With school starting most children will be wearing a backpack. Properly used, they're a good accessory. However, many children wear poorly designed backpacks or overuse them, contributing to something close to a national epidemic of pediatric neck, back and muscle strains. One study with American students ages 11 to 15 years, reported that 64% experienced back pain related to heavy backpacks with 21% reporting pain persisting more than 6 months. Statistics like these prompted the American Occupational Therapy Association to create an annual national school Backpack Awareness Day the third Wednesday of each September.

This year, on September 16, 2015 many schools will make a special effort to help youngsters, parent and educators learn safety tips to stay protected from back pain throughout life.

They recommend that students carry no more than 10% of their body weight in their backpacks, and that the heaviest objects are carried closest to students' backs. They also recommend that students be taught and encouraged to pick up backpacks by bending and lifting in the knees instead of at the waist.

The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that backpacks have padded straps and a padded back, and that students always wear their packs utilizing both shoulders.

Parents should take no comfort if their child owns a rolling backpack: many don't fit standard school-sized lockers, they may often need to be carried up stairs, or carried outdoors because of uneven surfaces.

Colebrook chiropractor Lori Ramos with Coos County Chiropractic has treated children as young as age 9 for backpack related pain. After a thorough evaluation, she often treats these cases with spinal manipulation, massage and an exercise regimen, and counseling for young patients about the proper use of backpacks and admonitions about utilizing correct posture. She cautions though, that back or neck pain associated with preexisting conditions or accompanied by neurological symptoms such as numbness or tingling should be screened by a primary care physician rather than a chiropractor.

Jim Esdon, program manager of the Injury Prevention Center, Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) gives an additional caution: "Falls with a backpack on seem to be how kids get injured while wearing a backpack. That's why a lower weight backpack can help avoid your child being hurt."

Statistics would seem to agree: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that backpack-related injuries result in an estimated 5,000 yearly emergency room visits with more than 14,000 children treated annually for injuries among all providers.

►More Information

  AOTA's National School Backpack Awareness Day
  Backpack Facts: What's All the Flap About?
  AOTA's 1, 2, 3's of Basic Backpack Wearing
  Backpack Misuse Leads to Chronic Back Pain (ACA)
  ACA's Backpack Safety Checklist
  The Dangers Of Heavy Backpacks -- And How Kids Can Wear Them Safely