Back Talk with Lee Hazen, DC

Heavy, book-crammed backpacks are often blamed for back pain in children, but a new study suggests that their soreness and strain may result from obesity and deconditioning.

The researchers weighed 184 third graders and middle school students, along with their typical backpack loads, and asked them about back pain. Back pain in children was not higher among those who carried heavier backpacks or if carried on one shoulder. But they did find that the older kids were three times more likely to report back pain than the third graders and were also more likely to be fatter and less active.

Overall, one in three children had back pain. The leading researcher, Andrew Haig, MD, at the University of Michigan spine program stated that children don't usually carry backpacks long enough to trigger back pain. As kids got older, they watched more TV and video games, walked or rode a bike to school less often, and had higher body mass indexes".

Two Italian studies indicate the children there typically carry about 30 percent of their body weight in their backpacks. “And I am willing to bet that most kids here carry 15 or 20 pounds," says Scott Boden, M.D., spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. It's these heavier weights that are often blamed for more than 13,000 back injuries in children each year that require medical treatment.

To prevent back pain in children, it is recommended that backpack loads do not exceed 15% of total body weight and that they always be worn using both shoulder straps and not slung over one shoulder. It is also suggested that children use backpacks with wheels so they can be rolled and not hauled. When carried, a full backpack should have heavier items closer to the child's back and evenly distributed; have padded, wide straps and a back and a hip strap for heavier weights; and be worn about two inches above the waist to prevent back pain in children.

In contrast, Dr. Haig suggests that to prevent back pain in children, parents should focus more on keeping children active. Exercise squeezes and stretches the disks that act as shock absorbers for the spine, pumping more nutrition and oxygen to keep disks healthy and pain free, he says.

I would agree with both Dr. Haig, and Dr. Bowden that children are both less active and as such more prone to injury - and that today's backpacks are way to heavy for our children. However, I find that a common cause for back pain in children is an easily correctable spinal misalignment. Safe, gentle chiropractic manipulation continues to relieve children's back pain as well as prevent serious back injury when the warning signs of pain are ignored.


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Back Talk By Lee Hazen, DC Heavy, book-crammed backpacks are often blamed for back pain in children, but a new study suggests that their soreness and strain may result from obesity and deconditioning. The researchers weighed 184 third graders and middle school students, along with their typical backpack loads, and asked them about back pain. Back pain in children was not higher among those who carried heavier backpacks or if carried on one shoulder. But they did find that the older kids were three times more likely to report back pain than the third graders and were also more likely to be fatter and less active. Overall, one in three children had back pain. The leading researcher, Andrew Haig, MD, at the University of Michigan spine program stated that children don't usually carry backpacks long enough to trigger back pain. As kids got older, they watched more TV and video games, walked or rode a bike to school less often, and had higher body mass indexes". Two Italian studies indicate the children there typically carry about 30 percent of their body weight in their backpacks. “And I am willing to bet that most kids here carry 15 or 20 pounds," says Scott Boden, M.D., spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. It's these heavier weights that are often blamed for more than 13,000 back injuries in children each year that require medical treatment. To prevent back pain in children, it is recommended that backpack loads do not exceed 15% of total body weight and that they always be worn using both shoulder straps and not slung over one shoulder. It is also suggested that children use backpacks with wheels so they can be rolled and not hauled. When carried, a full backpack should have heavier items closer to the child's back and evenly distributed; have padded, wide straps and a back and a hip strap for heavier weights; and be worn about two inches above the waist to prevent back pain in children. In contrast, Dr. Haig suggests that to prevent back pain in children, parents should focus more on keeping children active. Exercise squeezes and stretches the disks that act as shock absorbers for the spine, pumping more nutrition and oxygen to keep disks healthy and pain free, he says. I would agree with both Dr. Haig, and Dr. Bowden that children are both less active and as such more prone to injury - and that today's backpacks are way to heavy for our children. However, I find that a common cause for back pain in children is an easily correctable spinal misalignment. Safe, gentle chiropractic manipulation continues to relieve children's back pain as well as prevent serious back injury when the warning signs of pain are ignored.