Backpacks and Back Pain

Back-to-school aisles are stocked and ready as retailers pull the plug on summer merchandise, placing their hopes that the typically-lucrative school supply season puts them in the black financially. One of the big-ticket items is backpacks. However, behind the smartly designed, trendy, and colorful backpacks lurks a potential health danger for children and college students — which can lead to long-term pain for those who use them.

Numerous studies have shown that kids carry too much weight on their back in those backpacks, with most of the weight coming from heavy and bulky textbooks. Rolling backpacks are touted as a way to avoid carrying supplies on the back of younger children, but many school districts do not allow them because they don’t fit into existing lockers, and their bulkier design takes up too much space in the classroom. Many schools don’t even use lockers, especially at the high school level, meaning that teens must tote all needed belongings with them throughout the day.

According to a study by the University of California Riverside, the backpacks could be causing permanent back problems for the students. “This is truly alarming. Research has shown that adults with severe back problems often had pain as kids. You can suffer all your life from this kind of injury,” said lead author Dr. David Siambaes.

This particular research, which was funded by the Children’s Spine Foundation, utilized nearly 3,500 middle school students, ages 11 through 15. Researchers weighed students and their backpacks and then interviewed students about their habits surrounding backpack usage. They also inquired about any pain children had. Sixty-four percent of participants reported back pain, with 21 percent reporting pain that had last for longer than six months. Additionally, as the ratio of backpacks to-to-child’s weight increased, so did reports of pain.

If shopping for backpacks for your child this year, look for a quality bag that properly fits, has appropriate padding in the shoulder areas, and will accommodate required supplies. You want to minimize a child carrying as much weight as possible. The study showed that a child who carried a backpack weighing five percent of his body weight was less likely to report pain than a child carrying a pack weighing 20 percent of body weight.

If you become concerned about the weight your child is carrying to/from school and during the day, check with the campus administrators and see if an alternative solution can be reached. Some high schools now have two sets of core subject books, with students keeping one set at home and then having a second set to utilize in the classroom. This prevents lugging them back and forth to class every day.

ZeroSpinePain.com

Tags: Back Pain, back posture, Backpack, Children, School