Backpacks
Pack it Light, Wear it Right
Is your student walking bent over with the weight of a backpack? Do they rub the back of their neck or shoulders? Arch or rotate their head trying to ease the tension? Do they complain of tingling or weak muscles of the hands or arms?
PICK UP THEIR BACPACK AND WEIGH IT!
A loaded backpack should never weigh more then 15 % of the total body weight. So for a 100 pound student the pack should weigh only 15 pounds. Place heaviest items in the pack so they rest closest to the body and arrange all others so that they do not slid around with movement. Determine that all the items are necessary. Can one or two books be carried by hand, are the trinkets really needed. When all else fails consider a pack with wheels and retractable handle.
Select a pack with two shoulder straps that are well padded.....and wear both straps. Wearing a bag always on one shoulder can cause leaning to counter balance the weight and contribute to spinal curves, pain or discomfort. Adjust the straps to fit snuggly with the pack resting in the curve of the lower back. Use the waist belt to distribute the weight more evenly and to prevent the pack from swinging from side to side. Never allow the pack to rest more then four inches below the waistline. All of these recommendations will ease the strain placed on the neck and shoulder muscles, nerves and blood vessels.
Once at school, use the locker. Take only the books needed for two or three classes. Look at the class schedule. Where and when should there be a locker stop. Be smart. "Stop N Stash". And remember with each stop, put the books for homework in one place in the locker. Then at the end of the day. "Grab N Go".
Carrying a heavy backpack to and from school is not the problem, wearing it ALL DAY is.
~ Tantasqua Regional and Union 61 School Nurses