Save your back

When I was much younger and dumber I was stationed in Oak Harbor, WA at an air squadron of A-6's. One piece of gear that went in the side of the bird was quite heavy. Normally, we had 2 guys and a lift to install it. We were in a hurry so I reached down, picked it up and stuffed it in. I felt a tiny little pop right on my starboard dimple. That was all until years later. One morning I woke up but couldn't get up. Finally got up but, man, did it hurt! The pain lasted for days. Everything was agony.
I had a few of these bouts and it always centered on my right side and down my right leg. All medical could do was give me pills and 10 days bedrest.
On one bout of just horrible back pain this Warrant Officer, the equivalent to a PA, was examining me and saw my wallet. She went on this rant about men and their big assed wallets in their back pockets. She was all set with examples of a big wallet that were the sole cause of back pain in men. She was good. She had done this many times before. She crawled square up my six and kicked vital organs, but she got her message across.
So I trimmed the contents of my wallet and put it in my front pocket. My damage was already done and just maybe my wallet was bringing those episodes on. It was just too easy of a change that might save me some pain. I've carried it in my front pants pocket since.
I've seen some HUGE wallets stuffed with...stuff. Some wallets are so stuffed they can barely be folded. Wherever they sit they can have a 2" or better tilt in their pelvis. That ain't good on the back.
If you don't have pain now and, I truly hope you never do, consider moving your wallet, whatever size, to your front pants pocket.

Thankfully, you guys actually have pants pockets that can hold a wallet! Most women's pants have either (A) non-existent pockets, or (B) pockets you can't even put half your hand into. I guess that's why we have purses. (I spent my teenage years wearing cargo pants just so I could haul around all the stuff I wanted to carry, until I finally just resigned myself and bought a tactical bag). But, guys can't always get away with a bag, even if it's tactical (though, one of the best moves I ever made was getting a tactical bag. My husband will carry it for me if I need him to, because it doesn't look like a purse).

My husband usually stores a lot of his stuff in his cargo pant's pockets. But cargo pants seem to be going out of style, which is truly sad. They have so many excellent pockets!

Nicole Alderman wrote:Thankfully, you guys actually have pants pockets that can hold a wallet! Most women's pants have either (A) non-existent pockets, or (B) pockets you can't even put half your hand into. I guess that's why we have purses.

Purses can cause spinal problems too. I used to carry a heavy purse everywhere. It had everything from 3 kinds of pliers (I was studying Electronics in college at the time) to a full water bottle in there. But it pulled my spine out of alignment to the point where I can't carry a purse at all anymore.

I have my temporary aches and pains, I carry a wallet in my right side back pocket. But I hardly sit during the day, I build houses for a living and when I get home I shower and wear rest clothes (shorts and flip-flops). When I am driving a long way I remove the wallet and place it in my center console on the truck.

I have a young friend (he was 17-19 at the time) that had terrible back pain. He was working at a local hardware store moving bags of wood chips and mulch around. His mother made him go get an x-ray, the doctor said he was healthy and there was nothing wrong with is back.

I told him that it was a good doctor that wouldn't just write him a prescription. Then I asked him:

"when you get out of bed in the morning do you walk the first couple steps trying to straighten up?" He answered yes, I said: "do you know what you call that?" He shook his head no. I said "it's called life".

I also recommended he get a better (read firmer) mattress.

I work hard, I'm stiff and sore right now as I write this (I am currently Demolishing  a house). I think the key is to not over do it, and to work up to the hard things. I am conditioned to the type of work I do.

permaculture principles apply to the human body-mind as well as to what's outside us.  Structure, use, and function are three components:

--structure (such as a misaligned skeleton or a heavy bag or a wallet) is one factor that affects functioning, but
--use, how you use your body/self, also affects it.

This is true not just of that one heavy object you lift badly or well that one time, but also of everyday movements.

The head weighs 10-12 pounds, and you lug that sucker around all day long.

The solution?  observe, observe, observe.

Look for poise rather than posture, flow rather than bracing, balance rather than collapse/"relaxation".

The best book on Alexander's discoveries is now available at an affordable rate in an electronic edition!  Frank Pierce Jones, _Freedom to Change_.