Collarbone pain from backpack

Is that strap too tight? Then, loosen it.

I'm not saying that this is the perfect way to carry a load, but you ought to be able to loosen one shoulder strap radically and still carry it with the other shoulder strap fairly normal.

Also, you can experiment with moving the straps toward the neck or away from the neck. That may show an improvement. Sometimes you do this with the sternum strap, and sometimes you do it by other means.

As a general rule, if your shoulder straps are giving you pain, then there is too much weight on them, and you need to get more of the weight onto the hipbelt.

I used to start a trip with about half of the weight on my shoulders and half on my hips. If one pain would start, I would shift the weight the other way for an hour. When one pain would start there, I would shift the weight back. After a while I found the spot where I didn't have to shift anymore. Also, lighten up the pack overall, and that will always help.

–B.G.–

What's her torso size, and have you tried the pack's torso adjustment? With the wrong torso length, it doesn't matter what else you do with the straps, the pack isn't going to fit properly.
An Aura 50 is what I used a couple of weeks ago to walk my girlfriend through choosing and fitting a pack. She has a 17" torso, and the small Aura adjusts for 16-19". Easy fit, and all the weight going to her hips.
The fact that you didn't mention torso size is what immediately stood out to me when I read your post, because measuring that is step 1.

Regardless, it's impossible to fit a pack over the internet, especially with no details or pics.
Torso could be too small, shoulder, sternum, and/or load lifter straps too tight.
The torso could also be set too long, so the shoulder straps have to be overtightened to line up the packbag with her body. Could be a lot of things.
Pics of her with the pack on would probably help you get better input from people here.

Pics of her with the pack on would probably help you get better input from people here.

+1

Pics would help +2.

Also my first thought on reading this was work on your shoulder strength and mobility, but with a week to go that's a bit hard. Shoulders are under-rated.

+ a whole bunch about needing pictures.

But I will say that I had the exact same problem with all the Osprey packs I tried. And when i tried to sell my osprey packs to several of my female friends, all of them had the exact same problem as well.

Nothing I did would help, so I stopped carrying ospreys. Problem solved.

"I stopped carrying ospreys"

What is different about that brand that it bothers only women?

–B.G.–

not sure that it's a female thing – my male friend on the JMT, at about the halfway point, started complaining about his collarbone/shoulder (and this man never, ever, ever complains about ANYTHING) so much that he was ready to just throw it off a cliff. He said he burned it when he got back it hurt him so badly….

I think it's just a personal thing, like any fit, but since the description of the collarbone pain is exactly what I had – and what some of my friends have experienced – I thought I'd say something.

Another female friend of mine simply LOVES her ospreys. She has three and says she's never had a pack carry better.

So there you go…

Thanks for all the replies!

"started complaining about his collarbone/shoulder […] so much that he was ready to just throw it off a cliff"
That sounds exactly the same. My wife will literally throw the backpack to the ground when she just can't take it anymore.

So, to respond to everyone's requests, here are some pictures:

As far as I can tell, that's how a properly-fitted backpack should look.

Her torso length is 16.5" and the backpack is a Small, with the torso length adjustment at pretty much the minimum position.

She does do some physical training including yoga and pushups.

Gene

…one more thing. I'm thinking of trying to put most of her weight as low as possible (i.e. in the sleeping bag compartment) in her pack this time with the idea of having less weight pulling back on her shoulders. Is there any reason this would be a bad idea?

Gene

Hi Gene, my guess would be that it's the weight distribution/packaging that is causing the pain in the collarbone. Like the weight is falling backwards.

>> As far as I can tell, that's how a properly-fitted backpack should look.

I agree — that looks "perfect" for an Osprey (they fit slightly differently from other backpacks, in that the shoulder straps are not supposed to have a "gap" at the top; they're supposed to skim over the shoulders, following the shoulders' natural shape).

It may well be that your wife is just not built right for the Osprey fit. There is something about the "trampoline back" design that seems to exert more pressure on the front of the shoulders.

