Posture in children: the backpack matters

We all want the best for our children. We make sure they bring their books home, that they do their homework and that they have their backpack ready for the next day. But do we pay the same attention to their posture and the health of their back?

Overloaded backpacks, and the poor use we make of them, contribute to back problems from an early age. The school years are especially sensitive, because that is when the development of the spine is most intense.

In a test carried out in schools in Milan, the average weight of the backpack of an 11-year-old was around 10.5 kg a day, with some reaching 13.5 kg. More than a third of the children carried more than 30% of their own weight at least one day a week.

Wheeled backpacks don’t solve everything either: they weigh more in themselves, they tend to be overloaded and, when dragging them, the child usually adopts a twisted posture, leaning towards the side of the load.

Guidelines to follow

• Choose a backpack suited to the size of the child (if it goes past the lower back, it’s too big).
• Reduce the weight: it shouldn’t exceed 15% of the child’s weight.
• Use both straps, well adjusted. Carrying the backpack on a single shoulder can favour imbalances in the long term.
• When lifting it, bend the knees and load the weight onto the legs, not the back.

The spine, at these ages, is in full growth phase, with many development points that must mature harmoniously. That’s why it’s so important to care for posture and to carry out a periodic check of the spine during the growing years.

«I only have words of gratitude for having started my journey with chiropractic at El Árbol de la Vida. Very professional and attentive; I noticed improvements in every aspect of my life.» — Alessandro Malavasi