Our daily shopping is becoming heavier and heavier. We are buying more and more products. If we use environmentally friendly packaging, replacing plastic with reusable glass makes the weight of the groceries we buy significantly heavier. However, not everyone is aware that carrying heavy bags is not good for your health. This is because it can lead to painful wrists, arms, shoulders and spine, and ultimately affect our posture.
Heavy shopping - high risk
The need to do a lot of grocery shopping destined for several days and then carry it home, often up a high flight of stairs, puts a heavy strain on the wrists as well as the shoulders and hips. Too much strain on the body also has a significant impact on the wrong angle of the body.
If you experience tingling in your hands, pain in your wrists, arms, shoulders or back when carrying heavy shopping, you should change the way you transport heavy bags. When carrying them in the wrong way, serious compression and shearing forces act on the spine. These force the ligament muscles to work harder on the intervertebral discs. Carrying heavy shopping on one side is particularly harmful. By carrying asymmetrically loaded bags, the forces acting on the joint on only one side compress one part of our disc instead of loading it evenly.
The result can be either damage to the intervertebral disc or severe compression of the intervertebral joint causing various pain symptoms.
Frequent carrying of heavy purchases is conducive:
- wrist pain,
- numbness and tingling in the hands,
- neck and upper back pain,
- elbow tendonitis,
- headache,
- shoulder injuries,
- numbness in arms, shoulders,
How to protect your back when carrying heavy shopping?
The best way to keep your muscles and wrists, as well as your back and shoulders, healthy is to reduce the amount of weight you carry so that it doesn't cause too much strain. However, if we do have to carry something heavy, it is a good idea to use appropriate lifting techniques. Under no circumstances should you bend straight-legged with your lumbar spine bent to pick up groceries, as there is a risk of a prolapsed disc.
So how do you lift heavy bags without hurting your back? Never reach for the shopping alone. Lift all weights by squatting down, not by bending over. You should squat down slightly and, with your belly stretched out, grab as many bags as you can in each hand and always carry them with both hands, thus evenly loading both sides of your body. It is also important to carry the weight as close to you as possible and not, holding it far in front of you. In order not to increase the lever and moment of force acting on the spine, it is a good idea to hold heavy objects as close to the body as possible. They can be carried on the front or on the back. It is also very beneficial to replace a shoulder bag with a rucksack.
Instead of carrying heavy shopping, it is much better to make it easier to carry it by using a shopping bag on wheels. This will significantly reduce back strain as it distributes the weight properly and relieves strain on the spine, shoulders and wrists. Also, using a wheeled shopping trolley effectively relieves strain on the body. It makes it easier to transport the shopping yourself home without having to carry it, reducing strain on your muscles, wrists, shoulders and back.
What should you do when your back hurts after carrying loads?
When you get home with heavy bags, lie down on the carpet and use breathing exercises. After 15 to 20 minutes you should feel relief. Home remedies for back pain can be just as effective.
If there is sudden pain due to lifting, it may turn out to be a symptom of locking in a flexed position with pain radiating to the buttocks or asymmetrically to the lower limbs. A visit to a physiotherapist may then be the only option.
