Study Downplays Kids Backpack Injuries

Introduction Backpacks have become the mainstay of transporting books and goods for school-aged children. Recently there has been growing concern among health care professionals, parents, and educators that backpacks are damaging the back.The issue of back pain with backpack use is controversial within the scientific literature with some studies finding no association and some finding an association.We found a group of school-aged children who presented to a pediatric orthopedic office complaining of back pain, and found that only 1 of 346 patients attributed their back pain to a book backpack. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that backpacks were associated with an estimated 688 injuries between 1999 and 2000. It is assumed in the medical andlay community that the most common injury associated with backpacks is related to the back.

Report

Person
Children 247 Children 247 Children ages between ages 6 and 18.

Place
School Chicago, IL Cincinnati's children hospital California Hospitals Physician's office Emergency rooms Home United States

Time
School Time Last Year 1999 and 2000 After schooltime

Hypothesis..

Some children get injured due to carrying heavy backpacks, but a majority of them are injured because of other injuries such as jammed fingers, being hit by a backpack or tripping over a backpack resulting in cuts, fractures and sprains to the ankle or shoulder. Injuries such as backaches may also be caused by such examples below: 1). Overloading by lugging all heavy school supplies may cause backache especially when it is done routinely (everyday). 2). Overloading may cause imbalance and strain the backache. muscles, thereby resulting in a

3). Not properly using safety devices on backpacks or carrying it improperly can strain the muscles and cause a backache. Preventions... To prevent backpack injuries, we can: 1). Educate children on how to properly stow away backpacks. 2). Enforce children to use the safety/support devices that is equipped on every backpack. 3). Install lockers in schools so children can store their textbooks. 4). Prevent children from carrying heavy backpacks that exceed 40lbs.

5). Allow wheels. According to a survey of NASS spine specialists, 31.7% of those surveyed recommend using a backpack on wheels. This type of back pack is helpful if a child is already symptomatic or if parents anticipate that he/she will be carrying loads more than 25 lbs. Questions & Answers... 1. Why do some children get injured? Some children get injured due to carrying heavy backpacks, but a majority of them are injured because of other injuries such as jammed fingers, being hit by a backpack or tripping over a backpack resulting in cuts, fractures and sprains to the ankle or shoulder. 2. Is there an association between carrying heavy backpacks and backaches? Yes, there is an association between carrying heavy backpacks and backaches. They are as follows: Overloading by lugging all heavy school supplies may cause backache especially when it is done routinely (everyday). Overloading may cause imbalance and strain the muscles, thereby resulting in a backache. Not properly using safety devices on backpacks or carrying it improperly can strain the muscles and cause a backache. 3. Is the association causal? Yes the association is causal. Backpack injuries are one of the causes of backaches. 4. Did the prevention strategy work? Not applicable. 5. Did you find anything confounding? No. 6.Reversed Time order: Does heavy backpacks causes backache or does a person who has a backache carry backpacks and then is thought that the backpack causes the injury? 7. Selection bias: There is no selection bias because the study selected children between ages 6 and 18 in many states and these children are not selected because of their religion, race or other category.