Tomorrow, September 7, 2006,  I will be taping a TV show for CTV 30 on back pack safety.  I will let you know when it airs.  Here’s some more good information:

Research is showing that more “efforts” should be directed toward educating children on proper backpack safety habits.  A study by Northeastern University (June, 01) reported that the average student has a VAS (visual analog scale) pain level of 4.3 with a high percent reporting pain in the range of 8-9, 10 being the highest.  A study by Simmons College (February, 2001) found that 55% of students carry more than the recommended guidelines of 10-15% of your body weight.  In November 1998 the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning concerning injuries related to backpacks.  They estimated that “3,300 children aged 5 to 14 were treated in emergency rooms last year for injuries related to book bags”.  “It typically puts them off balance and gives them a posture that promotes low back pain,” said Dr. Wayne Yankus of the American Academy of Pediatrics” Committee on School Health.  “A lot of kids don’t suffer it immediately, but over the long run they might.”

Do this “heavy” math:

ü       12 pounds in an average child’s backpack

ü       X 10 lifts per day

ü       120 pounds per day

ü       X 180 days per school year

ü       21,600 pounds lifted in one school year

That’s nearly 11 tons or the equivalent of six full-size automobiles!  Lots of weight for those little people.

Right now there’s nobody saying that it’s cool and smart to carry a backpack correctly.  We need to tell children at a very early age that it’s cool and smart to take care of themselves.  It could eliminate a lot of pain and grief later in life.

Hauling a heavy backpack over one shoulder everyday may provoke serious postural misalignments.  These postural imbalances often trigger a condition called vertebral subluxation.  These are dysfunctional areas in the spine where movement is restricted or bones (vertebrae) are out of alignment.  This condition can be helped through chiropractic care.  If left uncorrected this disorder predisposes patients to a myriad of ailments, such as neck and back pain, headaches and arthritis.

This month we are celebrating “Getting Health Kids Back-To-School with FREE scoliosis exams, backpack evaluations and fitting, spinal and posture exams.  Call for an appointment.