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September 14, 2009 - - Hudson, FL – In recognition of National Backpack Awareness Day on September 16, The Bonati Institute, the leader of advanced arthroscopic spine surgery, has developed a list of simple tips to ensure a child’s backpack is not a health hazard.

 

Each year over 5,000 school children go to emergency rooms because of injuries related to over-weighted backpacks, and in a recent study, 60% of school age children reported chronic back pain related to heavy backpacks.  

 

The use of backpacks has risen dramatically over the past ten years, with more than 40 million students in the United States now carrying them. Some studies have shown backpack usage to be greater than 90% among school-aged children ages 8-17. When the bag is overloaded, lifted incorrectly, or carried over one shoulder, the soft tissues in the back become strained. Daily repetition of these types of actions promotes incorrect posture by damaging the spinal column and creating muscular imbalance.

As a result, many complaints of back, shoulder, and neck pain have increased secondary to the use of these devices.

 

The Bonati Institute endorses the following ten tips to avoid backpack-related health problems:

1) Never let a child carry more than 15% of his or her body weight. This means a child who weighs 100 pounds shouldn’t wear a backpack heavier than 15 pounds.

2) Load heaviest items closest to the child’s back and arrange books and materials to prevent them from sliding.

5) Adjust the shoulder straps so that the pack fits snugly to the child’s back. The bottom of the pack should rest in the curve of the lower back, never more than 4” below the child’s waistline.

6) Use the waist belt, if the backpack has one, to help distribute the pack’s weight more evenly.

7) Check what your child carries to school and brings home to make sure the items are necessary to the day’s activities.

9) Choose the right size pack for your child’s back as well as one with enough room for necessary school items.

Parents can show their children proper lifting techniques of bending at the knees and lifting with the legs while putting on the backpack or taking it off. Just as important for a child is a regular exercise program to maintain strong and flexible back and trunk musculature. Prevention of an incorrectly carried backpack will lead to your child's healthy spine today and in the future.