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Heavy backpacks can be a safety concern for students

Posted at 6:02 PM, Aug 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-05 21:18:31-04

Books, paper, pens, binders and even laptops add to heavy pounds put on your child's back every day.

Some students put so much weight on their back, it can cause long term effects. 

Parents say they have noticed their kid's backpack getting heavier each year.

"The backpacks seem to be getting stuffed more and more," said Dave Plummer, a parent.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that more than 14,000 children are treated for backpack related injuries annually. About 5,000 are sent to an emergency room. 

Dr. Jared Pierson is a chiropractor at The Joint. He says many children come to see him during the middle of the school year complaining of lower back and shoulder problems. 

"If they continually wear that backpack that is too heavy or is worn too high up on their shoulders their posture will begin to change," he said. "Ligaments begin to reshape if that makes sense to compensate for the weight that they are carrying."

So hear is how you wear a backpack properly.

"You want to have this center of the backpack down at the hips or the low back," said Dr. Pierson.

He says that the average backpack weighs five to six pounds and should weigh less than 10 percent of your body weight.