They used to be for carrying books and lunches. When you add portable video games, gym clothes, and designer school supplies, though, backpacks are just too heavy for most kids.
Nancy Gold does a test when she fits a child for a backpack. She takes three phone books—no small item in Schenectady, NY—and puts them in the pack. Most children tell her that's just about how much weight they carry in their backpacks every school day.
Many backpacks that appeal to children are ill-designed for the task at hand—carrying a day's worth of school books, supplies, gym clothes, and myriad kid treasures. They may have the right movie character, but none of the proper padding and support to keep children from developing chronic problems with their backs.
Weighing the Pack
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) surveyed orthopedists about back problems related to backpacks. More than 70% of those surveyed said the extra weight can lead to medical problems for kids, with muscle fatigue and strain at the top of the list. They also concluded that a backpack could injure a child if the weight of its contents add up to more than 20% of his or her body weight.
Also, researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine concluded that most children do carry backpacks that are too heavy, which can lead to should and back pain.
Most doctors recommend that a pack does not exceed 10%-15% of the child's body weight.
Having Chronic Back Pain
"The numbers of kids with back pain is becoming staggering," says Dr. Scott Bautch, president of the American Chiropractic Association's Council on Occupational Health. "Backpacks are not the only reason, but we need to be very conscious. We're seeing so much more chronic back pain in young people. It's the number one disability in this country. I see more people between 18 and 30 than any other age group with back pain."
"When I first started here five years ago, I thought a lot of what I would see would be sports-related, short-term injuries," says Hester Bourne, chief physical therapist at the University Health Center at the University of Georgia, who sees primarily 18- to 22-year-olds. "I never imagined I'd see as much chronic, ongoing low back pain."
Physicians are quick to point out a lack of scientific study linking back pain in children to overstuffed backpacks, but "anecdotally, I see an awful lot of children with back pain with a negative or normal work-up," says Dr. Robert Bruce, assistant professor and chief of pediatric orthopedic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. That means there's no disease or physical abnormality to account for the pain.
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