Is your wallet in your back pocket?
Many men carry their wallet in their back pocket, but did you know this could mean major trouble for your back, neck and shoulders as well as playing havoc with your posture?
Sitting on a wallet can create an imbalance in your pelvis due to one cheek being higher than the other instead of being even. This may not only affect your spine but also the surrounding and supporting muscles.
For example, if your wallet is in your back left pocket, when you sit down your spine will twist towards the right, the muscles in your back will try to correct the twist and over time will fatigue causing pain.
The term, ‘hip pocket syndrome’ has also been given to the condition and it is becoming increasingly common. Symptoms may gradually appear, primarily caused by the wallet putting pressure on the piriformis muscle in the buttocks which ultimately puts pressure on the sciatic nerve causing lower back and leg pain, tingling and/or numbness.
If you are in the habit of putting your wallet in your back pocket, ideally refrain from doing so. At least take the wallet out of your back pocket before sitting down. The other risk of keeping a wallet in your back pocket is that you make yourself an easy target for ‘pick-pockets’.
Other suggestions include reducing the thickness of your wallet by removing unused credit cards etc and small change in coins.
A ‘man bag’ may be used which is also helpful for mobile phones and other belongings.
References
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1410151
http://familymed.uthscsa.edu/residency08/mmc/Sciatica.pdf
