Back to School And Pain Free--Pack your Backpack Right!

(Article from Backpack Safety America)


Are you sending your child off to the first day of school with a brand new backpack slung over his or her shoulder? If you're like most parents, a new backpack was on your child's back to school shopping list. Although these bags have become as common as pencils and chalkboards in schools across America, according to chiropractors, you may want to think twice before putting you youngster on the bus with this school yard staple. New research reveals an alarming danger associated with childhood backpack use.

This research stems from the increasing number of reports of childhood back pain in recent decades. By the end of their teens, more than 50% of youths experience at least one low back pain episode (Spine 1998; 23;228-34). And new research indicates that this increase may be due, in part, to the improper use of backpacks. But you don't need to be a scientist to understand the effects of backpacks on young spines; watch children in any school yard struggle to walk while bent sideways under the weight of an overloaded backpack on one shoulder and you'll quickly realize the potential danger of this commonplace item.

But your child doesn't have to be the only "un-cool" kid without a backpack. Read on to learn how your youngster can carry a backpack and keep his or her back pain and injury free!

Backpacks Attack on Backs

How exactly does carrying a backpack affect the spine? "Common sense tells us that a heavy load, distributed improperly or unevenly day after day is indeed going to cause stress to a a growing spinal column," explains Dr Marvin T Arnsdorff, chiropractor and co-founder of the Backpack Safety America school education program. "The old adage 'as twigs bent so grows the tree' comes to mind. We are seeing a growing concern about the improper use of backpacks and the relatively scare amount of educational and preventive information available to young people."

The Consumer Product Safety Comminsion estimates that 4, 928 emergency foom visists each year result from injuries related to book bags and back carriers. Schlepping around a backpack can cause not only acute injury, but also long term damage.

Five Steps to Preventing backpack Related Injuries

• Ensure that your child's backpack is sturdy and appropriately sized. Some manufacturers offer special child sized versions for children ages 5-10. these packs wiegh less than a pound and have shorter back lengths and widths to prevent slippage.
  
• Consider more than looks when choosing a backpack. An illfitting pack can cause back pain, muscle strain, or nerve impingment. To help distribure the load, look for packs with padded shoulder straps and waist straps.
• Ensure that the weight of your child's pack does not exceed 15% of his or her body weight. Avoid overloading by prioritizing the items you child carries and eliminating unnecessary contents.
• Teach you child to pack his or her backpack by evenly distributing the contents throughout the pack

• Insist that your child never carry a backpack over one shoulder. Both shoulder straps--as well as the waist strap--should be used at all times.

Hauling a heavy backpack over one shoulder every day may provoke serious postural misalignments. Postural imbalances ofter trigger a condition called vertebral subluxation. Vertebral subluxations are dysfunctinal areas in the spine where moement is restricted or bones (vertebrai) are out of alignment. This disorder predisposes patients to a myriad of aliments such as neck and back pain, headaches, and osteoarthritis.

A Cure for the Back Pain Blues

Fortunately, there is a solution to this childhood health care condition: chiropractic care. Chiropractors are experts in spinal biomechanics and backpack safety techniques. As prevention specialists, chiropractors work to educate the community about the proper use of backpacks. in addition, doctors of chiropractic offer spinal checkups for youngsters. These checkups include a thorough postural assessment, evaluation for vertebral subluxations, and specific recommendations for injury prevention. If you're a parent, don't ignore this potential threat to your child's health. Schedule a chiropractic evaluation for your youngster today.