With school just around the corner, children of all ages will be loading up their backpacks on a daily basis and lugging them to school, loaded up with books, notebooks, and other school items. There has been a new and disturbing trend emerging with young children complaining and suffering with back and neck pain as a result of overweight backpacks says Dr.Robert Warsak, a chiropractor in Franklin Lakes with 28 years experience. This new back pain trend isn’t surprising when you consider the disproportionate amounts of weight that students carry in their backpacks, many times carried over one shoulder or with straps carried on one arm.
Dr. Warsak offers some advice and a checklist to help parents and students get the best possible backpack and to teach students how to use them correctly.
*First, the backpack should be the correct size for the child. The biggest mistake parents make is getting a bigger backpack to carry all the students needs. The bigger the backpack, the more they will put in it and the heavier it will be. The backpack should not be wider than the child’s torso. It should also not hang more than 4 inches below the waist. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders causing them to lean forward while walking.
*The backpack should have 2 wide padded straps that are adjustable. The backpack should ALWAYS be worn with both shoulder straps. Never on one shoulder. This causes a disproportionate shift of weight to one side leading to muscle spasms, back pain and poor posture.
*The straps should be adjusted so it can fit your child’s body. It should be worn evenly centered in the middle of the back.
*The backpack ideally should have a padded back. This provides increased comfort and protects the child from being poked by sharp edges.
*A pack with several compartments helps position the contents most effectively
*When packing the backpack, pack the heaviest items closest to the body with each book getting lighter going out.
*The American Chiropractic Association recommends that a child should not carry a backpack that is more than 10% of their body weight. For example, a 100 pound child should not carry a backpack that weighs more than 10 pounds. If you have to, weigh your child with and without the backpack on to see how heavy their backpack weighs.
Dr. Warsak suggests that parents should ask their children to report any pain or any other problems resulting from carrying their backpacks back and forth from school. Symptoms and problems may not develop for a couple of weeks into the school year. These are problems that should not be ignored says Dr. Warsak. Many times, adults with neck and back problems started with the problem when they were younger carrying too heavy a backpack. Dr. Warsak stated ” I have seen kids coming in younger and younger with back pain. Some that have complained of pain for months if not years as a result of carrying a backpack that was too heavy.”
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that backpack related injuries sent more than 7,000 people to the emergency room in 2001 alone.
For more information you can contact Dr. Robert Warsak at 201.891.6065.