Personal Injury Law

A Health-Issue Pushed to the Back

By Megan Roth

As highlighted in my previous post, smoking is the number one health concern for adolescents. And rightfully so, given the statistics. But what about the less commonly thought of health issues - like heavy backpacks?

I know, I know - you're thinking a backpack isn't a health issue, right? WRONG. Did you know approximately 80% of Americans are affected by back pain at some point in their life. Now, there's certainly a wide range of causes for these issues; however, many are caused by simple mistreatment of the body.

One form of such mistreatment is a heavy backpack. A child's backpack should weigh no more than 10-20% of their total weight (ideally right around 10%). Placing any additional weight on a one's back can be considered a sort of low-level trauma and can actually cause an individual chronic neck and back pain.

Here's why: a child's spine is composed of 33 vertebrae, which are separated by discs (aka shock absorbers). When a backpack is too heavy, it can cause the child to overarch their back and compress their spine unnaturally. And as if that's not bad enough, heavy bags can also cause circulation and nerve damage (you know that feeling when your arm falls asleep? That tingling and weakness.not good to have on a regular basis) as the result of straps digging into one's shoulders.

In fact, in 2005, over 7000 school-aged children made trips to the hospital for back pain related to improperly placed and oversized bookbags.

So what can parents do to help prevent such pain? First, purchase backpacks with thick, padded straps. (Your son or daughter may not think these bags are as cool as that one-sided hot pink bag, but he/she may thank you years down the road.) Also, pack lightly and strategically. Place the heaviest items closest to the child's back and make sure the child wears the bag so it fits tightly against his back approximately two inches above the waist. And listen to your child - if he complains because his bag is too heavy or uncomfortable, it might be time to invest in a new one.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on September 03, 2008 (boomark / email).