She knows better, but Jasmine Park says she isn’t about to stop lugging around her bulky, heavy gym bag.
“I used to do it in college (with too many textbooks) and I’m still doing it,” says Park, a 26-year-old Chicagoan who works in the accounting department of a retail company. “I know it’s not good for my back, but I have to take my workout stuff and an extra pair of shoes.”
Park is far from alone in her burdened state. Others bog themselves down with overloaded backpacks, purses, briefcases and diaper bags. Or two or more of the above. Women are especially likely to overdo it by transforming a purse or shoulder bag into a virtual suitcase for daily travel.
“We see a lot of women with unexplained back pain, shoulder pain and neck aches,” says Staci Buckard, a physical therapist at Physiotherapy Associates in River Forest. “Carrying too much stuff definitely contributes to the problem.”
Buckard said most women don’t connect medical problems with the heft of their bags, even when, like Park, they acknowledge their hefty loads.
“We get a woman in the office, take a few things out of her purse, then they feel the difference,” she says. “What you carry with you can be part of the problem or solution.”
Easier said than removed. Who is ready to dump planners, reading and writing materials, umbrellas, work files, extra clothes and, in some cases, cosmetics (plus assorted “necessities” like crumpled Starbucks napkins and stale chewing gum) ?
Natalie Lewis was leaning her shoulder bag against a wall while waiting for a bus recently in the city’s Bucktown neighborhood. She finds it difficult to take much out of the bag, which includes a change of clothes, makeup bag and, frequently enough, a water bottle and some groceries.
“I need the stuff if I end up staying at my boyfriend’s place,” says Lewis, 25, who works for a local public housing authority. “I never know where I’m going to be.”
Martha Crudup, one of Buckard’s physical therapy clients, has made the switch to a lighter bag.
“I was thinking about it, then I injured my shoulder (trying to get control of a heavy box of files at her telecommunications job),” recalls Crudup, 48, who lives on the city’s West Side. “I have definitely converted. I used to carry one of those `bucket’ purses; I practically kept the whole house in there.”
Now Crudup uses a smaller purse about the size of a standard sheet of paper but just wide enough for her wallet to lie flat at the bottom. It has only two compartments and a wide shoulder strap to help distribute the weight more evenly. She has vowed to put on her makeup at home for the day, and plans to keep a book at work for lunch breaks.
“I take my wallet, a comb, a pen, my address book, reading glasses and keys,” Crudup says. “That’s it.”
Buckard says even the small adjustments can add up to less stress on the body.
“Lots of people carry five or 10 pens with them,” Buckard says. “I see women who carry bills or mail around with them all week. They might bring three or four magazines when one is enough.”
New mothers can be the worst overloaders.
“They are intent on being prepared,” Buckard says. “They carry five diapers for a two-hour outing, or bring entire boxes of crackers. I suggest they take one or two toys, leaving the rest at home.”
Part of the health problem posed by carrying too much stuff is the cumulative effect, says Babette Sanders, an instructor of physical therapy at Northwestern University. The body is constantly overworking itself by trying to adjust to the load.
“You are reacting asymmetrically,” she said. “That overtaxes certain muscles and tendons.”
For instance, when you sling a heavy pack or bag over the right shoulder, your left shoulder (specifically the trapezius muscle in the back) and neck muscles compress, creating tension and soreness. The spine bends away from the weight of the bag and your head tilts left. You strain more muscles and tendons to get straight again. You can suffer anything from chronic pain and stiffness to slipped disks in the spinal column.
In Park’s case, carrying her workout bag results in her leaning forward to a degree that it’s noticeable even during a commuter rush hour filled with plenty of others with heavy loads.
One possible solution for Park is to alternate shoulders when carrying her bag. It would provide some relief for her right shoulder.
“I can’t do that,” Park says. “The bag just seems to slip off on the left side. I’m so righthanded it’s not even funny.”
True enough, says Dr. Joel Press, director of the Center for Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
“One of the best ways to avoid direct pressure on the same trapezius muscle all of the time is getting comfortable carrying things on the other side,” Press says. “We also advise people to get a bag with hand grips, so they can distribute the load between four points, both shoulders and hands (at different times).”
Another option is using a backpack with two straps, like Park’s friend and co-worker Fiona Browne. On a recent getaway weekend, Park was carrying a purse and large workout bag en route to an elevated train headed for O’Hare Airport, while Browne had a smallish backpack close to her back and her bulkier baggage on wheels.
“I carry Mace in my coat pocket for emergencies,” Browne says. “I like to keep my hands free.”
Browne’s strategy has physiological payoffs. A backpack can better spread out weight on the upper body and torso. While double-strap backpacks are the best ergonomic choice–especially if they come with adjustable side “compression” straps or hip belts, the fashionable one-strap, across-the-body messenger bags are preferable to standard shoulder bags, purses or backpacks slung over only one shoulder, Buckard says.
Backpacks allow you to carry the weight of your bag close to your torso, which is the center of gravity for the body. The farther away the weight, the more force and torque is placed on the spine. New research by the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine reports that carrying a load low and away from the torso makes the body work the hardest, thus putting unnecessary stress on muscles, joints and the cardiovascular system.
Press and others say a maximum backpack load for daily carrying is about 20 pounds. That’s if you carry the weight with two straps and, preferably, the compression straps and hip belt, which keep the weight from shifting.
One-shoulder slinging should be kept to 7 to 10 pounds and only for short distances, like going from your car to a building.
Buckard, for one, says people who need to bring laptops to the office or on trips should strongly consider a backpack rather than the typical shoulder case. At the least, they should rotate using the shoulder strap and grips on their computer cases.
Some therapists recommend carrying a hand-held bag by gripping with the last three fingers, leaving the index finger loose. They theorize that this makes you lean forward less, but warn that it is less advisable for heavier loads because the index and middle fingers are the strongest.
There are some other practical strategies for preventing future doctor’s visits. Press used to carry a leather briefcase that was stylish but heavy even before he crammed it with paperwork. These days he totes a “flimsy giveaway” nylon briefcase that allows him to take home the same number of files at a lighter cost.
Dr. Edward Hanley, an orthopedic specialist at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, says people who travel frequently are vulnerable to neck, back and shoulder pain. He challenges those travelers to bring bags that no one would call unwieldy or inconvenient, noting that the new regulations for carry-on luggage at airports may force people to pack lighter.
For daily use, Hanley recommends buying a smaller briefcase or purse.
“I carry one small bag,” Hanley says. “Any more than that–I am not going to get all that work done anyway.”
Those who wear special shoes for their commute might consider leaving their workday pair at the office at night instead of toting them back and forth.
Of course, there might be more than physical items adding to your bulk. Emotional baggage can play its part. More than a few of us load up our bags with work to feel less guilty about leaving the workplace for the day, with no real hope of plowing through the paperwork (or booting up the laptop) before returning the next morning or after a weekend.
“The people with overloaded bags are the same people who are overscheduled and overworked,” Hanley says.
Jerrold Pollak, a clinical psychologist at the Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, N.H., and adjunct instructor at Brown University and Boston College, says obsessive-compulsive tendencies can indeed cause people to be “too conscientious” about what they need for the day or a trip. But he suspects there is a simpler explanation.
“People can be a little weak on organizational skills, so everything goes in the bag,” says Pollak, who includes himself and his three to four daily briefcases in this category. “Take some time to streamline your stuff and compartmentalize it so you can actually find it. You might think about getting duplicates for your home and office when feasible. Your body and mind will both feel better.”
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Bob Condor is the health columnist for the WomanNews section. You can contact him at
bobcondor@aol.com.
