Textbooks, notebooks and a pencil box are just some of the things that may be inside your child’s backpack this school year.
But did you know carrying all that weight can actually hurt them?
Health experts say there is an increase in young patients who come to see orthopedic surgeons at the beginning of the school year due to back pain caused by overloaded backpacks.
Here are some ways to keep your child’s back pain free.
The first thing is to make sure your child uses both straps.
If your child only uses one strap, this can cause them to lean awkwardly to maintain their balance.
How the bag is packed can also cause pain.
Experts say children should carry no more than ten or 20 percent of their body weight.
Heavy things like books should be closest to the back and lighter items like notebooks or pencil box go up from.
Parent should also go through backpacks to make sure they’re not being overloaded.
If your child does develop back pain, have them rest and take a day or two off physical activity, get them to stretch and give some ibuprofen.
If the pain persists over a period of weeks, go see the doctor.
The Closed Caption version of this video can be found here:
https://sign1news.com/2019/08/19/sign1news-8-19-19/
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