Heavy school bags hard on children

The average school bag load of middle school children is way too heavy and should be reduced for comfort and safety. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine warn that excessive pressure on the shoulder from weighty backpacks may lead to shoulder pain and an uneven backpack load may lead to low back pain in children. Based on this study the researchers had four recommendations - backpacks should be positioned high on the back, backpack straps should be over both shoulders, weight in the backpacks should be minimised and backpacks should have wide straps. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that nearly 7,500 school children are seen in emergency rooms each year due to injuries related to backpacks or book bags. With the help of ten 13-year-old students (five girls and five boys), researchers looked at the backpack weight and how it was distributed with regard to shoulder and back pain. They fitted each child's backpack with pressure sensors on the shoulder straps. The children wore standard identical backpacks first carrying 10 percent of their body weight, then 20 percent and finally 30 percent of their body weight. The researchers noted an increase in pain levels with an increase in backpack weight. Specifically, pressures exerted on the shoulder at backpack loads of 20 percent body weight were enough to reduce normal skin and muscle blood flow in that area. Children commonly carry backpack loads equal to 22 percent of their body weight. The concern for back and shoulder pain due to heavy backpacks to parents is not new. The more objective data that the public has, the more educated they become, and perhaps the more inclined to change the way children carry backpacks. The researchers also hope that their findings will encourage backpack designers and engineers to build better backpacks with wider straps to help spread the load.