While chiropractic care can help the body with so much more than just back and neck pain, those two things are still what most people think of going to the chiropractor for. So today I wanted to give three little things that may be contributing to your back and neck pain. It is surprising how little things day in and day out can cumulatively put a lot of stress on the body. While all these things may or may not be a cause of your pain, they are things that I have found can contribute to back and neck pain.
1. Wallet in the Back Pocket
This is a common one, especially for guys. It just feels awkward to many people to carry the wallet somewhere else. And to be honest carrying it in the pocket really isn’t the problem; sitting on it is the problem. Depending on your wallet it could be less than an inch to several inches that you are sitting on every time you sit down. Your wallet elevates the pelvis on the side you carry it when you sit, and now basically your pelvis is sitting at an angle. Well your body naturally wants to be upright and you will compensate by bending your spine toward the high pelvis side. This also means that your muscles need to work extra hard on one side while they are more relaxed on the other. This can lead to misalignments of the pelvis and spine which can be a cause of low back pain. Not to mention the tightness of the muscles also can cause a good deal of pain as well.
So what should you do? Well if you feel that you absolutely must carry your wallet in the back pocket, take it out of your pocket before you sit down. A better solution is to just carry it in a different pocket. Carrying it in the front pocket may feel awkward at first, but it will save your back and you are less likely to get pick-pocketed.
2. Using Your Phone
The phone can be a source of neck pain or worse. Whether it is in the office or busy at home, when trying to multi-task, you hold the phone between your shoulder and ear to make both hands available to get the job done. Admit it, we have all been there. It doesn’t feel good because this puts a large amount of stress on the neck and shoulder area. On the side you hold the phone you are using those muscles overtime and compressing the joints and other soft tissues on that side, while stretching out the opposite side. Now if this is one of your habits, it can lead to neck pain, headaches, or even numbness/tingling in the arms and hands.
Cell phones are ubiquitous these days, and for most people, that is the only phone they are using. Well cell phones often lead to slightly different stresses on the neck and head. When you aren’t actually talking on your cell phone, you are probably texting or looking something up on the web. And where are you holding your phone when you do this? If you are like most people it is down in front of you, and your head is flexed looking down. This puts a lot of stress on the back of the neck down to in between the shoulder blades. You see our head is designed to sit nicely on top of our neck and in this position the bones of the neck take most of the stress. But when you bring the head forward you change the biomechanics and now the muscles at the back of the head have to work to hold your head up. And for each inch the head is forward from its neutral position it is like adding 10 extra pounds of stress to the joints of the neck. This leads to the muscles at the back of the head needing to work overtime and putting a lot of stress on the joints and ligaments as well.
So what should you do? If you need to use the phone and your hands at the same time consider a headset so you can talk and use your hands while maintaining a neutral head position. And when working on the cell phone bring the phone up to eye level so you are not looking down for long periods of time.
3. Carrying a Bag or Purse
Carrying a bag or purse in and of itself is not a bad thing and for many is a necessity. But we are creatures of habit and that can be a bad thing if we carry the bag or purse on the same side all the time without balancing it out. Carrying extra weight on one side over time leads to muscle imbalances and likely changes in posture. Also the tendency to shrug the shoulder to help keep the bags shoulder strap on leads to overworking the trapezius muscle on that side. Again tight muscles often are painful and changes in posture lead to misalignments of the spine, which often increases pain as well.
So what should you do? Switch which side you carry your bag or purse on. This helps to give some balance to which muscles are getting worked. And if you like having a shoulder strap, using one that can be placed on the shoulder opposite where the bag is carried helps somewhat to distribute the weight, but it is still a good idea to switch sides from time to time. The same principle applies to carrying babies or small children, which I have written about in another blog. Alternate which side you carry them on to avoid developing muscle imbalances.
Conclusion
Over time little things can cause big effects. Again everyone is different and how much these little things will affect you can vary. But what I can tell you is that these three little things do put extra stress on the body and that is almost always a bad thing. I love helping people achieve better health through chiropractic! And if you have more specific questions about your back and neck pain, come on in to see how chiropractic can help you live a more fulfilling life.
