With increased academic focus on our young children, kids these days still struggle to shake off the fate of transporting heavy schoolbags to and from schools, exposing them to risk of permanent spinal injury at early age.
Survey by Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) has shown that 70% of children are at risk of long term spinal injury due to overloading / incorrect fitting of schoolbags.
Overloading of schoolbags can lead to neck, shoulder and back pain, muscle strain / imbalance, predisposing to development of abnormal spinal curvature such as hunched back or scoliosis. While some muscular discomfort and poor posture can be well treated, there are however few simple steps that parents can take to help protecting children from unnecessary (spinal) injuries.
Things like:
- Limiting the weight of bag to 10% of body weight
- Shoulder straps to be adjusted to ensure the bag sits firmly against the spine
- Use of waist strap
- Have a padded back
- Have separate compartments to keep weight equally distributed
- Avoid running while carrying heavy load
Reference: Australian Physiotherapy Association