Backpack Safety

Backpacks have been known to lead to neck and back pain in kids.  Below is a list of the key steps to keeping kids pain free during the school year! The weight of the world in their backpacks.

What Symptoms Can It Produce

  • A study by The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission showed there are over 5000 visits to the ER by school aged children due to backpack injuries, and over 14,000 injuries treated annually.
  • Studies in France show that the longer a child wears a backpack, the longer it takes for a curvature or deformity of the spine to be corrected.

What to Do

  • 1) Using One Strap on the shoulder vs. two straps can create uneven weight-bearing on the mid back and shoulders.  Make sure to ALWAYS use two straps.
  • 2) Purchase backpacks that have wide straps, it will cause less tension onto the shoulders.  A wider strap will disperse the weight over the shoulders more evenly, while narrow straps tend to cause shoulder pain, especially if it is a heavier backpack. It is also beneficial is the shoulder straps have pads on them.  
  • 3) Make sure the backpack does not hang to low, you want the backpack up nice and tight against the back itself, otherwise it can create postural changes, also known as swayback posture.  It also leads to forward head posture due to weight bearing changes. Both of these types of postures are associated with higher rates of back and neck pain. The backpack should never hang more than 4 inches below the waistline.
  • 4) Do not overload the backpack with weight, make sure it does not weigh more than 5 to 10 percent of their body weight.
  • 5) Get smaller backpacks, because the less space that is available, the less space there is to put junk in!
  • 6) Also get a backpack that has adjustable straps, this way they can modify the pack to their shoulder and torso size.
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