A new fashion trend is emerging, one that can cause more pain than you may realize – it’s those trendy, oversized bags (purses for women, and handbags for men) that wreak havoc on the human body.

There’s nothing wrong with being trendy. The trouble starts when you start loading up these bags with your laptop, wallet, shoes, cell phone, water bottle, magazine, make-up, and a some work related documents – and carrying this everywhere.

Before you know it, there’s a nagging pain in the neck or shoulder that may even radiate down the arm. Carrying the extra weight may cause problems in two ways:

1. It pulls on a web of nerves that can cause aching or shooting pain from the neck down the arm.
2. Every time you sling your bag over your shoulder, the upper back muscles that stabilize the shoulder blade struggle to counterbalance that weight; eventually they get overworked until a small movement like giving someone a hug or reaching for the phone causes sharp pain.

Carrying 10 extra pounds on one side of the body can cause the trunk to tilt sideways to compensate, causing more stress for your lower back. As the stiletto heel is to your foot, the designer handbag is to your upper back.

If you can’t break the trend of the hefty handbag, come back next week to get some tips that will help you to stay injury free.