Date Presented 3/30/2017
Women (ages 18–79 yr) were surveyed to evaluate their upper-body symptoms associated with carrying a shoulder purse. The significant results will promote awareness of this risk in the field of occupational therapy and prevent further upper-body injuries that may limit occupational performance.
Primary Author and Speaker: Tori Cutshall
Contributing Authors: Edward Mihelcic
PURPOSE: Many women routinely carry purses on their shoulders throughout the lifetime. Naturally, these bags are often overloaded with the daily “essentials.” It has been established that the female body is of a lighter-framed build than the male body. Repeated exposure to this excessive weight by the female upper body may result in a greater imbalance of weight distribution, contributing to musculoskeletal injuries. The significance of the current study is to determine if there is a correlation between the weight of a purse carried on a weekly basis and the physical location where discomfort is experienced within the upper body. To date, an abundance of research has been conducted to examine the effects of repetitive overloaded backpack use on the musculoskeletal system. However, this research has primarily been conducted on school-age students. The current study is unique because there is limited research available regarding the long-term effects of carrying a purse on the adult female musculoskeletal system across the life span.
DESIGN: Based on the biomechanical frame of reference and ecology of human performance model, an exploratory nonexperimental/cross-sectional design was used in this study. Quantitative and qualitative (one optional prompt) data were collected through administration of a self-designed survey in order to identify how long each participant had carried a purse, similar habits purse carriers demonstrated, and whether or not they also experienced recurring pain or discomfort within the upper body. Using convenience sampling, surveys were distributed on a rural university campus to random women ages 18–79 who carried a purse on a weekly basis. Trends in data were revealed using descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as a brief thematic analysis. Inferential statistics included t tests and one-way analyses of variance. A significant p value of .02 confirmed the existence of a strong relationship between upper-body injuries and carrying a purse throughout the life span.
RESULTS: Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that a statistically significant relationship existed between repetitively carrying a purse and resulting upper-body discomfort in women throughout the lifetime. Thematic analysis of the optional survey response highlighted primary, secondary, and latent themes to further support research findings. The themes, in order of frequency mentioned, were as follows: primary theme, unpleasant sensations during purse carriage; secondary theme, solutions to resolve pain from purses; and latent theme, observations while carrying a purse.
CONCLUSION: Recognizing and understanding the ergonomic threats a shoulder purse imposes on the female musculoskeletal system will pave the way for educational interventions to bring awareness and prevent injury for those who routinely carry purses. Suggestions to strengthen future research include the following: make the qualitative prompt mandatory, implement the study in an urban setting where women carry their purses for longer durations, shuffle questions on the survey to reduce a potential order effects confound, and add an experimental component to the design such as measuring the actual weight of each participant’s purse.
References
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Cho, S. H., Lee, J. H., & Kim, C. Y. (2013). The changes of electromyography in the upper trapezius and supraspinatus of women college students according to the method of bag-carrying and weight. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 25, 1129–1131. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.25.1129
Hadid, A., Epstein, Y., Shabshin, N., & Gafen, A. (2012). Modeling mechanical strains and stresses in soft tissues of the shoulder during load carriage based on load bearing open MRI. Journal of Applied Physiology, 112, 597–606. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00990.2011
