Has your child complained that his or her back hurts? Back injuries are becoming more and more common amongst children, teenagers and college students because of the tremendous amounts of weight they are required to carry in backpacks, many of which are oversized or not ergonomically designed.

Even though doctors say your child’s backpack (when fully loaded) should never weigh more than 10 percent of your child’s body weight, the average child’s backpack weighs approximately 22 percent of his or her bodyweight.

The Ramifications of Carrying a Heavy Backpack

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 14,000 children are treated for backpack-related injuries each year and approximately 5,000 of those kids a year had to go to the emergency room or urgent care for treatment. While the immediate problem is obvious — back injuries, back pain — the long-term effects are even more significant. The strain and misalignment a person endures as a child can negatively affect his or her health for a lifetime, creating long-term back problems.

Preventing Back Injury

Take the following steps to protect your child from injury:

• Weigh your child’s backpack and do the math to determine what percentage of his or her body weight your child is being asked to carry each day.
• Talk to your child’s teacher about the impact of overloaded backpacks on health. Many schools insist that your child take home several books and large binders each day. Bring up the problem one-on-one with the teacher.
• Ask the teacher for a copy of some of the larger textbooks to keep at home so your child will not have to haul so much back and forth each day.
• Invest in a good backpack. It should have wide, cushioned shoulder straps that evenly distribute the weight, but it should not be wider (across) than your child is wide. Avoid oversized backpacks as the bigger backpack will encourage your child to care more weight. Small or medium-sized is better.
• Talk to your child about proper use of backpack. Adjust the straps so the backpack does not hang more than four inches below his or her waistline. Teach your child to always use both straps (instead of hauling it over one shoulder or with one arm).
• Instruct your child not to carry more items than are necessary. You may need to go through your child’s backpack each week to remove extra papers and books.

Natural Huntersville Pediatric Back Pain Treatment

If you child is experiencing back pain, chiropractic adjustments can help significantly. Gentle adjustments keep the spine properly aligned, protecting your child from injury and speeding the healing process. As a father of three children, Dr. Doyle is very careful when working with children. Pediatric adjustments are always done in a gentle manner with respect to all of the child’s needs.

Call 704-947-7272 to make an appointment. Learn more about how pediatric chiropractic care can protect your child’s back, neck and shoulders!