Is your child's backpack a problem?

     August has arrived.  That means fall is just around the corner, and with it, the start of school.  Soon, parents will be flocking to stores to buy back-to- school supplies.  Notebooks, binders, calculators, iPads, etc., will all be thrown into backpacks.  Backpacks are certainly a convenient way to lug around all of the necessary gear for school, but they can present a health risk if several precautions are not followed.

     The first precaution to follow is to make sure the backpack isn’t too heavy.  It is recommended that the backpack not exceed 15% of the student’s body weight.  For a 50 pound child, that’s only 7-8 pounds.  It doesn’t take much to exceed that recommendation.   Even the 22.5 pounds that a 150 pound high school student could be allowed to carry can quickly be exceeded.  If the backpack is too heavy, remove the heavier items, and have your students carry them the old-fashioned way, in their arms.  Going over the weight recommendation tends to result in students hunching over and altering their posture and gait, which can lead to back and neck pain.

     To help with lugging all of the weight around, look for a backpack that has padding on the shoulder straps and on the back.  Please encourage your children to wear both straps to distribute the weight more evenly.  Also, I know it’s not a great fashion statement, but if you can convince your children to use the waist strap too, that is beneficial as well.  I understand that it is unlikely they will want to comply with that request, so do your best to help your children keep the pack light and use both straps.

     If your child complains of back pain, that is definitely a warning sign that something is wrong.  Often times we tend to ignore or dismiss such complaints because we think the pain will eventually go away and everything will be fine. The pain may go away, but that doesn’t mean that everything is fine.  Pain of any duration is a signal that something isn’t right.  If not addressed, postural changes may occur and ultimately, premature degeneration of the spine may result as well.  So please, if you children are complaining of neck or back pain, check their backpacks.  Then call us, and we will check their backs!