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Croton Students: Be Kind To Your Backs

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - Chances are your kid will wear one from kindergarten through graduate school. The ubiquitous backpack serves as both accessory and portable locker, but lugging oversized, heavy backpacks to and from school can cause pain and injury to children's growing bodies.

According to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission study, more than 75 percent of students between the ages of 8 and 12 suffer from increasing back pain caused by hauling oversized, overloaded backpacks.

“A backpack weight should never be greater than 10 percent of the child’s weight," said Andrew M. Peretz, MD, orthopedic surgeon with Somers Orthopaedic.

In fact, improper fitting, packing and wearing are generally the culprits in backpack injuries, according to Michael R. Marks, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and president of Norwalk Hospital Physicians and Surgeons.

"The majority of backpack-related problems are muscular and affect the upper and lower back," he said. But, Marks said, worn improperly and for prolonged periods of time, ill-fitting and oversized backpacks can lead to musculoskeletal problems.

The symptoms of "backpack back" include shoulder soreness from wearing a pack on only one shoulder or from wearing one whose straps are too thin. Marks said shoulder joint problems can present themselves when straps bind across a joint with direct force. Additionally, wearing a big pack that sits too low on the body can cause bruising to the lower buttocks and upper thighs.

But not using a backpack can create its own set of problems, the experts said.

"There is just no room for those backpacks on wheels in crowded school hallways. I've treated children who have tripped over them while running through the hallways," said Marks.

The best way to combat backpack mis-fitting and wearing, said Marks, is to remember a simple rule: "Pack it right, wear it right."

Peretz advised students to put the heaviest and largest books closest to the back. Additionally, Marks suggested making sure that the well-padded straps are pulled tightly so the packs sit between the shoulder blades. The belt strap should be used to prevent the pack from bouncing back and forth.

Also, a child should be able to pick up and place the pack on his or her shoulders unassisted and should be comfortable standing erect without feeling a need to bend forward at the waist to be balanced.

Sixteen-plus years of school is a long-term relationship to have with such a critical educational accessory, so Marks suggested buying one that a child will want to use year in and year out. But, he noted, students should remember that backpacks "should be just a method to transport books. There is no reason a child should be carrying around their books all day long through school. A backpack isn't a survival kit." And a kid should survive using a backpack without risk of injury.

 

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