Overloaded backpacks can do serious harm

Each weekday morning, millions of kids strap on backpacks before they head to school. Is this ritual putting your child at risk for injury?

“We see that a lot,” Raymond Howard said.

Howard is regional director of rehab services for two RWJBarnabas Health facilities: Community Medical Center in Toms River and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood. Each fall he sees a dozen or more students with shoulder, back and neck pain, and sometimes headaches, caused by overloaded or improperly used backpacks.

Those ages 10-12 are the most vulnerable, Howard said, because the textbooks are getting bigger but their bodies remain underdeveloped.

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“It’s one of those things people don’t really think about,” Howard said, “but once you have a kid with an injury like this you realize, it’s something you really can avoid.”

To coincide with National School Backpack Awareness Day (Sept. 20), Howard offers five tips for staying healthy:

1. Find an appropriate backpack

“You really want one that has pads in the back, on the shoulders and in the under-arm regions, so it’s more comfortable and takes away the pressure,” Howard said. “They should have hip and chest belts. That helps to transfer some of the weight from the back and shoulders to the hips and torso.”

He also recommends backpacks with several compartments, which allows for a less concentrated distribution of items, and one with reflective material — especially for kids who walk to school or a bus stop before the sun rises.

2. Know the weight guideline.

“As a rule, the (fully packed) backpack should weigh no more than 15 percent of the child’s body weight,” Howard said.

For a 50-pound student, for example, that means a backpack and contents weighing less than eight pounds.

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Howards said his daughter Kailee, who walks to Lacey High School, carries only books the books she absolutely needs for a given day. If a text is particularly weighty, consider purchasing a second version so there is one at home and one at school, negating the need for transport.

3. Load the backpack carefully

“Try to get the heaviest items closest to their back,” Howard said. “So if they have big textbooks, the backpack is not hanging far away from the back and causing posture problems.”

4. Carry the backpack properly

“Most of the problems we see are caused by posture changes — kids bending forward or leaning to one side,” Howard said. “You really want to make sure that both straps are on. Sometimes the kids want to be cool and whip it over one side. But when both straps are on and evenly tightened, it sits better against a student’s upper back.”

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For younger students, he said, parents should guard against winching the straps too tight. He’s seen cases where that caused numbness or tingling in the arms.  

5. Be aware of problem signs

“Always look for changes in their body posture,” Howard said. “If you have a kid with great posture and they put the backpack on and it looks like they’re walking up Mount Everest with a week’s worth of supplies, that’s a problem.”

Posture problems, he said, often are followed by pain.  

“Changes in posture can lead to neck pain, back pain and sometimes even headaches,” Howard said. “You’re going to get some red marks from a backpack, but if there are excessive red marks or bruising, it’s way too heavy.”

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.