Backpacks Weigh On Kids' Spines

By SHERYL YOUNG as Tribune correspondent     

Tampa Tribune Newspaper                                                   

November 23, 2006

BayLife, pp. 1,6                                                                                                     

(This article does not appear here in its entirety. It has been published in print and online (URL no longer available) and copyrighted. No portion of it may be reprinted without permission. Photos and some parties' names will not appear in this version.)              

Remember the days when a boy would offer to carry his girlfriend's schoolbooks? And a girl tried to improve her posture by balancing a book on her head?

Sweet.

Nowadays, toting books can be a real pain in the neck.

The homework load is getting heavier, and so are the backpacks hauled about daily by students from preschool to law school. As a result, even young scholars are showing signs of back, shoulder and neck strain and other ailments.

The latest U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics show that approximately

10,000 children 19 and younger were treated at hospital emergency

rooms, physicians' offices and clinics for backpack-related injuries in

2005. "Between 25 [percent] and 50 percent of the kids and teens I see have

backpack-related symptoms," says Damien Rogers, a doctor of chiro-

practice who operates the Benttree Chiropractic Clinic in Tampa.

Problems Start Early

Our backs have 33 vertebrae with disks in between, and any one of those disks or vertebrae can suffer injury because of unusual pressure in various areas of the spine, Rogers says. Symptoms from backpack stress usually appear between age 7 and 10.

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics have issued warnings to parents that backpack loads deserve careful attention.

A heavy backpack can cause muscles and soft tissues to work harder, "leaving the neck, shoulders and back more vulnerable to injury," James H. Beaty, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and the association's first vice president, said in a recent statement.

The association also cites injuries children can receive when they trip over a backpack on the ground, fall while carrying the load or are hit with a heavy backpack. Also, sharp instruments such as pencils or protractors sometimes pierce book bags and cause puncture wounds.

If a child habitually slumps because of backpack weight, it can pull his or her neck forward, Rogers says. "Each inch your neck is forward from your shoulders puts an extra 20 pounds of stress on the back."

He advises parents that a child should carry no more than 10 percent to 15 percent of his or her own body weight in a backpack. "One teen girl came in with 50 pounds in her backpack," he says.

A backpack equaling 20 percent or more of a child's body weight is equivalent to a 150-pound adult carrying 30 to 60 pounds five days a week, according to Spine-health.com, a Web site on back and neck pain developed by medical professionals.

Yet, students routinely carry books, athletic gear, a change of clothes, folders and notebooks, calculators, phones, food and even laptop computers on their backs.

Rogers has been treating sisters [        ] and  [                               ] of Valrico since last school year. [          ], 10, a fifth-grader, has complained of back and shoulder pain. [             ], 8, a third-grader, has had sinus problems and headaches (that were first treated as migraines with no results).

Both have carried backpacks since the first grade, mom [                      ] says.

Although neither girl hauls sports equipment, yet, [               ] says one of her books has 514 pages. A soft-bound book that size weighs about 4 pounds, compared with Isabella's 62 pounds. That's already 7 percent of her body weight, and she usually carries three books - for history, science and math - plus notebooks, pencils and crayons.

Both say they started feeling better after two or three visits. Exams and treatments included X-rays, posture evaluation, manual adjustments, stretches to improve elasticity and physical therapy for strength.

Symptoms To Watch For

 Rogers advises parents to pay attention to complaints of nagging shoulder, back or neck pain that can't be pinpointed; general poor posture; tingling or weakness in arms and hands; and persistent headaches, sinus infections and allergies. If left untreated, these can result in curvature of the spine (scoliosis); damaged discs; breathing problems, including asthma due to compression of the rib cage; and digestive problems because of the forward slump.

Also, if the child favors one side when walking or if a belt or hem always appears crooked, he or she could be consistently carrying the pack on one shoulder instead of slipping on both straps.

Saying these symptoms definitely came from carrying a backpack can be tricky. They could be indications of other problems, including too much physical activity without stretching or a lack of movement from sitting in front of a computer or television.

If the child has been carrying a heavy backpack for a long time, chances are the symptoms are related. Since the spine is the center of the nervous system, which controls and coordinates all bodily functions, doctors say it's a good idea to have the child checked out.

Lessen The Burden

Here are some tips for choosing and wearing a backpack:

•Choose a backpack according to the child's size. It should never be broader than the wearer's back and should have adjustable straps that make it end about 2 inches above the waist.

•The backpack should be padded so pointed instruments can't poke through.

•Students should be taught to use all compartments, packing heaviest items closest to the center of the back.

•They should always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles and cause a lopsided gait that could become a habit or even permanent.

•While wearing the pack, bend from the knees, keeping the back as straight as possible.

•Remember that a backpack should weigh no more than 15 percent of the student's total body weight.

•A rolling backpack may be a solution, if there are no long staircases at the school. (Be aware, however, that pain in the pulling arm and poor posture can still be a problem.)

 Sources: American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics; Damien Rogers, Tampa doctor of chiropractic.

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