Carrying a load, front or back?

Submitted by louiseds on December 29, 2005 - 4:30am
Body: 

Hi all

Just sharing an experience from yesterday.

I had occasion to walk 5km (3 miles) carrying a 4kg (10lb?) rucksack in the midday sun on hard pavement (Yes, we swim and have barbecues at Christmas time too!) I always carry this rucksack on my back, but now I have modified my posture I have found that it is not easy to maintain a lumbar curve and keep upper back tall and chin tucked in. No matter whether the straps were short or long, or whether the chest strap was fastened or not, I kept unconsciously flattening the lumbar curve as I walked.

So I put it on the front instead, for a change. Like magic, my lumbar curve appeared, my shoulders naturally moved back, my chin tucked itself in, and I felt for all the world as if I was pregnant, bump at the front and all! I eventually lengthened the straps to let the bump down to pregnant belly height as well (core height?). That gave me a lower centre of gravity which seemed to enable me to walk in a more relaxed gait. Our bodies seem to be designed for it.

Every now and then I put the rucksack on my back again, just for a bit of variation, but it really felt more comfortable on the front, and I carried it most of the way like that.

At the end of the day after 1 1/2 hours drive home again I had no bladder urgency and everything seemed to hold up OK in the pelvic region. No backache either, just blisters from the wrong shoes!

A couple of months ago I posted a response to a question about whether it was better to carry a baby in a sling on the back or the front. I said the back worked well for me when my babies were strong enough to hold their heads up well, but after yesterday, I am not sure now whether that was wise or not. Maybe men should carry on the back, women on the front? Maybe babies and other loads on the back should be carried low (at core/sacrum height)? Maybe we women need a simple adjustable shoulder harness for carrying loads on the front at belly height? Or just get a man to do the carrying? ;-)

What are your comments, Christine? Hope everyone has fun kissing 2005 goodbye and welcoming 2006.

Cheers

Louise

AnneH

January 3, 2006 - 6:17pm

Not Christine, but I do have a comment. I think you've hit on something, and I have discovered the same thing! You see, as a female walking alone on nature trails, etc., I would never go unarmed. I am a competitive pistol shooter and would never forgive myself if my children were left motherless because I was attacked by a wild animal or bad human. So I carry a gun. But I had a hard time finding a comfortable way to carry it. Guns can be very heavy when loaded with lead bullets, especially full sized, all steel ones. On the hip, in the regular holster, they throw you off balance and are TERRIBLE for your lower back. In a bag, like most women carry, you have that weight on your shoulder, and again, you are off balance. Some people carry them in a waistband holster in the small of their back, but that seemed to hurt my back too, plus was hard to draw from. Well, I found a holster that puts the gun in the low front, just under the belly button. It is really exactly at sacrum level. It fits just under my "pot belly". I found immediately that this was THE MOST comfortable way possible to carry my gun! My back pain not only was not made worse, it actually IMPROVED. Something about the weight, and I think you hit on it... it pulls my sacrum into the natural lumbar curve and my belly out just the way Christine describes the correct "female" posture. I can take long hikes and never feel the least bit fatigued because of the weight of the gun, where, before I found that holster, I was always bothered by the discomfort of lugging around that extra weight. Maybe women are particularly designed to carry weight in that location, because that is exactly where the baby is in late pregnancy.

Anneh

Christine

January 4, 2006 - 8:29am

Yes, we had a discussion about this some time ago...how much more comfortable fanny packs are when worn in front rather than back. I think when women carry things very high on our head/shoulders, or low in front, we're working positively with natural musculoskeletal mechanics. When I was pregnant with my overdue daughter, something possessed me to take a trip to the zoo with my two-year old son. I tromped around all day with him atop my shoulders, and went into labor the following day!