The handbag can be an essential piece of kit and lets face it most can contain everything but the kitchen sink! With the average bag weighing between 10lbs and 12lbs, that’s a lot of load for one shoulder to bare!
Whether you place your bag in the crook of the arm, drape it across your body or use your favourite shoulder of choice,they can all have a negative effect on your posture which in turn causes shoulder, neck & back pain and even one shoulder may become higher than the other.
The crook of the arm is always a nice way to show your fabulous bag off, although this is great for displaying that statement bag it causes the biceps to work over-time and also putting strain on the elbow joint. This can even lead to bicep tendonitis (inflamed bicep) and rounded shoulders.
The cross-bodied is the best one of the lot, not only due to the fact that these bags tend to be quite tiny in size, which only permitts you to fit a mobile and keys in if your lucky, but the weight is distributed evenly across the body not causing any strain.
The shoulder bag is the most detrimental .Using your prefered shoulder over time can have a negative effect on a joint in the shoulder called the acromioclavicular joint aka ACJ which could cause localised pain in the area.
Here are a few corrective ways in which you can keep those handbag symptoms at bay:
- Alternate shoulders ( I know at first this will feel totally alien but please persevere you will get used to it. )
- Keep shoulders back and down
- Try using a ruck sack , this will distribute the weight evenly
- Opt for a wheely case when carrying a heavy load (This got me through lugging all my kit to and from Uni)
- Or just have a good old clear out, it’s highly likely there will be junk in there that you just don’t need 🙂
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