Family Back & Neck Care Centre

One of the fundamental pieces of any back to school ensemble is, of course, the backpack, and although they’re practical, backpacks are a leading cause of back and shoulder pain for millions of children and adolescents. We offer parents good chiropractic advice on preventing unnecessary backpack pain and injuries. Please review the following checklist:

Is the backpack the correct size for your child? The backpack should never be wider or longer than your child’s torso, and the pack should not hang more than 4 inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing your child to lean forward when walking.

Does the backpack have two wide, padded shoulder straps? Non-padded straps are not only uncomfortable, but also they can place unnecessary pressure on the neck and shoulder muscles.

Does your child use both straps? Lugging a heavy backpack by one strap can cause a disproportionate shift of weight to one side, leading to neck and muscle spasms, low-back pain, and poor posture.

Click here to read the full article, where you’ll find more tips on how to safely carry a backpack, without putting your body at risk.

For Family Wellness,

Dr. Charles Maurer

Tags: chiropractic Springfield MO, chiropractor Springfield MO, Springfield MO chiropractic, Springfield MO chiropractor

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 10:26 am and is filed under Health Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.