Much has already been said about the dangers of sitting down for extended periods of time, yet your back pocket wallet is another health concern that has not received the same amount of attention. Many people still have their wallets in their back pockets in our society, yet most doctors and health professionals caution against it vehemently.

“Sitting on your wallet is as much a health concern as walking with one shoe on and one-off,” says Dr. Frank J. Martusciello, Total Life Chiropractic’s clinic director and founder. “If you lie, it creates an imbalance in your base. It also puts direct pressure on the science sciatic knot and the piriformis muscle, which also adversely affects the sciatic nerve.

“It puts an enormous amount of physical pressure on the lower spine when sitting with a wallet in your back pocket; its bones, ligaments, muscles, and nerves. Only look at most men’s back pockets, one of them is substantially worn as opposed to the other because of their George Costanza-sized wallets ‘ increased friction.

At an early age, we are told that wallets go into your back pocket, but this practice causes harm to the protection of your lower back and spinal alignment.

You turn the pelvis and throw off your balance while sitting on your pocket, pinching the sciatic nerve, causing pain and numbness in the back. The resulting condition is called Sciatica and if left untreated, it can become crippling. The remedy can be as simple as moving your wallet to your front pocket, and in the process, it could save your back and lower your chiropractic bills.

The nerves leave the power of the lower back and regulate some of the body’s largest and strongest muscles — legs, buttocks, neck, and back. Pressing them for hours at a time when you sit on your wallet in the office or in your car can trigger an avalanche of body mechanical problems, the most common of which is Sciatica.

Changing to a front pocket wallet will help you reduce sciatica before it becomes chronic, according to Dr. Logan Brooke, Chiropractic Public Relations Chair of the Unified Virginia Chiropractic Association, who is constantly reminding his patients to pay attention to how they carry wallets and purses due to health concerns.

“If I notice a patient holding a wallet in their back pocket, I will always educate them about the pressure it puts on the sciatic nerve and the pelvis. I advise them to move the wallet completely to the side when they are sitting or out of the pocket. A wallet should never be put in the back pocket regardless of the circumstances, “says Logan.

Prevention methods

“Once Sciatica reaches a chronic state, the pain could become debilitating and require physical therapy, chiropractic treatment and even surgery to treat. “The good news is that there are simple ways to prevent Sciatica, which just requires small changes to your personal habits”

• Switch to a front pocket wallet.
• Restrict your sitting to 30 minutes-Even if you have a busy desk, make those breaks with your coffee and toilet so that you can shift in your hips and thighs
• Tuck your tail (figuratively, of course), the pelvic tilt exercise should hold your hips in a position to relieve nerve pressure.
• Vary the workout-Too much is never a good thing. If you’re a runner, go swimming once a week and add in some exercise if you enjoy the weights.