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Carrying a backpack that exceeds 10% of the student’s weight could cause serious health problems, such as back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as muscle contractures, poor posture (kyphosis) and even lateral deviation of the spine (scoliosis), warned the Social Health Insurance (EsSalud) in a press release.

Specialists indicate that it should not exceed 10% of the student’s weight.

In this regard, Dr. Jeanette Borja Arroyo, head of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Service of the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hospital, recommended parents to be careful with the weight and correct use of school bags to avoid health problems in their children.

The weight of the school bag should not exceed 10% of the student’s weight. In other words, if the child weighs 40 kilos, he/she should not carry more than 4 kilos».

In the same way, the specialist explained that a bad distribution of weight when using the backpack, such as always carrying it on the same side, will produce overload on a single shoulder and half of the student’s body, thus generating the alteration of the spinal column axis.

Therefore, he pointed out to parents when buying a backpack, to take into account that the width of the backpack should not be wider than the student’s shoulders and that the bottom edge of the backpack should reach about 5 cm above the waist.

He also said that the back of the backpack and the shoulder straps should be padded and have an adjustable strap at waist height, so that it is as close to the student’s back or lower back as possible.

If you choose to purchase suitcases with wheels, especially for kindergarten and elementary school children, the handle of the suitcase must be adjusted to the height of the student’s waist and the way to carry it is to push it forward with both hands and avoid dragging it with only one hand from behind.

He asked parents to be alert to any postural problems in their children and to take them to a specialist for evaluation, diagnosis and timely treatment, in order to avoid further complications for the stages of youth and adulthood.

SOURCE: DIARIO LA REPUBLICA – PERU MARCH 13, 2018