Prevent Back Pain and Improve Your Posture -- ThirdAge

Prevent Back Pain and Improve Your Posture

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•	Easing the Pain of All Those Aches Experimentation, diagnosis can help each person find the right form of relief. go >

Experts say it can prevent back pain and improve your posture. Lugging your gym clothes, work files, makeup, and more in an oversize bag may streamline your life, but it can actually increase stress -- on your back.

"Carrying weight on one side of your body makes your lower back muscles contract harder than usual to maintain your posture," says Michael Schafer, M.D., chairman of orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "This can cause chronic pain over time."

Save your back by toting your bag on the right on your way to work and on your left when you head home, or vice versa, so your muscles bear the brunt evenly.

Trimming your bag of excess pounds also helps. The American Chiropractic Association advises that a shoulder bag weigh no more than 10 percent of your body weight, but today's plus-size purses may easily exceed that. At the end of every week, clear out all nonessential items. It will lighten your physical-and mental-load.

For added comfort, choose a bag with a wide, adjustable strap

Source: Shape. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by Yellowbrix.

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