What you think is a “wealth bag” may not be a sign of wealth! Can it be removed?

Zhang Lu Ma Wei

Aunt Liu, 62, had a big lump on the back of her neck, and she could no longer straighten her back. Not only did she become shorter, but her high blood pressure and cervical spondylosis also worsened, and she even had numbness in her fingers. The doctor reminded her that this big lump was a "wealth lump."

"Wealth hump" usually occurs on the upper back and at the junction of the neck and chest. However, it does not mean "wealth", and sometimes it can affect people's health.

“Wealth bags” are mostly caused by bad posture

The so-called "wealth bag" is formed by local fat accumulation or soft tissue hypertrophy at the junction of the neck and chest. This mass is particularly obvious when viewed from the side. The normal human spine has four physiological curves, of which the cervical spine forms a C-shaped curvature that convexes forward, and the thoracic spine forms a curvature that convexes backward. Bad postures and habits such as excessive hunching, "Ge You lying", sleeping in the supine position for a long time, and using too high pillows will lead to increased cervical lordosis or thoracic kyphosis. Muscles that are in a state of tension and spasm for a long time will lead to local circulation obstruction, thereby causing chronic aseptic inflammation and fat accumulation of local soft tissues.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the "wealth bag" is located at the Dazhui point, which has the effect of invigorating the body's yang energy. If the yang energy is sufficient, external evil cannot enter, and it has a good health-care effect. When there is a "wealth bag" here, the blood circulation will be blocked, resulting in dizziness, head swelling, blurred vision and other discomfort symptoms. In addition, if the "wealth bag" is large, it will also cause spinal deformation, curvature or deformity.

There is no necessary connection between "wealth hump" and cervical spondylosis

Nowadays, many people also call it "death bag", but there is no basis for it. There is no necessary connection between "wealth bag" and cervical spondylosis. Cervical spondylosis is a disease caused by degenerative changes in the cervical intervertebral disc and secondary lesions, involving peripheral tissue structures such as nerve roots, vertebral arteries, spinal cord and sympathetic nerves, and corresponding clinical symptoms. "Wealth bag" is not a concomitant phenomenon or a unique sign of cervical spondylosis. Regardless of the size of the "wealth bag", it will not directly compress the large blood vessels and nerves in the neck to produce clinical symptoms. Therefore, the bad reputation of "death bag" cannot be pinned on it. The appearance of "wealth bag" may be a warning of cervical spondylosis, reminding us that we should pay attention to the health of the cervical spine. Of course, if it is only the thickening of fat at the junction of the neck and chest, and it does not affect the activity and blood circulation of the cervical spine, and there are no other symptoms, no special treatment is required. There is no need to feel nervous or anxious if you have a "wealth bag", it is enough to pay attention to neck health care at ordinary times.

How to get rid of "wealth bags"

In daily life, we can judge whether we have "wealth bags" through self-assessment. We can stand with our backs against a wall, feet shoulder-width apart, with our back, hips, and calves against the wall. If the head cannot be against the wall at the same time, it may be "wealth bags". If you cannot judge by yourself, you can ask an orthopedic doctor for a professional examination.

To eliminate the "wealth bag", neck exercise is essential. First of all, we should change the bad living habits in daily life, try to reduce the time of looking down at the phone, choose a pillow of appropriate height when sleeping, and pay attention to whether our posture is correct. Secondly, master the skills of relaxing the neck muscles, strengthen the stretching exercises of the neck muscles to improve the strength and endurance of the neck muscles. To relax the neck muscles, you can raise your arms up, bend your hands sideways and place them on the opposite shoulder, keep your shoulders relaxed, and continue for 1-2 minutes. Finally, it is recommended that people who sit for a long time pat the muscles around the neck more, and do more exercises such as chest expansion and shoulder shrug. The "wealth bag" is not a symbol of wealth nor a "death bag". We should have a correct understanding of it, maintain good living habits in daily life, and pay attention to the health of the cervical spine.

(The author Zhang Lu is a 2022 graduate student in human anatomy at the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Dalian Medical University, and Ma Wei is a teacher at the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Dalian Medical University)