While backpacks are a convenient way to carry books and school supplies, an overloaded and/or improperly worn backpack gets a failing grade, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Physical Therapists can assist students in making changes while carrying school items.
Students wearing backpacks improperly or ones that are too heavy are at an increased risk for spinal injury.* Postural changes, particularly excessive forward head posture, are magnified when the backpack weighs more than 15% of the student’s bodyweight. The postural imbalances are most significant with prepubescent female students.
Injury can occur when a child, in trying to adapt to a heavy load, uses faulty postures such as arching the back, bending forward, or leaning to one side. These postural adaptations can cause improper spinal alignment, which hampers the functioning of the disks that provide shock absorption. A backpack load that is too heavy also causes muscles and soft tissues to work harder, leading to strain and fatigue. This leaves the neck, shoulders, and back more vulnerable to injury.
Backpacks with wheels are a good option for younger students who do not change classes or go up and down stairs frequently, but there are precautions to use with those as well. Be sure that the extended handle is long enough so that the child is not forced to twist and bend, and that the wheels are sufficiently large so that the backpack doesn’t shake or topple.
It’s easy to underestimate the weight of a fully loaded backpack, so it may be useful to have your child pack it and then weigh it. Remember, the fully loaded backpack should never exceed 15% of their body weight. For example, if a child weighs 100 pounds, their backpack should not weigh more than 15 pounds (child’s weight x 0.15).
We hope these tips will give your child a pain-free start to the upcoming school year!
*This theory was confirmed in a study conducted by Mary Ann Wilmarth, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, director of the Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Northeastern University in Boston. Wilmarth conducted the study at a private, pre-kindergarten through 9th-grade school in Andover, Massachusetts.