Back to School time is here and Back Pack Safety is key to a successful year. Heavy backpacks in the school system are the leading cause of lower back and shoulder pain for students. This type of safety is not just limited to students, however, but for all of us in this high tech age when carrying our laptops & etc. in a backpack is the norm.
Here are some Helpful Tips on how to find the right Back Pack to prevent back injuries, nerve damage to our spines as well as maintain proper spine health:
- Choose the right size backpack for your body size: the backpack should not extend below the lower back & should take up 70% of the person’s back.
- Both shoulder straps should be distributed evenly to properly distribute the weight of the backpack
- Choose a backpack with wide well-cushioned shoulder straps and lumbar support/padding.
- Avoid swinging the backpack and make sure that both straps are on the shoulders. Our tendency is to want to carry it on only one shoulder but this is causing our spines to come out of alignment and could cause serious nerve damage, especially in children while their spine is still developing.
- When picking up your backpack from the floor, bend at the knees and use the legs as support to lift it off the ground.
- Place the heaviest items in the backpack first, keeping them closest to the body.
- Check for signs on that might indicate that the backpack is overloaded such as back pain, red marks from straps or poor posture.
- Come see us with your student(s) and let us help them understands the “why” behind the “what” of proper backpack safety before school starts!
At McKinley Chiropractic of Austin we specialize in spines!
From now until school starts, we are doing FREE backpack checks!
Please to contact us if you or your student needs your spine(s) looked at or if they need a back to school physical!