In May of 2002, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that backpack-related injuries send almost 6,000 students each year to emergency rooms. The CPSC also reported that backpack-related injuries are up 330 percent since 1996. A study by AirPacks in 2002 showed that 66 percent of school nurses reported seeing students with pain or injury attributed to carrying backpacks.As school approaches, and we get new backpacks for our children, there are some important safety measures to consider in choosing and wearing backpacks. The goal of this article is to teach you and your children how to avoid becoming one of the growing numbers of children and young adults with spinal problems related to improper backpack use.The amount of books, gear and plain old “stuff” our kids lug around in their backpacks is enormous! For many students, their backpack is like a lifeline. Many kids carry their packs all day long. They tell me “there is not enough room in my locker,” or “I have to share a locker with someone else,” or “there is not enough time between classes to run back to my locker.” Couple these excuses with sports equipment and uniforms, musical instruments, CD players, phones, purses, etc., and you have a large load to tote around daily.Last year I was traveling behind a school bus carrying middle school students as they went home. I repeatedly had to stop and wait for students to unload and the bus to continue on its way. As I sat, I saw several different children struggling under the weight of their backpacks. They were bent over at the waist, trying to stay upright with the weight they had on their backs. Or they were walking bent sideways under the weight of an overloaded pack on one shoulder. These postures are extremely abnormal, and will affect the way the body functions. A load, distributed improperly or unevenly day after day, causes stress to a growing, developing spinal column. These stresses can cause neck, shoulder, and back pain and posture problems that could become more problematic later in life, including breathing problems and damage to the child’s skeletal, muscular and nervous systems.Teach your children to use backpacks properly and safely by following these tips:
- Be sure the backpack fits your child. A correct size pack should fit to the size of your child’s back (from the nape of their neck to the top of their hips). Check for special child sized packs for kids ages 5 to 10. They weigh less and have shorter back lengths and widths.
- Select a lightweight pack with wide, padded, adjustable shoulder straps and a back that is padded as well. A good backpack will have several compartments that are meant to distribute the load and prevent the pack from becoming lopsided. Pack heavier items in the center of the pack, where the child can bear the weight with greater ease. As discussed earlier, children have a habit of putting as much as they can fit into their packs. Realistically, kids should carry no more than 10 to 15 percent of their own body weight. Another way to determine a good maximum weight is no more than what they can comfortably carry in their arms for a few minutes. Teach them to pack only what is necessary. A study performed showed that students who carried packs weighing 25 percent of their body weight exhibited balance problems while doing normal activities like climbing stairs and opening doors. This increased their risk of falls. In contrast, students carrying 15 percent of their body weight maintained balance better.
- When putting the pack on, face the bag, bend at the knees and use both hands to check the weight. Lift with your legs. Put on one shoulder strap, then the other. Never wear the backpack on one shoulder; it should be centered in the middle of the child’s back for proper weight distribution.
- The straps should be made to fit snug, so the backpack rests against your child’s back, not too tight. When the pack has a waist strap, the student should use it for greater stability. Your child should be able to walk upright and comfortable with a backpack on and loaded. If they are forced to lean forward to carry the weight, it is overloaded.
- Roller bags are not much better. They are heavier to begin with and because the child is no longer carrying the load on their back, there is a tendency to add more things to the bag. These bags may result in forward head and upper back deviations just as severe as carrying an overloaded backpack. Additionally, the dragging of the pack may cause excessive rotation in the child’s spine through the arm they use to drag the pack. Unusual and excessive rotation of the spine can cause spinal and postural distortions later in life. At some point during the course of the day, your child will have to lift this bag, again leading to potential spinal problems.
