Kids can have backaches from lugging around the weight of books, school supplies, and personal items. Doctors and physical therapists recommend that kids carry no more than 10% to 20% of their body weight in their packs.
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The recommended “safe weight” a child should carry is 10% of his/her body weight. The average backpack is estimated between 12 and 20 pounds, or 15% to 30% of the students' body mass. Overbearing weight is linked to student back and neck strains as well as nerve damage in the neck and shoulders.
As a general rule, to prevent injury, a full backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of your child's body weight. How a student wears a backpack is often just as important as its overall weight.
Lighten the load: No matter how well-designed the backpack, less weight is always better. Use the bathroom scale to check that a pack isn't over 10% to 20% of your body weight (for example, if you weigh 120 pounds you shouldn't carry a backpack that weighs more than 12 to 24 pounds).
Even when worn properly, your student may need to lean forward to compensate for extra backpack weight. This can affect the natural curve in the lower back. Extra weight also can cause a rounding of the shoulders and an increased curve in the upper back.
Pain caused from excessive loads has gained the term “backpack syndrome.” Backpack syndrome causes headaches, neck and back pain, and fatigue. There have been studies examining the effects of carrying backpacks on one shoulder versus both shoulders. Carrying a bag on one shoulder causes significant asymmetries.
A loaded backpacking pack should not weigh more than about 20 percent of your body weight. (If you weigh 150 pounds, your pack should not exceed 30 pounds for backpacking.) A loaded day hiking pack should not weigh more than about 10 percent of your body weight.
Parents are often surprised at how much their child's backpack actually weighs. As a general rule, to prevent injury, a full backpack should weigh no more than 10 to 20 percent of your child's body weight. How a student wears a backpack is often just as important as its overall weight.
Overloaded backpacks may strain muscles and joints, cause neck pain, and can lead to headaches. Heavy backpacks can also pinch or strain nerves at points of contact.
Some studies recommend only carrying a load of 30% of your bodyweight. Others, however, have reported participants experience discomfort carrying 20% of their bodyweight when exercising for more than an hour. To avoid this when starting out, carry a backpack that's as light as 5-10% bodyweight.
The rule of thumb, as cited in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science study, says your purse should never exceed 10% of your body weight. (That means a 140-pound woman should never lug around more than 14 pounds in her bag.) Strickland recommends an even lighter threshold.
A backpack that isn't used properly can cause back problems or even injury. Here's how: By putting a heavy weight on your shoulders in the wrong way, the weight's force can pull you backward. So people who carry heavy backpacks sometimes lean forward.
Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can cause a person to lean to one side to compensate for the uneven weight.This can curve the spine. Over time, this can cause lower and upper back pain, strained shoulders and neck, and even functional scoliosis (curvature of the spine).
Backpack palsy is a rare but well-established cause of brachial plexus injury, arising as a result of heavy backpack use. We present an unusual case of backpack palsy with Horner's syndrome. Keywords: Plastic and reconstructive surgery, Accidents, injuries, Neurological injury, Peripheral nerve disease, Trauma CNS /PNS.
Although it might not be quite so heavy, some kids actually do carry around a lot of weight in their backpacks. These heavy loads place stress on the spine and shoulders of children, causing muscle strain and fatigue. For some kids the aches and pains are bad enough to seek medical attention.
Backpacks can be awfully heavy, when one factors in all the textbooks, notebooks, and school supplies. Much of the weight is the classroom-related material, but of course, some kids also bring sports equipment or musical instruments, adding pounds to an already heavy load.
It's ok if the angle of the straps is between a 30- to 60-degree angle. You are just aiming for a snug fit, without causing any pinching or creating spaces between the shoulder straps and your shoulders. If you feel like the pack is pulling you backwards, then tighten the load lifters a bit.
Tighten the straps so the pack sits tightly against the back. If the backpack seems too big or heavy, take two books out and carry them under your arm. This will help counterbalance the weight. If you are walking long distances take breaks and put the pack down.