Back-To-School Shouldn't be a Pain in the Back

By Lucas Pernsteiner, DC

Everyone who has a mother has endured the lectures on posture; stand up straight, sit up straight, don't slouch! As much as we have rolled our eyes in annoyance and exacerbation, it turns out that mom was more right than we knew. Now you are hearing the same thing from your doctors, especially your chiropractor. So what is the big deal? The big deal is that it has to do with a lifetime of health. Poor posture obviously can cause back pain, but it affects us in ways that most of us don't even realize. Fatigue is one example. If you are not practicing good posture you are using more muscle groups to maintain that position which means you get tired quicker. Even more importantly, a slouching posture causes shallow breathing. This is the beginning of more serious problems than fatigue. Oxygen deficiency will result, causing decreased awareness, ability to concentrate and overall blood circulation possibly affecting ones academic performance. Decreased circulation and oxygen deficiency also make a person more susceptible to diseases, including cancer.

So poor posture is a serious concern for all individuals and everyone needs to be aware of what contributes to poor posture. Consequently the causes, like subluxations (what your chiropractor finds), loss of proprioception (knowing where your body is in space), weak or unbalanced muscle groups, poor eyesight, weight problems, psychological factors, and injuries, need to be addressed with the same level of seriousness as the poor posture they can cause. Although I would love to spend time on all of these, it simply isn't possible. What I do want to shed some light on is how the back pack that your child carries to and from class every day has the potential to create four of these causes.

According to a recent survey, children's backpacks are usually packed with 17-30% of a child's body weight. If you do the math that means that a 90-pound child would be carrying 15-27 pounds! For a 140 pound adult that would be 24-42 pounds! That's a lot of additional stress on the body. Your child may not be overweight at all, but the added weight of a backpack poses a serious threat to their normal spinal development and posture, resulting in back pain and altered mental performance. Backpacks also affect the normal gait cycle of the individual carrying it, which again causes a change in the normal way the body moves and adds stress. It also causes a child to be "top heavy". Although this is not a loss of proprioception, it is an alteration in the proprioception that will cause a forward lean of the head and trunk, a slouching posture. Increased risk of falls and subsequent injuries is the result of a child with an overloaded pack that creates "top heaviness" because the pack will create a center of gravity behind them (pulling them backwards). An imbalance in the muscles will also develop in a child that is carrying a bag that is either too heavy or carrying a pack only on one shoulder. This is again a cause of poor posture. Last but certainly not least is subluxation. The added weight of a backpack has been demonstrated to cause altered spinal motions which in turn causes the spine to subluxate more easily and frequently. Now coming from a chiropractic point of view, I would argue this to be by far the greatest risk to your child's health.

So don't just tell your child to stand up straight, it's just not good enough any more. Consider the backpack that your child is using and make some changes. üMake sure that your child's backpack does not exceed 10% to 15% of the child's total body weight (10% for the younger child, 15% for the older).

* Don't get your child a pack that has only one strap.
* Do buy a pack with wide "S" shaped straps that are padded and preferably one that has a built in back support or lumbar pillow and waist or chest straps.
* Require that your child wear both straps on their shoulders to distribute weight evenly.
* Pack the book bag evenly with the heavier items close to the spine.
* When lifting a bag, take the time to do it safely and correctly, i.e. with your legs.
* Have your child examined on a regular basis by a chiropractor so any potential problems will be detected early.

Do these things and take the time and effort to protect your child's health and instill good habits. They may even thank you for it some day.