AS the school year commences let’s involve our children in some New Year activity resolutions. One of these might be to improve posture and prevent pain.
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School bags can be a source of pain if worn or fitted incorrectly.
Children walking or riding to school need to have the correct school bag to avoid injury, as about 70 per cent of Australian school children may suffer back pain from school.
To avoid back, neck and shoulder pain, postural changes and injuries, school bags should be backpack style, should be less than 10 per cent of the child’s body weight, as well as being appropriate for each child’s size with padded and adjusted straps over the shoulders.
The impacts of poorly fitting backpacks on children include fatigue, muscle strain, joint injury, back pain (reported by 46.1 per cent Australian children), neck and shoulder pain, lower back pain lasting into adulthood, postural changes and injuries as a result of tripping, wearing and being hit by backpacks.
Any posture changes when children are wearing backpacks, pain, pins and needles in arms/hands or legs, red marks on shoulders (especially at the front) and difficulty getting the backpack on or off are all injury warning signs.
When choosing a backpack opt for one endorsed by a professional association such as the APA and choose comfort and fit over looks.
Recommendations for backpack wear:
- Sit just above the waist; don’t hang low over the buttocks
- Sit no lower than the small of the back
- Contour snugly to the back/load carried close to the back
- Heavy items placed closest to the spine
- Items packed snugly to minimise items/load moving
- Bend knees when lifting to pick up and put on backpack or put on using a bench
Physiotherapists, with their education, training and competence are ideally suited to assess children’s backpacks and make recommendations to avoid injuries.