I would try lengthening the torso measurement as much as possible as a last resort. This *might* create a little extra gap between her shoulders and the strap. Also, make sure that the load lifter straps are not pulled too tight (which adds extra pressure to her collarbones).

The good news is that, if you decide to get her a new backpack (non-Osprey), the Osprey packs have excellent resale value! That should take away a bit of the wallet pain, anyway… ;^)

Thanks, Valerie. Is there an equivalent backpack you that you think is easier on the collarbone?

Gene

I think any properly-fitting backpack WITHOUT a "trampoline-style" back panel should be easier on her collarbones. Take a look at UL brands like Gossamer Gear, ULA, etc., or at REI try Gregory and Deuter. At the moment, all Osprey packs use the "trampoline-style" back panels, so none of them will likely work for her (same thing for a Z-Packs Arc series pack).

The trampoline-back styles arc the pack weight slightly away from the spine, which results in a bit more pull on the shoulder straps. It's a trade-off: you get a less sweaty back; but you lose some pack capacity and the shoulder straps pull back a bit more. Obviously, your wife is particularly sensitive to this.

I have a Gregory Jade and a ULA Circuit – very different from each other, but both infinitely more comfortable than the aura or exos – most women I have talked to end up with Gregory packs, after having tried the ospreys with the trampoline back. Deuter also works well for many women in my hiking group.

Give me sweat over stabbing pain any day….

To be honest, the symptoms you describe are a little vague but I see these types of injuries a lot in my line of work and it sounds familiar so here's my gut feeling…

Sounds like subclavicular pain likely caused by overuse and irritation of the subclavian muscle which lives under the collar bone. The cause is most likely restriction and fixation of the shoulder's natural rotation.

Every backbacking strap will do this and I don't think any pack will be much of an appreciable change unless the shoulder has significant freedom of movement which is obviously most unlikely under the circumstances.

Unless she also has underlying clavicular(collar bone)oseoarthritis, the answer may be: strengthening and work hardening.

Check out this link. http://www.shouldercentric.co.uk/wp_blog/?tag=subclavicular

Specifically the strengthening/ stretching shoulder exercises discussed at the bottom which are specifically designed to build the shoulder in this region.

This sounds like something fixable. Good luck!

PS I think Valerie's last post regarding more shoulder restriction from certain "trampoline" packs is good reasoning.

Can't see the pictures at work, unfortunately, but have you considered the sternum strap tightness? I've found that if it's overtightened, I can get this pain even if everything else is adjusted properly.

Actually the pack looks to big to me. Hard to tell for sure from a photo, but in most cases the shoulder straps should extend down to the base of the scapula, this looks like the strap is well above that point. The most common effect of to large a pack is – you guessed it – pressure on the front of the shoulders/collar bone. I would try an extra small pack.

Also, again going by the pictures, it appears that the 'load lifters' are to tight. It looks to me like there is a bit of a gap forming on top of the shoulder with the strap. It is possible that loosening the lifters and tightening the shoulder straps themselves you may be able to improve things a bit.

Overall the pack looks a bit big to me.

Jim

Thanks everyone for your replies! They have been helpful.

We went and returned the Osprey at REI and are looking at getting a Gregory or Deuter before we leave for our trip this weekend. There are a number of other brands that we'd like to try out, but there's not a ton of options for what we can try out in a store within the next few days.

Gene

We've just returned from 5 nights at Rae Lakes plus various miscellaneous hikes at SEKI and I have a post-morrtem on this backpack issue.

We returned the Osprey several days before our trip and my wife tried on just about every light-ish backpack that was available locally. The winner was a dark horse, the Kelty Traillogic. We thought it would be heavy and the system gimmicky, but it turned out to only be a touch over three pounds, and it was the only backpack that didn't stress my wife's collarbone. Through eighty miles of hiking the Kelty delivered and we had a fantastic trip!

Gene