Study Finds Link Between Backpack Weight and Back Pain in Schoolchildren

A study of over 3,000 middle school children in the Inland Empire has found a link between school backpack weight and the occurance of back pain. The study, conducted by Dr. David Siambanes of the Children's Spine Foundation, was prompted by numerous concerns expressed by both parents and school nurses for schoolchildren who now, because of the removal of school lockers, are required to carry much heavier loads in their backpacks than children of previous generations. Read More...

Dr. Siambanes states that “As a member of the Medical Advisory Team of the Children's Spine Foundation I was involved in giving educational seminars to school nurses. I was routinely approached by nurses afterwards expressing their concern for the children. Parents would contact the Foundation directly expressing the same concerns and wondering what to do. We finally decided we needed to do something more than just sympathize with them and that is how the idea for the study was born.”

The study also found that girls and children who walked to and from school were more likely to report back pain. Walking to and from school was also an important factor with regard to the severity of back pain, as were older age and the way in which the backpack was worn. While this is the largest study of its kind conducted in North America, comparable studies have been conducted in both Greece and Italy and have had similar results.

So, based on the results of the study, what can parents do to decrease the chance that their children will have back pain as the result of carrying a backpack? According to Dr. Siambanes “It was thought that after the results of the study were in we would be able to tell parents that if they kept the weight of their children's backpack to a certain percentage of their child's body weight they would be safe. Unfortunately, that has turned out not to be true. There is no predictable safe zone.”

Dr. Siambanes reports that a follow-up study is in the works, with two of the four schools studied using two sets of books so children do not have to carry their schoolbooks back and forth and the other two schools utilizing rolling backpacks. In the meantime, there are some preventive measures parents can take, such as removing all non-essential items from their child's backpack, encouraging their children to wear the backpack with both shoulder straps, and providing transportation to and from school.

The complete results of the study may be found in an article, Influence of School Backpacks on Adolescent Back Pain, just published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.