How to Carry Your Bag.

Being inspired by the infamous picture posted on Stomp (which will be shown later in the post), I decided to pose this question out to everyone. Is there a proper way of carrying your bag, handbag, purse or whatever you need to be carrying? This actually boils down to the concept of ergonomics. Ergonomics is the design of equipment and items that is suited to the human body and the movements tasks we perform be it for work or for recreation. This simply means that when performing any of our daily activities, the way things are set up or positioned is critical in making us more efficient and puts us in a less compromising position to get injured from the activity.

So on that note, how do we put ourselves in a position to carry our bags without getting injured or putting strain on our bodies? You may think that this can be solved by simply using a roller bag. However, not every circumstance or situation we are in is ideal for us to use a roller bag. So what do we have to do to give ourselves a strong position in carrying our bags?

Backpacks

A backpack is a bag carried on your bag with two straps going over your shoulders. This is commonly used by children and adolescents in an educational setting as well as army soldiers to carry their equipment (typically known as the field pack).

Shoulder Bag

A shoulder bag is thus carried on either of your shoulders with the strap either on your side or as a sling across your chest. This is commonly used to carry laptops or documents. Very popular with the younger generation.

Handbags

A handbag is a bag carried easily with your hands or can also be slung on either shoulder as a smaller shoulder bag. Usually utilised by the female population to carry their purses or small little items.

Tips on how to choose or carry your bag right:

Choose a bag with a comfortable strap. Straps should be slightly padded and at least 3cm thick. This allows the weight of the bag to be spread across your shoulder than having it all on a thin spot. Some padding would be beneficial for giving some cushioning when carrying the bag.
Buy a bag that is big enough to carry the essential items. The bigger the bag, the higher the tendency to fill it up to the brim, making it alot heavier than it should be. This in turns causes you to carry a really heavy bag and puts additional work on your body to carry it around.
Carry your bag close to your centre of mass/gravity (this is usually near your belly button). Same concept as doing weighted exercises, the further the weight is away from your centre of mass, the more strain and pressure you would put on your joints and muscles in supporting your spinal column. Thus, by carrying your back close to your centre of gravity, it allows your body to be more efficient in supporting the weight of your bag.

Some simple ideas the next time you look for a bag or consider carrying a heavy bag around. If you do not want to carry a bag and still want to bring heavy or plenty of items around, use a roller bag. It allows you to bring things around without the hassle of carrying it and you can easily roll it around without straining your body too much.

Or if all else fails, get someone else to carry it for you. :)