Lopsided Back/shoulders with a pack

[WhiskeyDoc]

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[Rob5589]

Try it and see. I doubt anyone is perfectly symmetrical.

 

[Moose83]

I run one strap on my k3 higher than the other. That's the beauty of the high end packs... you can dial fit to your body.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Yep. My left shoulder was dislocated about 25 years ago playing football. I rehabbed the heck out of it. For years and years. I still do it today in order to keep it equal in strength and stability. And, on my Kifaru frames, the harness if about an inch longer on that side.

With that said, the harness on my SO doesn’t allow that. But, the way the harness is made, I don’t notice on that pack except when tightened down. The buckle on my left shoulder strap doesn’t wrap as far around my shoulder as the right.


It’s no problem on either setup. And, my guess is if more people were open to the fact we likely aren’t symmetrical, there’s be more people with differing adjustments.

 

[Tim_VT]

I dislocated a shoulder 6 years ago and it still sits lower and farther back than it did before - I went to a yoga class with my girlfriend last week and the teacher noticed it from about 10 feet away. I've used packs with the shoulder straps unevenly adjusted to compensate for a few years and it's worked fine, even with heavier loads when backpacking and doing weighted pack workouts/rucking with a sandbag in my pack. I did have to start with pretty light weights to let my body adjust.
That said - I'm not a doctor and can only speak to what's worked for my situation. A good physical therapist who specializes in sports medicine would be able to give much better and tailored advice for your specific situation.
I saw one a few years after the injury and wish I had seen her sooner. She gave me some great exercises to stabilize the shoulder. It alleviated the pinched nerve causing numbness in my hand, got me back to doing pull ups, and worked wonders for my accuracy with a bow.

 

[Trackerbacker]

Reconstructive shoulder/thoracic outlet surgery.

I have less 'meat', and a 'shallower' feel (as in, if I feel my shoulder, the meat feels thinner along with less of it) from shoulder to neck on the injured side.

Only notice if I pay attention to my ocd relative to straps/belt/etc not being the same side to side.

Follow your packs general fitting guide, than fine tune for comfort to YOUR body.