DrOs Corner

BACKPACKS-

Over the past several years there has been a growing concern among doctors of chiropractic for children who carry increasingly heavy backpacks to and from school. It is feared that disproportionately heavy backpacks, frequently improperly carried over just one shoulder, are responsible for increasing back pain complaints in school children and teens.

According to an American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Education Sheet on backpack safety, a recent survey indicated that of children who carried a heavy backpack to school, 60% had experienced back pain as a result. Children often don’t report back pain to parents because the pain comes on gradually and they don’t recognize the pain as a potentially serious condition or even that they had no pain a few weeks prior.

The same ACA Education Sheet also points to research suggesting that the longer the child carries a backpack, the longer it takes for any spinal curvature or deformity to resolve—if indeed it ever does return to normal. The problem of back pain in children from backpacks is so significant and widespread that the California State Assembly recently passed legislation that would force school districts to develop ways of reducing the weight of students’ backpacks.

So what can a parent do to help protect their children’s developing spines?

The American Chiropractic Association offers the following tips to help prevent the needless pain that backpack misuse could cause the students in your household.

• Make sure your child’s backpack weighs no more than 10 percent of his or her bodyweight. A heavier backpack will cause your child to bend forward to support the weight on the back, rather than the shoulders.
• The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing your child to lean forward when walking.
• A backpack with individualized compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively. Heavier items should be placed nearest the body; lighter items should be placed near the top and outer compartments.
• Make sure that pointed or bulky objects are packed away from the area that will rest on your child’s back.
• Bigger is not necessarily better. The more room there is in a backpack, the more your child may carry and the heavier the backpack will be.
• Urge your child to wear both shoulder straps. Lugging the backpack around by one strap can cause the disproportionate shift of weight to one side, leading to neck pain and muscle spasms, as well as low-back pain.
• Wide, padded straps are very important. Nonpadded straps are uncomfortable and can dig into your child’s tender shoulder muscles.
• The shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack fits your child’s body. Straps that are too loose can cause the backpack to be unstable making the child work that much harder to carry the backpack.
• If the backpack is still too heavy, talk to your child’s teacher to see if your child could leave the heavy books at school and bring home only lighter hand-out materials or workbooks. Or encourage your local school district to purchase textbooks on CD-ROM.
• Although the use of rollerpacks - or backpacks on wheels - has become popular in recent years, the ACA is now recommending that they be used cautiously and on a limited basis by only those students who are not physically able to carry a backpack. Some school districts have begun banning the use of rollerpacks because they clutter hallways, resulting in dangerous trips and falls.

Chiropractic Care Can Help

Adults many times don’t consider that children might have back pain. They may not appreciate that a child’s spine is anatomically the same as an adult only smaller and thus subject to the same kinds of injury and pain as an adult spine. Treating back pain with anti-inflammatory drugs or pain medications merely covers the symptom and does not correct the cause of the pain.

If your child or teen experiences back or neck pain or discomfort, call us at 541-757-9933 and ask for a no-cost evaluation of your child’s spine. Our physicians are experienced and highly trained to diagnose and treat patients of all ages. We always use age-appropriate, very gentle treatment to restore your child’s spine to normal function. In addition, we frequently prescribe exercises designed to help children develop stronger muscles along with instruction in good nutrition, posture and sleeping habits. In addition we will instruct parents to observe their children and take note of simple things that suggest a problem that needs chiropractic attention.

Chiropractic is the only profession that focuses its attention primarily on the spine and related conditions treating patients without the use of drugs or invasive surgery.

This patient information page is a public service of Heresco Chiropractic and Associates. The information and recommendations appearing on this page are appropriate in most instances, but they are not a substitute for a diagnosis by a trained professional. For specific information concerning yours or your child’s health condition, consult your doctor of chiropractic.

Heresco Chiropractic & Associates (541) 757-9933