Back pain, these two words alone strike fear into the hearts of millions. And yet for some men, it may be as preventable as throwing away a grocery store receipt. I lost my wallet a couple of months ago and had to replace all of the contents in it. My new wallet is about half the size of the old one and I’ve noticed I don’t wake up as stiff in the morning as I used to. It got me thinking if maybe there was some correlation, so I did my research and here’s what I found.
If you’re a fan of Seinfeld you’ll remember when George Costanza, played by Jason Alexander, got back pain from too big a wallet. This happens because your wallet sits in your back pocket and on the sciatic nerve (a nerve that runs down your leg). This in turn causes pain in the back and tingling in the lower extremities. Large wallets have also been linked with causing sciatica, which is a syndrome that causes pain in the lower extremities.
Many doctors and physiotherapists say that the best way to alleviate this pain is to make your wallet smaller by taking out unneeded cards, old receipts and carrying less cash. By doing so, you’ll put less pressure on the sciatic nerve and the nerves of your back. I experienced this relief first hand. While I would never recommend losing your wallet, because that’s a pain the “something else” … I would recommend downsizing. After all, it’s better to shrink the wallet now than to shrink it later with medical bills.
Hi Fitz,
Completely agree! We actually started a “shoppe” that specializes in Front Pocket Wallets for this reason. We have so many people that come to us with a file cabinet of a wallet – and in their BACK POCKET!! Ouch!! No wonder people have back problems. Anyway, thanks for spreading the word – come check us out at http://thewallethshoppe.com if you have a chance!
Justin