How to Prevent Your Child's Backpack Related Back Pain
When sending your kids off to school, it can be difficult not to worry about them during the day. You know the time spent in school is benefiting their mental health. But how is it affecting their physical health? Nine months out of the year, your kids carry their backpacks and supplies around on their backs, and that’s putting strain on their bodies. Read on to learn how heavy backpacks could be affecting their health.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that approximately 5,000 children a year go to emergency rooms because of backpack related injuries. These injuries could be prevented if parents paid attention to the weight of their child’s bag. The most common recommendation is that parents monitor the bag and ensure that it is no more than 10-15% of their child’s body weight.
As a parent, you may know that heavy backpacks are dangerous, but you might not know how. Backpacks can affect a child’s neck, shoulders, hips, and lower back. When carrying a heavy bag, children often lean forward to compensate for the weight, causing them to curve their back and lean their head forward. This puts strain on their necks and makes it difficult for their back muscles to hold the body up. They experience pain over time as their muscles tighten and strain. Leaning causes muscles in the lower back to tighten and hips can become sore from time spent walking with the backpack. These effects can cause serious and painful damage to your child’s back over time, but properly packing their backpack can reduce the strain on their body.
At the beginning of the school year, pick a backpack for your child that is made of a lightweight material such as canvas. Avoid backpacks made of leather to eliminate unnecessary weight. The back of the backpack should be padded for additional support and backpacks with a waist belt can help with leaning and weight distribution on the body. When packing your child’s backpack, be sure to pack the heaviest items first. This will keep the heavy items close to your child’s body. Encourage your children to use both straps when carrying the backpack. Instruct them to not lean forward while walking and remind them to lift with their legs when picking up their bag.
Since your child spends most of their day at school, it can be difficult to monitor backpack weight. Keep an eye on the bag to make sure it’s not getting too heavy and remind your kid to maintain good posture. If your child is experiencing pain, seek help from a chiropractor.
Our chiropractic team of wellness doctors, Vasili Gatsinaris, DC, QME, James Kim, DC, Adam Abulghualya, DC, BS, ART and Caprice Leonard, MA, ATC specialize in chiropractic and wellness care. Our Irvine chiropractic office is located near John Wayne Airport, convenient for people living in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Santa Ana and other surrounding Orange County communities.
Let our Orange County chiropractic team make a plan and treat your injury so that you are not restricted from your active lifestyle. To learn more about our variety of services or to schedule an appointment, take advantage of our Facebook new patient special and contact us or call 949-263-9003 today.