|
Click
Here to see a list of previous articles
 |
Injured
by a Backpack?
|
Students use backpacks
to transport their school work as much as 80-94% of the time. Parents
are often concerned this may cause back injuries. But this is not clearly
so. Some scientific studies find no association between back pain in school
age children and their use of a backpack, while other studies do. One
of the most commonly cited statistics on backpack injuries comes from
the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (US-CPSC), which reported that
backpacks were associated with 12,688 injuries between 1999 and 2000.
Many have assumed that the vast majority of these injuries occurred as
result of wearing backpacks (and taking them off and putting them on).
Another assumption is that students' backs are the most frequently injured
body parts. Several researchers set out to study the nature of backpack
injuries by taking a very close look at details of these 12,688 backpack-related
injuries reported by the USCPSC.
Most backpack-related
injuries occur because children trip over their backpacks (28%)! Another
common reason for a backpack injury is getting hit by one (13%). Most
are hit accidentally, but backpacks have been used as weapons. Wearing
a backpack accounts for 13% of injuries. Lifting a backpack accounts for
8%. Reaching for something in a backpack, accounts for 3% of injuries.
Taking off a backpack accounts for 2% of injuries.
The three most likely
body parts to be injured are the head (22%) and the hand (14%) and the
wrist (13%). Most head injuries are related to lacerations to scalp and
face. Most hand injuries result from reaching into the backpack and puncturing
one's hand on a pencil or jamming one's fingers. Foot and shoulder injuries
are tied for fourth and fifth most common body locations to
be injured. Finally, back injuries are the sixth most common (11%), followed
by neck injuries (6%). The authors conclude that actual use of a backpack
is not exceptionally dangerous and that efforts should be directed more
to reducing potential backpack injuries rather than on backpack redesign
or restricting loads. (Wiersema BM et al: Pediatrics 2003. 111(1):163-166.)
Comment: This
data studied emergency room cases. Other evidence points to complaints
of ongoing back pain from backpacks to be relatively low as well, given
the number of children using these packs. As such, teaching children about
proper lifting and wearing of backpacks may not reduce many near-term
injuries. Nevertheless teaching proper lifting techniques now can entrench
"backsaving" habits for many years to come. -H.T.
Contributed by: 
Previous Articles:
|
