Heavy Backpacks Effects on Back Pain: A Statistical Overview

If you take a look in any schoolyard across the united states, you are likely to see a sea of children all carrying large backpacks. That's because 79 million students in the US choose backpacks for carrying their school essentials. Backpacks are a great solution as they offer children a lot of space to carry everything they need. As a result of their spaciousness, statistics show that school children are often carrying around 15% of their own body weight on their backs. Statistics such as these are leading many scientists and parents to question the impact that heavy loads from backpacks could be having on children’s backs and spines.

There have been a number of studies that have looked into this particular question and in this article, you can find some facts that support the idea that heavy backpacks are causing lower back pain in children.

Backpacks or Back Pain - Are School Bags Really Causing Back Pain in Children?

Scientists at the University of California in San Diego were keen to find an answer to this question. Over the course of their studies, researchers concluded that a third of the children involved in the studies were experiencing pain in their lower back as a result of carrying heavy loads in their backpacks.

A different study carried out on school children in Saudi Arabia found that around 70% of children were consistently carrying backpacks that were heavier than what physicians would recommend for their size, which resulted in over 40% of children experiencing lower back pain.

How Can You Decrease The Impact of Heavy Backpacks?

As parents, there are a number of different ways you can reduce the negative effects of children carrying heavy backpacks, including:

●     Monitoring the weight of your child's backpack to make sure it weighs no more than 10% of their body weight.

●     Pack the backpack correctly by placing the heaviest items in the middle.

●     Buy a good quality school backpack or/and an ergonomic backpack that suits your child's height and body shape.

●     Consider changing your child's school bag to a smaller bag or satchel.