Backpacks pose health risk

Every college student has had to lug their heavy backpacks around campus at one time or another. Sometimes these packs can weigh an excessive 20 pounds, which puts extreme stress on students' backs. When combined, that much weight and the miles walked around campus can quite literally be backbreaking work.

Though some students might not realize it, they could be doing serious damage to their backs by not having proper support.

When a load is put in a backpack and strapped on, the upper portion of the spine is pulled back which makes the wearer hunch forward in order to bear the weight. This puts stress on the vertebrae all of the way down the back making the load feel much heavier than it should and could leave the student with aches and pains. In extreme cases, this can even cause scoliosis.

In October 1999, the American Academy of Orthopedics stated that "of more than 100 physicians surveyed, 7 percent felt that backpacks are a clinical problem for students, 58 percent have seen patients complaining of back or shoulder pain related to backpacks, 52 percent feel that backpack injury is a significant problem, and 65 percent have recommended that a patient modify the use of backpacks to improve or correct a back problem."

This survey was conducted amongst physicians from Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill., and Alfred I. DuPont Hospital located in Wilmington, Del.

Students of every age suffer the brunt of the blow due to the fact they will carry heavy backpacks for ten years or more should they choose to go to college.

In 2001, a Northeastern University study reported that "the average student has a VAS (visual analog scale) pain level of 4.3 with a high percent reporting a pain into the range of 8-9."

At least one student at Texas A&M University-Commerce was in agreement.

"My bags are so heavy that I have to have my boyfriend carry them around," freshman Natalie Patton said. "My back and shoulders hurt a lot by the end of the day if I carry them."

Companies have sprouted up that are addressing this issue and have come up with a clever solution.

A cushion of air between the wearer's back and the backpack lifts the weight away from their body and greatly reduces the feeling of weight. In addition, it removes the backward pull on the upper spine that is experienced when a normal backpack with a heavy load is worn. The spine can then stay aligned while walking to and from class instead of being bent.

According to the previously cited study from Northeastern University, "Students who wore a backpack utilizing an Air Shock Absorbing System for six weeks had a VAS pain level of 1.8, a greater than 50 percent reduction in pain."

These backpacks can be found all over the internet and in stores ranging from $30 to $150, depending on brand name and style.