing you undue pain.
For more help avoiding pain, or if you need a chiropractor in Vancouver WA to understand what you are going through, contact A Family and Sports Chiropractic Clinic today. Click here to read about our experienced chiropractors!
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