By Jack Rogers | Chiropractor

Backpacks have long been a necessity for most of us attending school as children. Like most everyday activities, we barely give it a second thought. But what benefits would a properly fitted backpack, with the right support straps have? And conversely, how much is a poorly fitted backpack with inadequate support fixings negatively impacting our spine?

BACKPACKS AND SCHOOL

The techno-age we currently live in should have eliminated heavy backpack loads in schoolchildren – laptops have begun to replace textbooks to some degree, but in the clinic we still see an alarming amount of parents complain (with good reason) about the weight of their child’s backpack. In most developed countries, students begin schooling at approximately 5yrs and finish high school around 18yrs. This means that they are carrying a load 5 days a week for over a decade, during the time where their physical development is at its greatest.

Backpack loads of school students during school days have been suggested to range from 10% to as high as 25% of their body weight and may have a negative impact on their body. Indeed, even a cursory appraisal of current science around backpack weight vs body-mass seems to support parents’ concerns. A literature review from Bond University QLD  in 2018 found that:

“It is apparent that the wearing of school backpacks does have significant biomechanical, physiological and discomfort impacts on the wearer, especially with loads above 10% of the student’s body weight. Such impacts may include changes to posture (e.g., changes to spinal posture, lumbo-sacral angles, and thoracic kyphosis), gait (increases in plantar pressure during foot-ground contact and increased double support), increases in physical discomfort and muscle activity, and increases in breathing rate.“

In essence, heavy backpacks can change the shape of your child’s spine, the way they walk, cause discomfort and make them physically work harder just to carry that load around.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

Fortunately there are several strategies as parents we can action to help lighten school backpack loads:

• Try and limit the weight of the backpack to 10% of your child’s body weight, 15% at most.
• Ensure the backpack is worn on both shoulders.
• Properly fitted backpacks – with lumbar supports – have been shown to assist in optimising how the load is distributed across the body. As a general rule, the higher up the back the backpack sits, the better. The bottom of the backpack should sit above the waist, not below the top of the buttocks.
• Consult your child’s teacher as to what textbooks/equipment is required for the following day – avoiding excess equipment not required.
• Custom-fitting the backpack to your child. Most good backpack manufacturers include a fitting guide with the purchase of a backpack. This is an integral part of supporting your child’s frame with backpack use.
• Consult your child’s school and ask if any electronic resources are available to replace physical ones – textbooks etc.
• Consult a chiro or physio for assessment of your child’s biomechanical situation. If they’re immobile in certain parts of the spine or weak in any of their muscle groups, their body won’t be as optimal as it should be to handle the load.

If you are concerned about the impact backpacks may be having on your child, please do not hesitate to contact our practitioners for any queries or assessments required.

Perrone M, Orr R, Hing W, Milne N, Pope R. The Impact of Backpack Loads on School Children: A Critical Narrative Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Nov 12;15(11):2529. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15112529. PMID: 30424517; PMCID: PMC6267109.

Genitrini M, Dotti F, Bianca E, Ferri A. Impact of Backpacks on Ergonomics: Biomechanical and Physiological Effects: A Narrative Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 31;19(11):6737. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116737. PMID: 35682317; PMCID: PMC9180465.