The habits that we establish as children can stay with us throughout our lives. In the case of our spines, the way we use and treat them when we are young can have a lasting impact on our backs and necks. With this in mind, it’s important to teach your children good posture and how to look after their backs from a young age, so that they can avoid back pain later on in life.
Adult back pain and spinal disorders may stem from childhood activities including carrying a heavily loaded backpack for twelve years or more of schooling. Many of the current bags children are using may be fashionable, but unless they allow for even distribution across the back, they can cause pain.
School can be a challenging time for children, so ensuring they are as comfortable as possible is important to their physical and mental development. According to an international study, daily backpack carrying is a frequent cause of discomfort for school children. School backpacks were felt to be heavy by 79.1% of children, to cause fatigue by 65.7%, and to cause back pain by 46.1%1.
- 1. Negrini, S., & Carabalona, R (2002). Backpacks on! Schoolchildren’s Perceptions of Load, Associations with Back Pain and Factors Determining the Load. Spine, 27(2), 187-195.