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Heavy backpacks create problems for teenagers nationwide

United StatesWalid James Young Nashashibi, Washington International School
March 17, 2010

NEWS

According to a study conducted by Medscape, the leading cause of back pain in adolescents is strain as well as improper posture, most often resulting from excessive backpack weight.  Carrying a heavy backpack can cause chronic, low level trauma, and chronic shoulder, neck and lower back pain.  50% of all students will have experienced some form of lower back pain by the age of 18, most often resulting from the constant pressure and strain on back muscles from carrying an overly heavy backpack.  Minor back pain and chronic back tiredness resulting from a heavy load on one’s back is an indication of general wear and tear that makes a person susceptible to spinal disk herniation.

Though parents and students commonly seem to accept that carrying 20% of one’s body weight in the form of a backpack is okay, Coordinator of Health Services Jeanne Romilly said that, “even 15% is too much.”  This would be the equivalent of 20lbs. for somebody who weighs 135lbs. 

Students, however, can often carry as much as 40 lbs. potentially causing serious harm to their backs.  Excessive weight is very often a result of several textbooks and notebooks from different classes.  Though all students at WIS are provided with lockers or some place to store their belongings, students still tend to carry everything they have around in their backpacks. This could be because lockers are not always convenient to students and often create the problem of being late to class, depending on where one is located geographically on a campus.

Our school is not along in this phenomenon: a recent poll was conducted of 1000 students in the Los Angeles area on the use of their locker.  Seventy-five percent responded by saying that they did not access their lockers between classes, and 20% of that 75% did not even know their combination.  When speaking of backpacks, Ms. Romilly noted that, “it’s become just a convenience, and it is essentially the carryable locker.”  Students in essence are therefore carrying weight that they could be storing in their lockers.

Although the solution of keeping the majority of one’s belongings in a locker is not a trivial one, there are other methods that can help to seriously decrease the weight carried in one's backpack.  Always wearing a backpack over both shoulders is extremely important.  Carrying a backpack over only one shoulder, “torques your body, and even can cause scoliosis,” said Ms. Romilly, when discussing shoulder bags and the style of utilizing only one backpack strap.  Another way to decrease back pain would be by using a backpack with a waistband, which, if positioned correctly, will remove almost all of a backpack's weight from the back and place it on the more strong and muscular legs.

Though the use of a roller bag is the most uncommon way to decrease back pain, it is essentially the most successful in that it completely removes all weight from one’s back.  Ian Kaufman, an eleventh grader, was recently involved in an accident that affected his lower back.  Since the accident, Ian has been required by his physician to use a roller bag.  By carrying a regular bag, an increased amount of stress would have been placed on the fractures in his back, causing additional damage.  Prior to hurting his back, however, Ian also noted that he... “used to carry a regular bag and it was really heavy a lot of the time.  Carrying it caused me to arch my back, gave me really bad posture, and lower back pain.”  Therefore, although a roller bag is not the most popular choice, it is the most effective.

Backpack weight, which is a serious problem in much of the United States, is and has been much less of a concern at the Washington International School.  Five in every eight students at WIS access their lockers regularly between classes so as to decrease the amount of weight they must carry around throughout the day.

WIS is therefore “ahead of the game,” but can still show improvement along with other schools across the nation in limiting the amount of weight carried by students.  With greater knowledge and awareness, the number of adolescents with back pain may significantly decrease, providing for a safer and healthier future.

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