A team of researchers decided to investigate exactly this question. They assessed the occurrence of neck and/or shoulder complaints in young people and examined relationships with type and weight of schoolbags and other risk factors.
They studied 745 students, aged 12 to 14, asking about back, neck, and/or shoulder pain and whether they suffered from 'psychosomatic' factors including headache, depression, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, skin problems, or stress.
The height and weight of the children were determined and the weight of their schoolbags calculated. Schoolbags were weighed on a day with the maximum number of lessons, before the first recess break.
Loaded up
A total of 44 per cent of the children reported neck and/or shoulder complaints and 46 per cent reported back complaints. Severe neck and/or shoulder complaints were reported in five per cent of boys and 6.5 per cent of girls. Severe back complaints were reported in 4.5 per cent of boys and 9.5 per cent of girls.
The weight of the schoolbags varied greatly, ranging between 5.4 kg to 12.9 kg. The average relative weight was 14.7 per cent of the body weight.
The most important finding of the study was that the (relative) weight of schoolbags was not related to complaints of neck and/or shoulders and back. Psychosomatic factors showed the strongest association with the occurrence of neck and/or shoulder and back complaints.
However, more than half of the children surveyed felt that their schoolbag was heavy and only a minority (less than 40 per cent) reported it as no problem.
Tripped up
The results support findings from an earlier study that also concluded backpacks do not cause back injury in schoolchildren. In the initial study, researchers discovered that the most common cause of injury was actually tripping over a backpack (28 per cent), followed by being hit by a backpack used as a weapon (13 per cent) or wearing a back pack (13 per cent).
Other injuries were attributed to backpacks falling on hands, resulting in broken bones; jammed fingers; and puncture injuries due to pencils within backpacks. Teaching children to store backpacks where no one would trip over them and not to swing them at other students as weapons, could reduce the number of injuries by up to 40 per cent!
References:
van Gent C, Dols JJCM, de Rover CM, Hira Sing RA, de Vet HCW (2003) The weight of schoolbags and the occurrence of neck, shoulder, and back pain in young adolescents Spine 28: 916-921.
Wiersma BM, Wall EJ, Foad SL (2003) Acute backpack injuries in children. Pediatrics 111: 163-166.
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