Overloading Backpacks

Overloading Backpacks Pose a Painful Burden for Children

Scientific research reveals an alarming danger associated with improper childhood backpack use. This research stands from an increasing number of reports in childhood back pain in recent decades. By the end of their teen years close to 60% of youth experience at least one low back pain episode. New research indicates that this may be due, at least in part, to the improper use of backpacks on young spines. Watch children in any school yard struggle to walk while bent sideways under the weight of an overloaded backpack on one shoulder. You will quickly realize the potential danger of this common place item.

Backpack attacks

How exactly does carrying a backpack affect the spine? Common sense tells us that a load distributed improperly or unevenly day after day indeed causes stress to a growing spinal column. The old adage as a twig bends so grows the tree comes to mind. This is a growing concern about the improper use of back packs and relatively scarce amount of instructional and preventation information available to young people. It is not the backpacks fault that the child has not been given the guidelines.

Check the numbers

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 6,512 emergency visits result from injuries related to backpacks. The CPSC also reports that backpack related injuries are up 256% since 1996. Do this ”heavy” math… the average child’s backpack weighs 12 pounds times 10 lifts a day equals 120 pounds lifted per day. 120 pounds per day times 180 days per school year equals 21,600 pounds per year. That is nearly 11 tons or equivalent to 6 full size automobiles.

Getting Out of Line

Hauling a heavy backpack over one shoulder everyday may cause serious misalignments. These postural imbalances often trigger a condition called vertebral subluxations. Vertebral subluxations are dysfunctional areas of the spine where movement is restricted or bones are out of alignment. This disorder predisposes patients to a number of problems such as neck pain, back pain, headaches, and osteoarthritis and disc disease. In recent scientific experiments, carrying a backpack alters the mobility of spinal bones and can lead to restrictive movements, a risk factor for pain. Yet another study uses MRI imaging to examine the affects of backpacks on the intervertebral discs of the spine, the fluid filled pillows between the spinal bones. According to the report, backpacks alter the fluid content of these discs, a risk factor for disc herniation and osteoarthritis.  Students that carry backpacks weighing 25% of their body weight may have balance problems while performing normal activities such as climbing stairs and opening doors which in turn increase their risks of falls. In contrast, student carrying a pack that weighs 15% of their body weight maintain their balance moderately well. Those carrying 5% of their body weight were most affective in maintaining their balance.

Backpack Safety Tips

1. Make sure that your child’s backpack weighs no more than 10% of body weight. Heavier backpacks will cause your child to bend forward in an attempt to support the weight on his or her back rather than the shoulders by the straps.
2. Backpacks should never hang lower than 4 inches below the waistline.
3. A pack with individual compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively.
4. Bigger is not necessarily better. The more room there is in the backpack, the more your child will carry resulting in a heavier backpack.
5. Encourage your child to wear both shoulder straps. Lugging the backpack around using one strap can cause disproportionate weight shifts leading to neck and muscle spasms as well as low back pain.
6. Wide, padded straps are important. Non-padded straps are not only uncomfortable but they dig into your child’s shoulders.
7. Shoulder straps should be adjustable so the pack can be fitted to your child’s body.
8. If the backpack is still too heavy, talk to your child’s teacher and ask if your child can leave the heaviest book at school or bring home only the lighter handouts or workbooks when possible.

Finally, if you are already started to notice the ill affects of improper backpack use, a visit to your local chiropractor may be in order. Identifying these problems early will go a long way in correcting the damage that has already been done. If not dealt with appropriately, this will surely lead to further problems in the future that could have been avoided. Take action early. Your kids will be healthier.

Dr. Jay LaGuardia has been the director of the Stucky Chiropractic Center since 1994. He is the developer of Living Well Series, a wellness program. He also is an author, lecturer and practice consultant.