NJ chiropractor offers back-to-school backpack tips to prevent injury

🎒 One NJ chiropractor offers backpack safety tips as the school year is set to begin

🎒 Follow the green-yellow-red rule to prevent back and neck injuries

🎒 Make use of all the backpack's compartments

Back to school will be here before you know it. Have you gotten a jump start on purchasing new school supplies?

Through Sept. 4, dozens of back-to-school items will be exempt from New Jersey’s sales tax. For the second year, the state’s 6.625% sales tax will be waived on selected items from pens, to computers, to sporting equipment, and even backpacks.

When purchasing a new backpack for your student, parents should look for one that is sturdy, has two padded shoulder straps, a padded back, and multiple compartments, said Dr. Jeannine Baer, private chiropractic physician in Sterling, and member of The Association of New Jersey Chiropractors.

She said to avoid purchasing backpacks with wheels because they can be a safety hazard on stairs and in crowded hallways in the school. Also, avoid buying messenger or crossbody bags because she said they won’t evenly distribute the weight of the backpack across the body.

What is the proper way to carry a backpack?

“The correct way to carry the backpack is absolutely, 100%, non-negotiable, it should be worn on both shoulders. Two shoulders. Two straps,” Baer said.

Generationally, she thinks students are more keen to wearing backpacks on both shoulders, and that’s a good thing, she added.

But slinging the backpack over one shoulder might look cool, but it’s a recipe for future back and neck injuries and muscle strain.

What are some of the commonly seen injuries related to a heavy backpack?

If a backpack is too heavy or not being carried properly, it can lead to many injuries, some of which may be long-term, Baer said.

The most common injuries that occur when a backpack is too heavy are back and neck injuries, and muscular soreness. Rare but serious compression injuries can occur.
“When thin, unpadded straps press down on the shoulders and the nerves in that area, it can cause pain to radiate down into the arms or into the hands,” she said.

How should a backpack be properly packed?

In order to keep a backpack from becoming so heavy, it needs to be packed the proper way.

Pack the heaviest items toward the spine of the back of the backpack, Baer said. These include items like laptops, binders, and textbooks.

Be sure to pack sharp, pointy objects like pencils, pens, compasses, and protractors away from the body in the smaller, front compartments.

“You want to use all the compartments. Separate the items out and that will distribute the load more evenly, it will reduce back strain, and prevent puncture injuries,” Baer said.

How do you know if a backpack is too heavy?

Dr. Baer follows the green-yellow-red zone rule to test the heaviness of a backpack.

Green: Weigh the backpack. Then, weigh the child. If the backpack weighs less than 10 percent of the child’s body weight, then no action is required. Green means “good to go,” she said.

Yellow: This is the warning zone. If the backpack weighs between 10 and 15 percent of the child’s body weight, it’s time to clear out any unnecessary items. Make sure the items that are in there are packed properly and that the backpack is resting on both shoulders and not too far below the belt line.

Red: This zone means the backpack weighs more than 15 percent of that child’s body weight. That indicates the backpack is super heavy and needs to be re-packed to prevent any injuries. Most backpacks weigh greater than 15 percent of a child’s body weight, she said. So, it’s very important to lighten that load and repack. This might mean a child may have to carry some books in their arms, instead.

Backpacks act like lockers these days, Baer said. Oftentimes, especially with high school kids, they don’t have time to go to their lockers in between classes, so they shove everything in their backpacks.

She said backpacks should ideally be checked weekly for anything that may be unnecessarily weighing them down, like extra change, notebooks, papers, and half-drunken water bottles.

“A big takeaway for parents to remember is that if you’re following these recommendations, we’re going to be avoiding injury, muscular pain, neck pain, back pain with those heavy backpacks,” Baer said.

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