Backpacks
shown to cause back injury, pain
By
Kate Crofts
Daily Lobo
ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M. (U-Wire) -- University of New Mexico
students returned to class this semester
with the weight of their academic choices
not on their shoulders, but on their backs.
Marvin
Arnsdorff, co-founder of "Backpack
Safety America," researched the health
effects of backpacks, and his findings may
help explain the pain suffered by students.
"A
heavy load, distributed improperly or unevenly,
day after day, is indeed going to cause
stress to a growing spinal column,"
Arnsdorff said.
Estimates
published by Arnsdorff indicate 7,277 emergency
room visits each year are the result of
backpack-related injuries.
"That
is the beginning of an epidemic, one that
will cause serious damage to a child's health
for a lifetime," Arnsdorff said.
He
said the epidemic of back problems is already
on the rise --backpack-related injuries
are up 330 percent since 1996.
George
Stribling, of Stribling Chiropractic in
Albuquerque, said UNM students are feeling
the weight.
"I
see lots of students who come over here,"
Stribling said. "I see somewhere between
five and 20 students a week."
Stribling
said while backpacks were not the sole reason
for students' pain, "heavy books loaded
improperly into a backpack definitely contribute
to back pain."
Nicholas
Wheeler, a UNM sophomore, said he has found
his daily textbook load to be heavy, but
the weight was more of an issue when he
was in high school.
"When
I was younger it was a much bigger problem
because the books weighed the same but I
weighed a lot less," Wheeler said.
According
to Arnsdorff's research, as a safety precaution
students should never carry packs exceeding
15 percent of their body weight.
Stribling
also has tips for students looking to reduce
the risk of incurring back pain.
"Students
should try to keep their backpacks fitted
properly," he said. "Try to keep
the bulk of the weight higher, rather than
having it drag down low. Keep the pack close
to the body and use the chest strap."
For
students already experiencing pain as a
result of their backpacks, there are several
options, and chiropractors aren't the only
one, Stribling said.
"There
are other methods - massage therapy, acupuncture
-- whatever the student prefers," he
said
The
UNM Student Health Center offers options
such as physical therapy and massage therapy.
There
is no reason, given the proper information,
that a student should suffer under the weight
of their backpack, Arnsdorff said.
"Backpacks
themselves can do no damage. Using them
improperly can," his Web site states.
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