Heavy backpacks carry health risk for kids

Even if you’re not a parent of school-aged children, the traffic and returning road rage has signaled the beginning of a new school year.

But what may not be common knowledge, doctors say, are the risks associated with lugging heavy backpacks.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, backpack-related injuries send an estimated 5,000 children a year to emergency rooms. More than 14,000 children are treated annually for injuries.

Carrying a heavy pack is bad enough, but if a child suffers from scoliosis, a stress fracture or muscle strain, the weight can aggravate the condition or delay recovery, said Dr. David Marshall, medical director of sports medicine at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

“The fallout from this could be missing school days due to back pain, missing certain classes (physical education) and activities,” he said.

Marshall said parents should consider a second set of books for home use to avoid carrying the entire load to and from school. To help take a load off, Marshall offered these tips from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta:

• Buy a backpack with two wide, padded straps that go over the shoulders. Make sure your child uses both straps.

• Choose a backpack with a padded waist or chest belt. This distributes weight more evenly across the body. Multiple compartments also help distribute the weight.

• Your child’s pack should not be wider than his body.

• Consider choosing a backpack with a metal frame (like hikers use) or on wheels (like a flight attendant’s bag). Check with your child’s school first to see if these types of bags are allowed.

• When fully loaded, your child’s backpack should weigh less than 15 percent of his body weight. Use your bathroom scale to measure the maximum backpack load so your child knows what it should feel like.

• Heavier items should be placed closer to the back of the backpack, near the body.