KEY POINTS:
For kiwi women oversized designer handbags are proving a pain in the neck - not to mention their back and shoulders.
Giant bags made fashionable by Hollywood size zeros such as Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton have caught on in New Zealand, but carry a heavy price.
Chiropractors
and osteopaths say large loads can damage nerves and muscle tissues and cause numbness and pain.
New Zealand Association of Chiropractors vice-president Dr Simon Kelly said they could also distort posture.
Two women in his Auckland practice last week were carrying large bags.
"They go, 'Oh it's only such and such', but when I pick it up it's heavy to me - and I'm a bloke."
Osteopathic Society of New Zealand president Emma Fairs said heavy bags could restrict spinal movement and cause joint inflammation.
Six women spoken to by the Herald on Sunday had noticed the symptoms.
Among them was retail manager Phoebe Phibbs, who said her bag was "really heavy".
"I've actually had really sore shoulders and I am sure it's from the bag."
The 38-year-old from Devonport counters the pain with regular massages.
Phibbs was carrying her bag and three others when we stopped her in central Auckland. The total weight was 5kg.
Students had some of the heaviest loads. Takapuna Grammar student Charlotte Robertson was carrying a bag of sports gear weighing 4kg. The 17-year-old rower was used to carrying sports gear around but felt like her muscles were "wrapping together on the shoulder" and she was leaning to one side.
German traveller Alex Karden was lumbered with a 2.25kg bag. She takes her doctor's advice to "crack" her neck and back.#"It's painful when I don't do it."
Abigail Esnaola, a 19-year-old student from West Auckland was carrying a 1.8kg bag and said she changed it every day to avoid back and shoulder pain.
Kelly compared the potential problems to "running with one high heel shoe on" and bags should be worn across both shoulders to distribute the weight.
He said women could check if their back and spine were out of line by placing their feet on separate sets of scales and seeing if they recorded the same weight.
Fairs recommended women should use large bags less and put fewer items in them.
"Clean them out once a week, don't carry for long periods of time, switch shoulders, and sling the bag across [your] body."