Change This One Thing For Better Posture

Ladies, have you ever went through your purse or handbag and thought to yourself, “How did I end up with so much stuff in here?”. The more and more things that accumulate, the heavier and heavier that bag gets. Nowadays, it’s common to see bags that are large enough to carry your laptop, notebooks, wallet, phone, makeup, keys, AND your Starbucks.  This can take a toll on your posture, but overall will add to the amount of spinal stress you get daily.

Let’s talk about the mechanics here. A purse is typically worn unilaterally, meaning it has to be worn only on one side of the body. This causes one side of the shoulder muscles to work overtime to “hike” that side up, causing an imbalance that can lead to chronic muscle tightness in the upper trapezius and the levator scapulae. Eventually this will lead to a postural distortion that can affect your spinal alignment causing neck and back pain and speeding up the degenerative process, like arthritis. Other symptoms that can arise are headaches and numbness/tingling down the arm.

What can you do to lessen the stress?

1. Lessen the load by removing unnecessary items
2. Try a smaller bag
3. Use a cross body bag
4. Switch shoulders often
5. Opt for a wider strap
6. Bring back the fanny pack

These tips can help tremendously in correction of posture and relieving symptoms associated with this disorder. If this resonated with you in some way, please share this with someone else who this may help. In some cases, damage may be too severe for self correction. In that circumstance, get evaluated by a chiropractor. X-rays and other tests may further help to evaluate the extent of your problems.

Yours in optimal health,

Dr. Glenn Ezell