By now your kids have started school again. That means early alarm clocks and heavy backpacks! Did you know heavy backpacks can injure your child's spine? Two or three textbooks and a few folders can be much too heavy for our little ones to carry.
For example, a 100 pound student carrying a 10 pound backpack is lifting 10% of his/her body weight all through the day. This load, coupled with the fact that most students are sitting in an uncomfortable hard chair or desk, can cause pain, misalignment, and even contribute to scoliosis.
What can we, as parents, do?
Two things:
1. Make sure your child utilizes his/her locker throughout the day to store most books.
2. Have your child (and your child's backpack!) examined by a chiropractor. A detailed chiropractic exam will reveal areas of the spine that need attention. Young people are very resilient. Most ailments such as misalignments or pinched nerves can be resolved in a short period of time. And scoliosis screening is always an important part of our examination process. Your child's backpack should be high and tight along the upper back and shoulders. Never let the backpack hang loosely.
I hope this blog post has enlightened you on a very important topic involving your children. As always, please call our office at (502) 491-1815 if you have any questions regarding backpacks or children and chiropractic. I would be more than happy to talk with you.
Here's to a healthy school year!
Dr. Greg Wearsch