Over Sized Bags Linked To Back Pain, Orange County Chiropractors Say
Women who carry over sized bags may look fashionable and classy. But these people are more likely to suffer from back pain later.
This startling statement comes from Tim Hutchful of the British Chiropractic Association who said that fashion slaves who carry giant bags risk back trouble and other health problems. This occurs when you put too much stain on one side of the body.
“Lugging around the giant bags that are in fashion at the moment can damage your spine, health experts say. Women risk causing permanent damage by carrying overstuffed bags on one shoulder or in the crook of their arm,” reported Laura Roberts of the Daily Mail.
Orange County chiropractors say the problem isn’t caused by the bags themselves but what women put in them. In the past, handbags merely contained lipstick, face powder, lip gloss and a hair brush. Modern women carry twice as much today – around 5.2 pounds – than what their mothers did.
Today’s bags are roomier and women tend to overfill them – often with things that they don’t really need. The extra weight in the form of laptops, mobile phone chargers, PDAs, MP4 players and other contraptions can make users suffer in the long run.
“If a heavy bag is carried constantly on the same shoulder then it can compress the muscles on one side while stretching the muscles on the other,” according to osteopath Gary Trainer who now sees more patients with back troubles as a result of heavy bags.
“Ideally weight should be carried across both shoulders close to the body. People do carry the kitchen sink in their bags and they should try and cut down what they carry around,” he added.
The use of big bags was reportedly popularized by American stylist Rachel Zoe who believed they made the user look petite. Social anthropologist Kate Fox of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, England, said large women generally love carrying oversized bags since it makes their behind look smaller.
Unfortunately, this fashion sense isn’t helping anyone. Chiropractors in Orange County say these “killer bags” should carry a medical warning about the dangers they pose to users. In the event of back pain arising from these bags, a visit to your friendly Orange County Chiropractor is advised.
“The problem with carrying a heavy bag is that while it may not cause you an injury at the time you carry it, over time it has a cumulative effect, and we’re certainly seeing more instances of back pain triggered as a result. The worst case scenario is that you injure your neck by stretching the nerves. But carrying a heavy bag over one shoulder also causes you to totally shift your body’s stance as you hike the shoulder up and, over time, this can shorten the muscles resulting in a twisted or lop-sided body position that, in turn, can lead to back pain,” Hutchful concluded.