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Backpack Safety

It used to be that carrying a heavy academic load meant a series of difficult classes. But these days, if your child is like an increasing number, he or she has become a beast of burden, carrying a heavy load of books back and forth from school.

Hauling a heavy backpack over one shoulder can cause serious postural misalignments. Common sense tells us that a heavy load, unevenly distributed, day after day, can stress a still growing spine. Again, consider the old adage "As the twig bends, so grows the tree."

Compounding these postural distortions is research indicating heavy backpacks (25% of a child’s body weight or more) impair balance and increase slips and falls. In contrast, students who carried packs weighing 15% or less of their body weight maintained their balance moderately well.

Consider these backpack safety suggestions:

1. Make sure your child’s backpack is appropriately sized.
2. Look for padded shoulder straps to avoid nerve pressure around the armpits and shoulders.
3. The maximum weight of loaded backpacks should not exceed 15% of the child’s body weight.
4. Avoid unnecessary items and balance the contents.
5. Use both shoulder straps.
6. Consult our office. We detect and correct spinal problems in children to help avoid the often difficult-to-correct problems we see in adults.