Packing on the pounds
At last doctors secured a new excuse for the tingling sensation in your arm, and it’s not related to last night’s activities. Instead, fingers point to the backpack you lug across campus. According to Dr. Shelley Goodgold of Simmons College, arm tingling is one of many symptoms related to backpack misuse.
Aches and pains associated with heavy backpacks often localize on the neck, shoulders and upper back. Overloaded backpacks can cause balancing problems and falling, according to research presented at the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation’s meeting in 2000.
Statistics related to backpack injuries are surprising. In 2000, clinics, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms treated almost 6,000 kids for strains and sprains directly caused by backpacks, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In July 2002, the U.S. CPSC confirmed a 330 percent increase in backpack-related injuries since 1996.
As these statistics become more alarming, the medical industry expresses a growing concern. Along with parents and even the government, organizations such as the World Chiropractic Alliance and the American Physical Therapy Association work to generate better backpack awareness.
The Backpack Safety America (BSA) program educates students, parents and teachers about the hazards of incorrect backpack use and the related injuries in school-age children. It clarifies how to properly pack, lift and carry backpacks.
As the founders of the BSA indicate, “It’s not the backpack’s fault that the kids have not been given the guidelines.”
Though most college students are not five to 18-years-old, they still carry backpacks regularly. Both backpack knowledge and awareness benefit high school and college students alike.
The majority of backpack-use guidelines begin with backpack weight.
“Most people who have problems related to backpacks have upper back problems due to (an overload),” said Dr. Peter Davis of SMU Memorial Health Center and the University of Texas Southwestern/Methodist Hospitals of Dallas.
Organizations suggest people carry no more than 15 percent of their body weight in their backpack. For example, an 100-lb. person should carry no more than a 15-lb. load.
Dr. Ian K. Smith of TIME magazine suggests more frequent trips to your locker, but the last time most college students saw a locker was in high school.
“(My locker) reduces the amount of equipment I have to bring back and forth everyday,” said Stephanie Wright, a junior dance major.
Although this is not an option for all students, other suggestions help students bear the load.
Richard Silliman of the Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy Institute of Dallas, Inc. focuses on backpack placement.
“The weight should be distributed evenly,” Silliman said, explaining the importance of symmetry running left to right across the back.
Most organizations suggest putting your heaviest items closest to your back and always wearing both shoulder straps tight.
Tight shoulder straps will hold the backpack’s weight higher and balance that weight into the waist, according to Dr. Jeffery Manning of Manning Family Chiropractic in Dallas.
Manning also suggests the benefits of waist belts found on camping backpacks. He encourages using the belt to counterweight the waist.
Davis reminds students to carry one pack at a time. Purses or other bags add excessive strain on the back.
Posture is another problem, since leaning forward is the natural reaction to a heavy backpack.
“Backpack stress leads to a deviation in posture,” Manning said. “Plus, you are hunched over a desk or books the rest of the day.”
To help posture and prevent pain, stretching and strengthening the back is important. Stomach crunches prepare abdominal muscles for the backpack load.
This September, chiropractors surveyed by the BSA ranked subluxation as the top diagnosis for patients with pain caused by heavy backpacks.
Restricted movement and misaligned bones characterize these dysfunctional areas along the spine called vertebral subluxations. Ailments include headaches, neck pain and back pain. Subluxations also increase a person’s chances of osteoarthritis.
Due to the increased attention given to backpacks, some states are offering help for students.
California lawmakers gave the California Board of Education two years to create a regulation reducing backpack weight. Though the standard is not set, several solutions are being considered.
One of these solutions replaces textbooks with paperbacks. Another divides textbooks into two volumes, one per semester. Another option converts textbooks to CD-ROMs. Book publishers are pushing for schools to purchase two copies of one book for students to keep both at home and school.
Though research focused on children ages five to 18, college courses require more books, heavier books and longer walks across campus. College students might be finished growing, but backpacks place unwanted strain on the body.
Whether you are a first grader or a fifth-year senior, all students can benefit from the awareness these studies promote.
“After eliminating the cause of pain, you must immediately begin educating the patient,” said Silliman.
With all this enlightenment, one thing is certain. When you roll out of bed with an aching back, but can’t remember last night’s events, you shouldn’t be able to blame your backpack.
Back(friendly)packs
Packing on the pounds
Packing on the pounds
