There are 70 percent of Americans have back pain. Although back pain is not common in kids, according to the Better Health Channel established by the Victorian (Australia) Government, also around 70 percent of Australian schoolchildren may be damaging their spines by carrying schoolbags. Here are some tips for preventing your kid from damaging their backs:

• shouldn’t weigh more than 10 per cent of the child’s weight

• should be packed properly. Pack the heaviest items so they are closest to the child’s back. Make sure that items can’t move around as they travel.

• should be carried with both straps over the shoulders.

• should have a moulded frame and/or adjustable hip strap, so that the weight of the filled backpack will rest on your child’s pelvis instead of their shoulders and spine. Look for one endorsed by an Australian professional organisation like the Australian Physiotherapy Association or the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia.

Any abnormal stress such as lifting or pushing a heavy load the wrong way, sitting or standing in an unusual posture that puts more weight on a part of the spine that’s not used to it, can cause damage to our backs. In addition, for better health, take regular walk. Walking can ease and reduce low back pain 10 to 50 percent according to recent study in The Spine Journal. You might be interested in knowing the reasons, click here to read more.

Tags: Parenting, Back Pain

Back pain - schoolbags [betterhealth.vic.gov.au]

Back pain fact file [abc.net.au]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2006 at 9:54 pm and is filed under 05-12 yrs: Schooler, Health & Safety, How-to Tips. 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.