BACKPACKS - HEAVY LOADS & BACK PAIN - PLUS TIPS TO HELP PREVENT PAIN

Backpack technology: American Chiropractic Association

Not only do kids of today pack heavy schoolbooks into their backpacks, many of them also strap popular electronic devices as laptop computers, cellular phones, MP3 players, CD players, and personal digital assistants (PDA) specially designed compartments inside their backpacks.

This improvement in backpack technology has brought about a greater awareness of the dangers of young, developing bodies wearing backpacks that are too heavy. For example, school textbooks are the heaviest they have ever been. So what happens to our kids' bodies when they haul these heavy books and other personal effects directly on their backs? Two new studies may help to answer that very question.

The first study, published in the May 2003 issue of the journal Spine, found that the use of backpacks during the school day and the weights of the backpacks associated with back pain. And a second, presented by researcher Dr. Heidi Orloff at a May 28, 2003 meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in San Francisco, concluded that children actually hunch their bodies forward and lower their heads to accommodate the burden of wearing heavy backpacks.

This news comes as no surprise to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), which for years has educated the public on backpack "ergonomics."

"In my own practice, I have noticed a marked increase in the number of young children who are complaining about back, neck and shoulder pain," said Dr. Scott Bautch, immediate past president of the ACA's Council on Occupational Health. "The first question I ask these patients is, 'Do you carry a backpack to school?' Almost always, they answer 'yes.'"

As part of its effort to help alleviate this growing problem, the ACA offers the following tips to help prevent the needless pain that backpack misuse could cause the students in your household.

- The backpack should weigh no more than 10 percent of a child's bodyweight.
- The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline it will increase the weight on the shoulders, causing your child
to lean forward.
- A backpack with individualized compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively. Pack pointy or bulky objects away from the area that will rest on your child's back.
- Bigger is not necessarily better. The more room there is in a backpack, the more your child will carry the heavier the backpack will be.
- Wear both shoulder straps to distribute the weight of the backpack evenly.
- Wide, padded straps are very important. Non-padded straps can dig into your child's shoulders.
- Shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack can befitted to your child's body.