All of you who have children in grade school and those of you who are in school currently know how heavy a backpack can be once you get all of your books loaded up. Back pain is encountered by 10-30% of children and adolescents each year and a good portion of that is suspected to be related to excessively heavy backpacks. Children and adolescents’ are still developing and bad habits or use early in life can lead to larger consequences down the line…

Here are a few tips to help your child or yourself avoid injuries and symptoms caused by heavy backpacks.
1) Always use both straps so that the weight is evenly distributed on both shoulders.
2) Be sure the bottom of the backpack rest on the beltline.
3) Pack the heaviest items in the backpack so that they are closest to the body when wearing it.
4) Do not overfill the backpack; by rule, the backpack should be no more than 15% of your child’s weight.
5) If your child doesn’t need to bring certain items back and forth between school and home, leave them out.
6) To lighten the load and help balance your child while wearing their backpack try having them carry their two biggest/heaviest books in their arms.

Utilizing these tips should help your student carry the load of their heavy backpacks safer and more comfortably.

Here are some links to other articles with helpful tips to avoid back pain in children:

6 Causes of Back Pain in Children

Back Pain in Children and Teenagers