Despite parents’ best efforts to protect their children from getting hurt, one of the greatest sources of potential injury which often goes unnoticed is the school backpack. According to a report in NewsWise, the school bag carried by children everyday causes pain and fatigue to as many as 50 per cent of children, Health news reported.
A study conducted by the American Physical Therapy Association has found that more than 50 per cent of children surveyed carry backpacks heavier than 15 per cent of their body weight. “Children carrying this kind of weight can develop serious back pain and other problems that can require treatment,” says Avrom Gart, Medical Director at the Cedars-Sinai Institute for Spinal Disorders. “To manage the load, children sometimes arch their backs or lean forward, causing them to develop poor posture as they grow,” says Dr Gart. Wearing a backpack on one shoulder can also cause the child to lean to one side to compensate for the extra weight, resulting in an asymmetrical spine, back pain, and a strained shoulder and neck. In severe cases, children can develop a condition called “scapular winging,” when the nerve that supplies the shoulder muscle becomes pinched, causing paralysis.
Back pain is a common health problem not only amongst the grownups but equally in school going children. To reduce the burden at least in some of the schools the burden can be mitigated by allowing e-books or e-textbooks where they are so available. We are in the 21st century and laptops or iPods are common. In fact many governments plan to give laptops to the students.Many schools mistakenly believe heavy schools bags mean better learning. Hefty textbooks maybe filled with mind-challenging facts. But the truth is they're wearing down the body. Some Chiropractors like Dr. John Jevitz observes that "A back pack should weigh no more than 10 to 15 percent of body weight." According to the doctor ,for every ten pounds we put in a back pack it adds 30 to 50 pounds more pressure to the spine with every step.We should reduce the loads on the school bags and make children enjoy their learning and importantly their childhood.
Ramakrishna
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