Office workers work from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., which seems to be a comfortable and regular schedule. Yet, many of them often need to work overtime. As some people choose to bring their working materials home, documents, notebooks and files will then overload the bag. Office workers usually use shoulder bags or handbags, which exert great pressure on the shoulders if they need to meet and entertain clients during the whole day. Pain is our body’s warning signal. An overloaded bag can easily cause soreness and pain in our shoulders, and even cervical subluxation in severe cases.

One-Sided Without Alternating Sides: You’re Not Giving Your Shoulder A Rest

Sometimes workers are required to meet clients and attend social events all day long, and may have no time to rest or put down their handbags. We tend to carry our bags on the same shoulder without alternating sides due to habits. If you only carry the bag with the same shoulder or hand, and never put down your bag to let your shoulder rest, suffering from uneven shoulders is inevitable. Our cervical spine supports the weight of the head, which weighs about 12 pounds. As our head also tilts forward, the head and the bag’s weight will largely burden the cervical spine.

Cervical Compression Causes Pain Throughout the Upper Body

The human spine has three natural curves in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, which helps to distribute stress, provide shock absorption and support daily movements. Long-term forward tilting of the cervical spine will injure the C4, C5 and C6 vertebrae. Cervical compression will cause shoulder and neck pain, arm pain, and in severe cases, uneven shoulders, cervical subluxation, bone spurs, headaches and insomnia.

In addition to shoulder and neck pain, headache and arm pain caused by cervical subluxation are also common. If the subluxated vertebrae compress the arm nerves, it may cause shoulder and arm pain, and numbness in the fingers, especially in the little finger. If your shoulder and neck pain persists for a long time, seek medical attention immediately. If cervical subluxation is diagnosed, the patient needs to receive professional manual therapy to adjust the subluxated vertebrae and relieve pain.

The key to avoiding shoulder pain and cervical subluxation is to reduce the load of the bag, especially shoulder bags well-liked by office workers. The weight of the bag plus the objects inside should not exceed 3 kg. You should buy bags with light material and thick shoulder straps. When carrying a shoulder bag, you should alternate sides every 20 to 30 minutes. If office workers need to carry huge loads or electronic devices such as tablets or notebooks, backpacks will be more suitable since the weight is distributed evenly on both shoulders, which lowers the risk of cervical injury.