Could you ever contemplate the fact that your wallet could be the cause of your low back problems? A wallet is one accessory that is taken for granted and regardless of how uncomfortable your sitting posture in certain circumstances, your wallet remains in the same position.
The big problem of wallets is the fact that many of us are prone to treating it like file cabinets where a huge amount of nonuseful items such as old receipts, credit slips, tickets and visiting cards are stuffed into wallets and forgotten about. That is one dangerous problem liable to create a muscle imbalance and possible nerve irritation too. Here are the main reasons why you should.
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When you sit on your wallet, the bulge remains on one side of your body. This raises that particular side which in turn hikes your pelvis to that side. This again makes your lumbar spine or low back side bend along with it. Your thoracic spine will try to counterbalance this by curving left so that your eyes are allowed to remain horizontal.
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If this situation or imbalance in the bodies back curvature is allowed to continue, it leads to the shortening of the right quadrates lumborum which is the deepest muscle in your abdomen also called the back muscle. In turn all other muscles on the right side like paraspinals, obliques, and transversus abdominis also become shortened making them function incorrectly.
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Ideally what happens is that besides the shortening of muscles. There is undue stress placed on your muscles at your right sacroiliac joint decreasing their ability to fire up when required.
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While the muscles on the right side are shortened, the complete opposite happens on the left side. The left pelvic region or bone called the Ilium and the muscles are lengthened to the point of becoming passively insufficient which contributes to improper co-contraction.
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The left thoracic spine area is also shortened which ultimately leads to overuse inflammation and pain. There will be fatigue experienced from the right side spinal stabilizers which then get overstretched. Postural endurance is then decreased while sitting or working at a desk leading to pain.
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Your sciatic nerve that is located just behind the hip joint is pinched between the wallet and hip. This can lead to sciatic pain or also sciatica causing pain which originates from the hip but travels down the leg. Professor Stuart McGill, Ph.D., professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo says that a stuffed wallet in the back trouser pocket makes your pelvis tilt stressing out your spine which makes one round the lower back and sit to avoid the discomfort. This is why when McGill conducts spinal experiments with volunteers he makes them remove their wallets or makes people sit with wallet sized objects under one cheek to study the effects.
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Professor McGill says switching the wallet to the front pocket doesn’t help because this too can create a pinch between the torso and thigh causing discomfort. It is advisable to remove a wallet when driving.
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Yes!! Your lousy squatting posture is due to your overstuffed wallet. It could be the reason for back tension, tight hamstrings, weak calves and glutes.
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The only way to minimize stress and problems caused from sitting on your wallet is simply remove all the rubbish from your wallet. Carry a more flexible smaller wallet that holds only bare essentials that you need.
Yes, since you now red how your wallet can impact your spine and back, ladies, this is for you to take note that your heavy bag is also causing problems for your back and hers what to do about it.
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According to Martin Lanoff, MD Asst professor at Rosalind Franklin University Medical School in Chicago says that oversized bags can invite a risk of back injury where the combination of a heavy bag weighing upon your muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons every day can cause headache, back pain and body ache. It also invites a risk of degenerative joint disease.
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When carrying heavy bags to work, keep switching sides every few minutes. This is because the weight on one side could corrupt your posture.
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Avoid carrying the bag in the crook of your arm to avoid elbow strain and tendinitis. Neither should you also carry your bag in your hands.
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Sling the bag across your body and minimize the swing by adjusting the strap. This enables the trunk muscles to bear more loads and reduce strain from the back.
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