Are You Carrying the Weight of the World on Your Shoulders?

Or is that your purse? Accordingly to Dr. Jane Sadler from Baylor Medical Center, a heavy purse can lead to chronic pain your neck, headaches, tingling in your fingers, and other chronic pain.

Dr. Sadler says the ideal weight for your purse is three pounds. That is great but I think everything in my purse weighs at least three pounds! She also offers to advice on how to lighten the albatross that is your purse: (1) throw out your library card from the second grade and clean out the garbage in your wallet, (2)stash a makeup bag at the office and and at your fitness club and, (3)keep your cell phone or PDA in your pocket or on your hip (but I hate the way that looks/feels). To this advice I would add, switch shoulders you carry your purse on back and forth.

What is adding to this problem is fashion trends. Big purses are in so it is seems such a waste not to fill them up. Of course, high-heels and underwire bras are also in vogue these days and neither of these are good for your bogy. (But they do look good.)

The interesting thing about this report is that most of us over 20 years old have some kind of nagging injury here and there, aches and pains that rarely slow us down but do annoy us to no end. There are so many different possible sources of nagging injuries and it is so difficult to figure out the root cause even if you go to a health care provider. How many doctors are going to attribute tingling in your fingers to carrying a 15 lbs purse? In the end, you get the best advice that you can and try your best to listen to your body.