The warnings have been out for years now: heavy backpacks are NOT good for your child’s back. And, while parents may be concerned about it, not much seems to be happening in lessening the overall load that’s being carried around.
Yet another study has come out that has found that heavy backpacks compress the spinal discs and increase spinal curvature – even if the backpacks are worn properly. And when they’re worn only on one shoulder, as most kids tend to do, the damage is even worse.
The results of this study were published in a recent issue of the journal Spine.
The authors of the study say that the vast majority of students in the United States (up to 90%) carry backpacks to and from school. On average, the backpacks weigh the same as about 10% to 22% of the children’s body weight.
For this study, researchers looked at eight children by using a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. The imaged the children without their backpacks and then again. The weight of the backpacks was increased three times to 9, 18, and 26 pounds, which they say represented about 10, 20, and 30% of the children’s body weight.
The MRI images showed that as the backpack weights increased, there was more compression of the discs, which protect the vertebrae, particularly in the lower back area. The researchers also saw signficant curving of the spine, beginning with the 18 pound weight. By the time the 26 pound backpack was worn, the majority of the children had to adjust their posture to handle the weight.
Backpain was reported by the children, worsening as the load got heavier. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most excruciating pain possible and 1 being no pain, the average pain report was 5 with the heaviest backpack.
This issue is very important and both parents and school officials should be working on a way to reduce the heavy backpacks.
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Images: PhotoXpress.com, iStock.com
Post from: Blisstree