The back to school period is a great time for parents to check the fitting of their child’s backpack and by making a few simple changes may help prevent poor posture and long-term spinal health issues.
Dr Andrew Lawrence, President of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia (CAA), said principals have a role to play in helping students with a correct wearing of backpacks.
“Principals can recommend to parents that they purchase a suitably designed and manufactured backpack, such as the Spartan back pack,” Lawrence told The Educator.
“Schools can also have a chiropractor available on-site for adjusting the backpack, or run a short video such as the Studio 10 presentation by Dr John DeVoy.”
Lawrence said the CAA’s Straighten Up Australia app – which demonstrates good and bad posture and its effect on the spine – allows students to interact with the information on posture in various situations in a format they are familiar with and use every day.
“Principals can make sure they have straighten up App cards available and provide a short presentation to each class about how to wear the backpack and the problems with not wearing the pack properly,” he said.
“This year we launched an AR feature for school backpacks. To activate the AR feature, you will need an app card available from your CAA chiropractor. Additionally, the app has an interactive 3-minute exercise program, tips and reminders.”
A number of studies have shown that carrying overloaded and incorrectly adjusted backpacks results in spinal rotation and hunching of the middle part of the spine, which over the long term may be a significant cause of back and shoulder pain and postural distortions.
Up to 40% of school children carry more than the recommended 10% of their body weight in their backpack and at least that many do not wear their backpack in the recommended way.
Tips on how to wear a backpack correctly:
Size: make sure the backpack is appropriately sized and no wider than the child's chest.
Weight: backpacks should ideally be no heavier than 10 per cent of a student’s weight when packed. Some of the ways to keep the weight of the load down is by packing only essential items and storing unrequired items in a school locker.
Straps: both shoulder straps (preferably padded) should always be worn. Make sure to secure the sternum, waist and compression straps.
Position: the backpack shouldn't be worn any lower than the hollow of the lower back with all heavy items positioned at the base of the pack, closest to the spine.
Related stories:
Fuelling learning through healthier lifestyles
Schools have a role to play in student health
How learning environments affect student health