Back to School Back Health: 5 Tips to Help Avoid Back Pain with Those Heavy Backpacks

Head Back To School With A Healthy Back

Fall is on the way, and so are school buses and students carrying…backpacks. You might not think much about those bags full of books, pencils, crayons, and computers, but physical therapists do.

Why Backpacks Matter

Students will always have things to carry between home and school. A backpack is a great way to do that, but if they're too heavy, they can cause problems.

Research has shown that carrying a heavy backpack changes students' posture, walking speed, step length, and more. Unsurprisingly, we also know that as students walk greater distances and become more fatigued, these changes worsen.

These changes can lead to neck pain, back pain, or other musculoskeletal issues.

How Heavy Is Too Heavy?

How much weight a student can safely carry is directly affected by their weight.

Studies have shown that changes in posture and performance start to occur when the backpack weighs 10% of the student's body weight. Experts agree that students should not carry more than 15% of their body weight in a backpack.

Unfortunately, most data show that more than half of students carry more than the recommended load.

5 Tips for Parents and Students

To reduce backpack weight and help your student avoid pain, here are a few tips:

You can't control what your student needs for school. However, you can use these tips to help reduce your student's load and ensure that they carry it correctly.

If your student or you are having pain in their back, neck, or anywhere else, call us today- We can help! Our physical therapists specialize in working with active kids and adults of ALL AGES. We look forward to helping keep you and your family healthy through the whole school year.

 

References

1)      The Influence of the Weight of the Backpack on the Biomechanics of the Child and Adolescent: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis With a Meta-Regression

  1. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/pep/2023/00000035/00000002/art00007

2)      Backpack use in children. Pediatric Physical Therapy : the Official Publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association. 2002 ;14(3):122-131.

a.  https://doi.org/10.1097/00001577-200214030-00002

3)      Effects of Educational session on school backpack use among elementary school students

a.  https://www.scielo.br/j/rbfis/a/Y8XW48pPRmSrZbYBrJKPtct/?lang=en&format=html#

4)      Effect of Backpack Load Carriage on Cervical Posture in Primary Schoolchildren. 1 Jan. 2012 : 99 – 108.

a.  https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor01289

Articles/Content:

1)      3 Tips for Backpack Safety

a. https://www.choosept.com/health-tips/3-tips-backpack-safety

2)      Backpack Tips from a Pediatric Physical Therapist

a.  https://www.highbarhealth.com/blog/backpack-tips-from-a-pediatric-physical-therapist

3)      Is your child's backpack making the grade?

  1. http://www.alternatives4children.org/news/pdfs/PT%20RESOURCES%202020/Children%20and%20Backpacks.pdf