1. Swap Shoulders

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that putting your handbag onto your other shoulder feels strange and unnatural. But given that, alternating frequently between shoulders is one of the best ways to reduce neck and shoulder pain caused by carrying a heavy handbag,so you need to give it a go. Do it often enough and it will start to feel more natural.

2. Choose the Right Style

Even if you swap shoulders regularly, you will still have a weight imbalance all the time which will mean your spine is not fully aligned, and muscles and ligaments can be damaged. Try to find a bag that distributes the weight better; a small backpack is best, but if you won’t wear one of these, try a messenger bag with a long and adjustable strap. This will allow you to spread the weight between your shoulder and the opposite hip.

3. Use Two Bags if Necessary

If you need to carry lots of things, try to avoid bunging it all into one bag. If you take two, you can spread the weight, which is both more comfortable and better for your body.

4. De-clutter Daily

One of the most obvious tips for reducing neck and shoulder pain is to reduce the amount of stuff in your handbag. The best way to do this is to de-clutter at the end of each day, ensuring that you only take what you need for each day. You might need a bit of a spring-clean to get you started, and from then it will be easy.

5. Good Posture

It’s important to always try and maintain a good posture and especially so when carrying a heavy handbag. Experts say that women tend to lift and tense the shoulder carrying a handbag, when really you should try to keep it relaxed and level with your other shoulder.

6. Make Everyone Carry Their Own Stuff

Whether you’ve got children that want to take things everywhere or just a partner who never has big enough pockets, many of us find ourselves putting things in our handbag that don’t even belong to us. Try making a new rule that anything that they aren’t prepared to carry (excluding essentials like medication, tissues and so on) stays at home.

7. Only Take a Bag as Big as You Need

Try and downsize your handbag and you’ll probably find you’ll cope perfectly well. If you’re carrying a big handbag, you’ll be tempted to fill it with things you will (might possibly slightly) maybe need later, and will have to deal with unnecessary weight. If you cut down the size of your handbag, not only will the bag itself be lighter but it will probably have a lot less in it too.

Hopefully these tips for reducing neck and shoulder pain will help us all to consider our bodies more carefully when filling our handbags – I could do with remembering a few of these myself! How much stuff do you carry in your handbag and does it cause you any problems?