September 10, 2004

Homework hazards

Beatrice Tapia, D.C.
Special to the Times

Have you ever uttered the words, “A lot of homework won’t hurt you,” when battling with your child over school assignments? You might be wrong: your child’s backpack may be hurting his or her health. Here are facts:

- Backpack-related injuries among school-age children in America have increased 330 percent since 1996.

- Students lift and carry nearly 11 tons in their backpacks in a single school year.

- Many students have no lockers or access to their lockers to relieve the load.

- Most school districts are doing little to address this growing problem.

Texas student documents problem
Jonathan Harris, a sixth-grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Selma, Texas, researched the topic of backpack weight for his science fair project.

The purpose of his experiment was to determine if school backpacks are too heavy. The procedure included taking 31 schoolmates and weighing them and their backpacks, while asking them questions about back pain.

The results showed that 17 out of 31 had backpacks weighing more than the recommended 10 percent of their body weight. Fifteen out of 31 expressed current back pain. The conclusion of this study was that the majority of students at OLPH had school backpacks that were too heavy for them.

Backpack precautions
Please take the following precautions when using backpacks:

- Choose the right backpack—do not use an adult size backpack for a small child.

- Children should carry no more than 15 percent of their body weight inside the backpack.

- Use both shoulder straps when wearing the backpack; do not sling it over one shoulder.

- When a waist belt is present, use it.

- If you have to bend forward to carry it, it’s too heavy.

If you have questions or concerns about your posture or other related issues, contact your local chiropractor or call Advantage Chiropractic directly.

Beatrice Tapia, D.C., is the owner of Advantage Chiropractic in Evergreen. For more information, call (408) 532-1130.