Loading your Kid's Back with heavy school bag ?? watch it

The quest for knowledge and academic is weighing down on our children, quite literally. Children often carry backpacks filled with personal items, school items, and projects. Some children carry almost a quarter of their body weight over their shoulders, which is equivalent to a 80 kg man carrying a 20 kg load! With heavy load on their back, children looks like mini sherpas climbing Mount Everest. 

Consequences of faulty backpacks

1. With a heavy load, children tend to lean forward, take shorter and quicker steps, which cause problems to their posture and their joints or ligaments.
2. Lugging the backpacks around on one shoulder can cause a disproportionate shift of weight on one side, causing neck muscles to spasm, as well as lower back pain.
3. Non-padded straps are uncomfortable and can dig into your child’s shoulders.
4. Straps that are too loose can cause the backpack to dangle uncomfortably and cause spinal mal alignment and pain.

 Features of backpacks

1. Rigid spinal support that helps children to adopt good posture and puts less strain on growing spines.
2. Wide U-shaped padded straps, which help relieve pressure on back muscles.
3. Padded waist straps to distribute the weight from lower back to hip region.

Tips for comfortable and safe backpacks

• The backpack should never hang more than 4-inches below the waist line.
• Make sure that pointy or bulky objects are packed away from the area that will rest on your child’s back.
• Always place the heaviest item close to your body.
• Urge your child to wear both shoulder straps.
• The padded shoulder straps should be adjustable so that backpack should be fitted to your child’s body.
• The school bags should weigh about 10 to 15 per cent of the child’s weight and should strictly not be more than 20 per cent.
• A child with a smaller frame should have a smaller and lighter backpack and the shoulder straps should be close together to fit their narrow shoulders.
• The backpack should have individual compartments, which helps to position the contents most effectively.
• Carry only those things, which are required on that day.
• Evenly distribute the weight in your pack.

Carrying an ill-fitting backpack from school every day can cause painful back, shoulder and neck injuries for children. Faulty posture over a period of time can lead to overstretching of upper back and shortening of chest muscles causing muscular weakness. These problems can be easily dealt by increasing the muscle strength, improving the flexibility and correcting the faulty posture under the supervision and guidance of a skilled physiotherapist.