AAJ's
Keep Our Families Safe: Consumer News For Families
Newspaper Columns
Take Back Pain Out of Back-to-School
[Column 354, September 12, 2005] | Archived
Columns
By Ken Suggs*
It's hard to believe a backpack could hurt someone. But, it's true,
going back to school can be hard on the back. According to the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year, more than 7,000 children—half
of whom are between the ages of 5 and 14—are treated in emergency
rooms for injuries related to carrying backpacks.
Why? The packs are simply too heavy.
National School Backpack Awareness Day is September 21. It's not
too late to read up on some facts that will help protect your students'
backs.
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA),
backpacks should weigh no more than 15% (or one-sixth) of a student's
body weight. That means a 100-pound student should carry a backpack
weighing no more than 15 pounds. However, articles from the medical
journal Lancet reveal that kids typically carry backpacks weighing
almost one-fourth of their body weight.
Even worse, about once a week, three out of 10 kids carry backpacks
that are one-third the student's body weight. That's a 33 pound backpack
strapped onto a 100 pound child—more than double the recommended
maximum weight.
An estimated 40 million children in the U.S. carry backpacks to school.
The AOTA recommends that, if your child uses one, ask her how she
feels when she carries it. Does her back hurt? Do her shoulders ache?
Do her arms ever tingle? Is her posture stooped? Does she have weakened
muscles? All of these problems could be attributable to a heavy backpack.
To alleviate the strain on young, developing bodies and spines:
- Place the heaviest items so that they will rest against the child's
back when he's wearing the pack and make sure they won't slide around
in the backpack as he walks.
- Check what your child is taking to and from school so that only
absolutely necessary items are carried.
- Avoid heavy organizing materials like large three-ring binders.
Try separating subjects and using lighter spiral-bound notebooks
and paper folder pockets.
- If the pack is occasionally too heavy, have the child carry a
book by hand to relieve some of the burden on his back.
- Consider buying a backpack with wheels.
When students cut down on the weight they are toting, their backs
feel better. One study of American students reported that six out
of ten students ages nine to 20 had chronic back pain related to carrying
heavy backpacks. When students carried packs weighing 15% of their
body weight or less (the recommended maximum), only two out of ten
reported pain.
Wear it Well
Wearing a backpack slung over only one shoulder defeats the purpose
of the backpack's design and it can cause spine curvature and pain.
Choose a pack with well-padded shoulder straps so that straps are
less likely to cut or dig into neck and shoulder nerves (causing that
tingling sensation mentioned above).
The pack should fit snugly on the child's back, and the bottom of
the pack should rest in the curve of the lower back. It should never
rest more than four inches below the child's waistline. A dangling
or flapping pack can pull your child backwards and strain her muscles.
If the pack has a waist belt, use it. It will help distribute the
weight of the pack.
As part of Backpack Awareness Day, events will be held across the
country in schools and elsewhere in communities to help educate parents,
students, and teachers about the negative health effects of backpacks
that are too heavy and improperly worn backpacks. For more information
and to find out if your community is participating, go to: http://www.promoteot.org/AI_BackpackAwareness.html
*Ken Suggs, president of the American Association for Justice, is a partner in the Columbia, SC, law firm of Janet, Jenner
& Suggs.
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