If you are not in the habit of carrying a bag or backpack for storing your wallet, you probably just stick your wallet in your back pocket and don’t think too much about it. Additionally, the various other small items that you collect during the course of your day, such as ATM receipts or spare change, end up in your wallet, alongside credit and bank cards, driver’s license or photo ID, and money.

You may think that spending a good portion of your day sitting on your wallet is just a minor inconvenience, but it may actually be, quite literally, a pain in your backside. Read further, as Dr. Nathen Horst discusses a common pain condition called sciatica, and how keeping your wallet in your back pocket as you sit may be contributing to it.

What Is Sciatica?

The sciatic nerves branch off from your lower back, through the buttocks, and run down the back of each leg. If that nerve gets irritated or pinched, it can cause the condition known as sciatica.

Symptoms usually include numbness, or pain that radiates from the lower back all the way down the back of the thigh and calf. The pain can range from an ache to a burning sensation or feeling like an electric jolt. It will usually only involve one leg at a time, and sitting for an extended period of time in one position tends to exacerbate the condition.

How Does Your Wallet Trigger Sciatica?

The back pocket to your pants or shorts tends to be right where you sit. If you put your wallet in your back pocket, it will force one hip up higher than the other to compensate for the thickness of your wallet. This imbalance of your hips will place stress on the lumbar, or lower back, area of your spine, which is where the roots of the sciatic nerves are located.

The pressure against these nerve roots can lead to a sciatica flare up. To compound the problem, your wallet also presses against your piriformis muscle, which connects your lower spine to the head of your femur (thigh bone). This can exacerbate your sciatica even further.

Avoiding Wallet Sciatica

The most obvious solution is to not place your wallet (or any other items, such as your keys or cell phone) into your back pocket when you sit down. Instead, put them in a desk drawer, your jacket or coat pocket, or your glove compartment (if you are in your car).

You may want to consider using a small messenger bag for these items, which has the added benefit of keeping both of your hands free. Finally, even if you only have intermittent bouts of sciatica, it is still important to stand up, stretch, and move around every now and again to relieve pressure on your lower back.

You may not think that something as simple as storing your wallet in your back pocket could be the cause of your sciatica. Unfortunately, putting your hips out of alignment even by a small amount can cause a chain reaction that ultimately leads to larger pain issues.