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Back Pack Safety How to select a backpack

Back Pack Safety How to select a backpack. Facts about School Back Packs. "Of the 1,122 backpack users, 74% were classified as having back pain, validated by significantly poorer general health, more limited physical function, and more bodily pain." .

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Back Pack Safety How to select a backpack

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  1. Back Pack SafetyHow to select a backpack

  2. Facts about School Back Packs • "Of the 1,122 backpack users, 74% were classified as having back pain, validated by significantly poorer general health, more limited physical function, and more bodily pain." Sheir-Neiss GI, Kruse RW, Rahman T, et al. The association of backpack use and back pain in adolescents. Spine, May 1, 2003;28(9):922-930.

  3. Facts about School Back Packs • More than half of children regularly carry more than the recommended 15% of their body weight in their school backpacks. In junior high and high school some packs can weigh as much as 20 or 25 pounds.

  4. Facts About School Back Packs More than 40 million students carry school backpacks.

  5. Facts about School Back Packs • Some experts say backpacks should weigh no more than 10% of the weight of the child carrying it. For example, a child who weighs 80 pounds should not carry a backpack that weighs more than 8 pounds. • This advice comes from the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics after a recent study of middle school students that found as many as 64% were already suffering from chronic back pain as a result of back packs that were just too heavy.

  6. Facts about School Back Packs • The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that more than 4,928 children, aged 5-14 years, were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to backpacks in 1998. • These numbers do not include students who went to family physicians or chiropractors.

  7. Facts about School Back Packs • The most common serious symptom reported from backpack use is "rucksack palsy - a form of thoracic outlet syndrome." • This condition results when pressure put on the nerve in the shoulder causes numbness in the hands, muscle wasting, and in extreme cases, nerve damage.

  8. Facts about School Back Packs • Fifty eight percent of orthopedists report treating children with back or shoulder pain attributable to carrying backpacks.

  9. Facts about School Back Packs • These injuries are on the rise as schools around the country, for security reasons, remove or restrict access to lockers, forcing students to rely more heavily on backpacks to carry books and personal belongings.

  10. Facts about School Back Packs • We see more and more children complaining of headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, and upper back pain due to overloaded and ill-fitted backpacks. • The body has to compensate for the change in its center of gravity caused by the backpack's added weight. • The spine in particular can be affected as it twists and bends to reposition this added backpack weight.

  11. Steps To Prevent Backpack Related Injuries

  12. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Make sure the weight of the backpack does not exceed more than 15% of the child's body weight If the pack is causing the student to lean forward, it is too heavy. Lighten the load. If the child has trouble picking up the backpack with one hand or is straining to put it on, it is too heavy.

  13. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Avoid using backpacks that have only one strap

  14. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Ensure that children wear both straps on their shoulders to distribute weight evenly

  15. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Face the backpack before you lift it

  16. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Bend at the knees

  17. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Lift with your legs, not your back

  18. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Carefully put one shoulder strap on at a time. Never sling the pack onto one shoulder. Put your backpack on by placing it on a level surface at about waist level; then slide the backpack onto both shoulders at once. Try to avoid swinging your backpack onto your back.

  19. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Be sure to use the extra straps and belts that come with your pack

  20. Putting On The Back Pack From The Floor

  21. Putting On The Back Pack From A Higher Surface

  22. Putting On The Back Pack • Be sure to use all the straps that come with the pack

  23. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Look for signs - pain, red marks from poor straps, poor posture - indicating if a backpack fits poorly or is overloaded

  24. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • A check up with a chiropractor, who is an expert in spinal biomechanics and backpack safety, is warranted if any of these signs are present

  25. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Teach the child to pack his or her backpack by evenly distributing the contents throughout the pack, or use a backpack with shelves which will evenly distribute the load • Load heaviest items closest to the child's back.

  26. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Carry some of your heavier books in your arms, to balance the weight you are carrying.

  27. Steps to Prevent Backpack Related Injuries • Clean out extra books and supplies from your backpack regularly. Don't carry more than you need.

  28. If Your Child Complains of Pain……… • See one of the Chiropractors or other doctors at Ungerland Chiropractic for evaluation. • Our Doctors are trained to diagnose and successfully treat back pack injuries.

  29. Steps to a Healthy Back Pack Experience Step 1:ChooseRight. Tip: Bring a friend to help you measure your backpack properly

  30. Steps to a Healthy Back Pack Experience Step 2: Pack Right. Tip: If the backpack forces the wearer to move forward to carry, it's overloaded.

  31. Steps to a Healthy Back Pack Experience Step 3: Lift Right. Tip: Don't sling the backpack onto one shoulder.

  32. Steps to a Healthy Back Pack Experience Step 4: Wear Right. Tip: When the backpack has a waist strap, or other straps - use them.

  33. Steps to a Healthy Back Pack Experience • Adjust the shoulder straps so that the pack fits snugly to the child's back

  34. Selecting A Back Pack • key is to find the one that works best for your individual child and his or her needs.

  35. Selecting A Back Pack • Choose a back pack with well padded shoulder straps

  36. Scientific Studies • Air Packs

  37. http://www.airpacks.com

  38. RakGear • Published in the Journal Ergonomics • Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in shoulder, neck, and lower back comfort and overall comfort between the participants' personal packs and the experimental pack.

  39. http://www.rakgear.com/

  40. QUESTIONS?

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