Taming Back to School Pain

The pain of going back to school can be quite literal for students who wear back packs. Findings from a new study from the University of San Diego confirm what experts have been telling us all along - that a backpack should weigh no more than 15% of the wearer's body weight.

But researchers found that weight of the back pack was only one of the contributing factors to pain. The other was the way in which that weight, called the load, was distributed across the back. In other words, how do you wear your backpack - slung over one shoulder, perhaps? Or low down on your back?

In the study, much of the pain associated with wearing a backpack was felt in the low back, rather than the shoulders. Consistently, the shoulder pain was limited to the right shoulder only. The researchers suggest that participants with shoulder pain may have a habit of raising the right shoulder, which increases the contact with the strap on that side. They warn that this type of habit could create a long term posture problem, one that comes with persistent pain.

Experts give these pointers for wearing a backpack without the pain:

• Select a backpack that has wide straps.
• The backpack should have padding both in the shoulder straps and the pack itself (on the side that makes contact with your back).
• Both straps should be worn. In other words, slinging the pack over one shoulder can result in pain.
• Tighten the straps so that the pack does not slip down toward your lower back.
• Organize the things in the pack and keep it as light as you can.
• If the pack has a waist strap, wear it.

About.com's Walking Guide, Wendy Bumgardner has some excellent pictures and information on wearing packs without pain:

• Lighten Up Your Child's Backpack
• Pain Due to Backpacks
• Right and Wrong Ways to Wear a Backpack

Related:

• Postural Pain and What To Do About It
• Causes of Poor Posture
• The Shoulder is Related to the Neck...
• What is Low Back Pain?
• What is Ergonomics?
• Desk Exercises to Help Your Back and Neck
• How to Lift Heavy Objects Safely
• How to Gently Stretch Your Neck

_Sources:
Researchers Urge Backpack Safety Over Style for Kids. Press Release. University of San Diego, California Medical School. Released August 14, 2008.
Backpack Safety. Your Orthopedic Connection. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons website. last update Oct. 2007. Accessed Aug. 2007.