Kid's Backpack Safety

10 Tips For Choosing Your Child's Backpack - (particularly on Halloween)

Have you ever noticed your child leaving the house for
school in the morning looking like Quasimodo?

A book bag or backpack worn improperly or excessive in
weight can ?put children at increased risk for spinal
injury? says Mary Ann Wilmarth, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, director
of the transitional doctor of physical therapy degree at
Northeastern University in Boston. According to Wilmarth,
?the most common ailment among working Americans adults is
back pain.?

With as many as 7,500 students across the country being
treated for backpack related injuries each year, according
to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, clinicians,
lawmakers and school boards alike have begun to weigh in on
the issue of backpack safety and will determine how to take
protective measures so children don?t injure themselves
carrying their books. Proposals that have been suggested
include school districts issuing separate sets of heavy
textbooks for in-school and at-home use, setting maximum
weight standards for textbooks, and e-text or online
textbook options.

"Heavy backpacks have an obstructive impact on the posture
and spinal health of children," says Dr. Jerry DeGrado,
National Backpack Safety Chairman of the Congress of
Chiropractic State Associations. Children?s bones and
joints are still developing and we don?t want them to put
excessive strain on their bodies from carrying too much
weight and walking with improper posture. Many health care
professionals see the effects of poor posture everyday in
clinical practice and if these adults had been taught
correct postural alignment when they were kids ? they would
not be in as much pain as they are now!

Teach your children how to properly ?strap-up? in the
morning to ensure a reduced risk of back pain.

Here are 10 backpack tips to help straighten out your
little ones before they end up in pain!

Pack Selection - What kind of backpack should you get for
your child?

1. Despite the ever-growing popularity of single strap
backpacks, a double-strapped backpack will actually promote
better spinal alignment through a more symmetrical
distribution of weight.

2. The more padding on the straps the better, as this will
help to relieve pressure on the shoulders and back.

3. Additional straps are a good idea as well; chest and hip
belts help transfer some of the weight from the back making
carrying around the load more of a group effort if you will.

4. As far as the actual design of the backpack goes,
consider a pack with multiple compartments to not only help
with weight distribution, but also it is easier to access
the contents of the bag.

(An aside note: a bag with reflective material makes the
wearer more visible to drivers at night.)

Pack Placement - How should your child wear a backpack?

5. The straps of the pack should be easily adjusted to
allow easy on and off; excessive twisting when installing
or removing a pack can take a toll on the back after awhile.

6. When wearing the pack, it should rest in the middle and
lower part of the back where the muscles are strongest.
When worn too low, the body will compensate by leaning
forward and taking on an improper posture, which in turn
leave muscles fatigued and more vulnerable to injuries.

Pack Stocking - How much weight is too much?

7. In order to prevent risk of injury the weight of a
backpack?s contents should not exceed 10 -15% of the
wearer?s body weight. For example, a 50-pound child should
not have a pack that is more than 5 - 7.5 pounds. It?s
pretty easy to exceed that with just a few books and a
couple of extra rocks, shoes or toys!

8. A good way to cut down on the load might be to only take
supplies that are necessary. That means before each trip,
either home or to school, checking and taking out what is
not needed.

9. When organizing items in the pack try to keep heavier
books and items closer to the back, this will ensure the
back muscles aren?t working harder than they need to.

10. If feasible, have two copies of a heavier text (one for
school, one for home), so you don?t have to carry so much.

Help your children ?take a load off? this school season by
teaching them how to think safe when it comes to their
backpacks.

If these ergonomic backpack tips and tricks are instilled
at a young age, they will become second nature to your
loved ones and hopefully help to prevent them from having
to seek out a chiropractor or massage therapist for nagging
back pain relief!

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-http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicsforchildren/a/chba
ckpacks.htm
-http://ergonomics.about.com/od/ergonomicsforchildren/ss/cbp
fitguide.htm