Back Packs Break Backs

My son went back to college yesterday for spring semester. He came back from the book store with 3 packs of books. He needs five books just for his physics class. I wasn't too surprised. School start breaking the backs of kids at an early age with 10 ton text books carried in back packs. When my kids were in elementary school (10 years ago), I would see other students with backpacks on rolling wheels. They'd drag the backpacks along behind them.

A new fad?

No, the books were so heavy--even then--that the kids found it easier to use rolling back packs! The thing is, none of them seemed to be too sturdy...either that or the books were just too darn heavy!

There is absolutely no way I can lift any of my kids' backpacks...period. I can't imagine how they can carry those things around on their backs all day. When I was in high school, I didn't need any kind of pack at all. I had plenty of time to get to my locker and just take the books I needed. Now, the kids don't have that luxury--especially if their lockers aren't close to the classroom.

I've worried about what would happen to their backs at such a young age and how it might affect them later.

Backpacks A Heavy Burden for Kids
Source: HealthDay

(HealthDay News) -- Backpacks carried to and from school by the average American child are too heavy for safety and need to be reduced, warns a new report.

The University of California, San Diego-led study included five girls and five boys, aged 13, who wore identical backpacks fitted with pressure sensors in the shoulder straps. The children first carried 10 percent of their body weight in the packs, then 20 percent, and finally 30 percent of their body weight.

With each increase in weight, the children reported increased shoulder pain levels. Surface pressure was higher than the pressure threshold (30mmHg) that obstructs normal skin and muscle blood flow.

As reported in the Dec. 5 issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the study found that when the children's backpacks were loaded with 20 percent of their body weight, pressures measured 70 mmHg on the left shoulder and 110 mmHg on the right shoulder, more than double and triple the threshold for reduced blood flow.

Previous research showed that children commonly carry backpack loads of 22 percent of their bodyweight.

Strap pressure was much higher on the right side than on the left side at all weight levels, which may have been due to posture. This requires further study, the researchers said.

"The concern of heavy backpacks and back and shoulder pain to parents is not new. However, the objective data that we have published is new and important. The more objective data the public has, the more educated they become, and perhaps more inclined to change the way children carry backpacks," co-principal investigator Gita Murthy said in a prepared statement.

"Furthermore, manufacturers and designers of backpacks often try to optimize design based upon the data available in the literature. Our shoulder loading data may help designers and engineers design a wide shoulder strap, for example, that will help spread the load of the backpack," Murthy said.

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More information: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has more about backpack safety.

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I think text books weigh too much. Maybe it's time the schools go to a totally paperless environment and have the kids carry around laptops instead. They can read their text off the screens and then we just have to worry about the strain on their eyes and not their shoulders! :P