September 21, 2022 is National School Backpack Awareness Day!
School buses are back on the road and filled with kids and all their supplies. Gone are the days of a few loose notebooks and a brown bag lunch. These days children of all ages are toting insulated water bottles, Chromebooks or laptops, and all their sports gear for afterschool athletics. It doesn’t take long for that mid-sized backpack to be a major load to carry.
In honor of National School Backpack Awareness Day, now is the perfect time for your injury-prevention experts at MVPT Physical Therapy to help raise awareness! Backpack-related injuries do happen but they are avoidable, and we are here to provide you with easy solutions that can be started right away to keep your kids feeling their best this school year.
Let’s Prevent 14,000 Injuries
Did you know that more than 14,000 children in the U.S. are treated for injuries caused by backpacks each year? It’s likely that many more students suffer from pain that goes unrecognized.
Some of the common complaints include:
- Backache
- Radicular nerve symptoms such as tingling and weakness in the arms
- Neck strain
- Shoulder pain
Following backpack safety tips can ensure your child has a good school year free from backpack issues.
5 Tips for Backpack Safety
Does it Fit?
Yes, a backpack needs to fit all their stuff, but it also needs to fit their bodies! Choose a bag that is proportionate in size to your child. In fact, many times well-made bags will have age recommendations right on the tag. Why does it matter? An oversized backpack may encourage overpacking and can create a distribution of weight that can do more harm than good. What else should you look for? Broad, padded, and adjustable shoulder straps, and a waist belt or chest strap can help distribute the weight of a backpack more uniformly across the body. Pull those straps tight to keep the heaviest portion of the backpack above their waistline.
Don’t Pick It Up Like That!
How many mornings do you watch your child strain to sling the bag up from the floor to their shoulder in one swooping motion? Ouch! Backpacks are picked up many times during the day, so body mechanics training is especially important. When picking up their bags, your child should bend at their knees to reduce the strain and stress on the back. Instead of one motion from floor to shoulder, encourage them to lift the backpack to a counter or desk. From there, they can position the bag onto one shoulder, then the other before securing it in place, snug against the body.
How Heavy is Too Heavy?
Before your kids head out the door in the morning, throw that bag on your scale. A backpack should not go above 15% of a child’s body weight, otherwise, injuries may occur.
How does their bag measure up? If it’s heavy, you are not alone. In fact, about 70% of children are carrying a backpack heavy enough to cause long-term back problems!
Use Some TLC When Packing
Pack the heaviest items toward the bottom of the bag, closest to the rear of the backpack. This places the heaviest items (textbooks and laptops closest to the body, resting in the curve of the child’s low back). Then, choose wisely to narrow down the essentials as much as you can. For example, do they really need that massive 32-ounce water bottle, or could they take a smaller one and hit the hydration station between classes for a refill? And don’t forget to use all those pockets to help spread the weight across the backpack.
Clean It Out, Often
Encourage your child to visit their locker to off-load the non-essentials. If they can visit their locker mid-day, that means they can eliminate half the weight of their bag. And just like their room, they should also be diligent about cleaning out their backpack. What a great way to prepare for the week ahead, by cleaning out their bag Sunday night!
Reduce Injuries with Good Habits
Practicing good techniques of lifting and recognizing healthy back habits for your child can help reduce the risk of injuries. Your physical therapist is your family’s partner in health and is a great resource when aches or pains occur.
If your child is experiencing pain or injury that could be due to backpack use, MVPT Physical Therapy can help. Our physical therapists will evaluate your child’s injury and recommend a treatment plan to reduce pain, improve strength, and teach them techniques to keep them safe once discharged from our services and ready to conquer the rest of the school year!
Call any MVPT Physical Therapy location to schedule or complete the form below to request an appointment.
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