Backpack safety tips every parent and student should know

Our son starts preschool this year!  We can’t believe how fast he’s growing up.  [Tears.]  We helped him pick his first backpack, even though preschoolers don’t really need to bring much back and forth to school.  It’s the excitement and idea of it, right?  Anyway, while shopping for backpacks, it came to our attention that finding an appropriately-sized backpack for a young child—preschoolers, pre-Ks, kindergarteners, and even early grade schoolers—is quite difficult.  Most of the bags are either cute little vanity bags or way too large for a child’s back.  There are very few that fall into a happy middle.  (We eventually found one, small enough for his back but still big enough to carry full-sized sheets of paper, at Pottery Barn Kids.) Well, what’s the big deal?  Is backpack safety really that important?  According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2013 more than 22,000 strains, sprains, dislocations, and fractures from backpacks were treated in hospital emergency rooms, physician’s offices, and clinics.  So, the answer is yes!  Backpack safety is really that important.

Regarding spine health and injury prevention, there are important aspects to consider when choosing and wearing a backpack for EVERY student of ANY age.

Tips for choosing the right backpack… 

1. The backpack should have two wide padded shoulder straps. Padded back panels can also cushion the load.
2. Choose the correct size. Adjust both straps so the bag is sitting snugly against the back and not gapping or hanging below the waistline.  The top of the backpack should sit below the shoulders, and the bottom should sit right at the waist.
3. Choose a backpack with reflectors. This isn’t related to spine health, but it is an important safety tip to consider.  Reflectors will make your child more visible in the dark (at night and even while outside catching the bus on early winter mornings).
4. Do NOT print (or embroider) your child’s name on any visible part of the backpack. Again, this is not a spine health tip, but it is an important safety tip (especially for young children).

Tips for packing and wearing the backpack correctly…

1. Each strap should be placed over each shoulder. As cool as it might be to wear only one strap, it definitely isn’t cool when that contributes to scoliosis.
2. Distribute the weight of the bag by using different pockets and compartments. The heavy stuff (i.e. books) should be closest to the body.  Also, use the chest strap and waist strap if the bag has them.

The recommended weight of a backpack is 10% of the child’s weight.  Attempt to lighten the load with these tips…

1. Use iPads, eBooks, and other digital technology instead of large textbooks, binders, and notebooks.
2. Only bring the absolute necessities to school. Leave older notes at home in an “archival binder,” and only bring the current notes and homework in a folder or thin notebook.
3. Use lockers at school in order to minimize the number of books being carried home. If necessary, purchase a second copy of the textbooks to keep at home.
4. Manage time well. Make sure homework is done in a timely fashion and during study hall, if possible.  Procrastinating and overloading the backpack on weekends is not a good idea.

Choosing a backpack, wearing it, and packing it correctly are all significant; however, there are other spine health and ergonomic tips that are more important.

Spine health and ergonomic tips to consider…

1. Children should know proper lifting habits. Bend at the knees and keep the spine straight when lifting backpacks up onto the back.
2. Children should know proper posture. Sitting in class all day is unavoidable, but having good posture is not.  Sit up straight, pull the shoulders back, and pull the head back so the ears are in line with the shoulders.  Focus on abdominal breathing and keeping the core muscles engaged.
3. Children should be active. Our bodies are not designed to be static, and chronic sitting is bad for the back (and the entire musculoskeletal system).  Again, sitting in class all day is unavoidable, so it’s important to be active when not in school.  Whether it’s by participating in extracurricular sports or even taking activity and stretch breaks while doing homework, exercise will help keep movement in the spinal joints, as well as make children more capable of handling the stress of a heavy backpack.

This blog post shares more tips for preventing back pain. Most of the time, any one bad backpack habit alone won’t cause a backpack-related strain, sprain, dislocation, or fracture.  It’s the combination of factors that can cause the most harm.  For example, it’s a heavy backpack combined with not wearing it properly.  Or, it’s the wrong size backpack combined with poor posture.  Or, it’s poor lifting habits combined with chronic sitting and a mostly sedentary lifestyle.  Or, it’s any of the previously listed bad habits combined with a pre-existing spinal imbalance issue.  If a child already has a pre-existing spinal imbalance issue, bad backpack habits can cause more harm to the child’s developing musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

Above all, children should have their spines and nervous systems checked for balance/imbalance and proper function/dysfunction.  Spinal and neural integrity is paramount to a healthy back, body, brain, and child.

This blog post shares more information about chiropractic care for children.

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