Backpacks and Spine ( Back to school )
How Heavy Should Your Child’s Backpack Be: Why All the Concern?
Does your child complain all the time “mummy my back is hurting me”? Does he walk bent over to try and carry his backpack? Could your child’s backpack be too heavy? Do Heavy Backpacks Cause serious problems to your child?
Warning Signs You Should Notice While Your Child is Carrying his School Backpack
- Struggling to take off or put on his backpack
- He has Pain in his back when wearing the backpack
- Have numbness or tingling sensation in my shoulders.
- Has red marks on the shoulders
- Noticeable changes in Posture like ( swayback – lordosis – anterior pelvis tilting or forward head )
How Heavy Should Your Child’s Backpack Be?
Professional Weight Recommendations?
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has introduced some guidelines to help parents make sure their children avoid injury from carrying a backpack that is too heavy. A child’s backpack should weigh no more than 15% of their total body weight. That means if your child weighs 100 pounds, their backpack should weigh no more than 15 pounds.
Medical Problems Caused by Heavy Backpacks
Heavy Backpacks can cause many growth issues in children and adolescence, the musculoskeletal system is especially susceptible to injury.
Carrying a heavy backpack can cause a change in the growth of spine curvature, growth cartilage inflammation (epiphysitis), permanent posture changes, may lead further to stress fractures in the spine (spondylolysis), muscle fatigue and muscle imbalance, poor core muscles activation, neck and back pain.
So What can Parents do to Help Their Children?
Be sure your child knows and follows Proper Backpack Carrying Techniques. Parents can use a backpack with wheels for their children. Parents should monitor all the time and weigh their child’s backpack. Talk and give advice to your child about how and why it’s so important for him to keep the weight in their backpack within safe limits.
