Over the past several weeks we’ve been getting a lot of questions from parents about backpacks, specifically if their kids were wearing them properly. It turns out that 95% of kids do not wear them ergonomically. The trend has been for kids to wear their backpacks very low which causes constant stress to their spines, particularly when they have a lot of books in them. This constant strain can lead to problems in their back and more problems in the future.

The most important thing to know about backpacks is that you want to have it as high up on your mid back as possible. This position allows your body to work with less effort in comparison to having the backpack lower. The weight of the backpack will pull your upper back downwards, so you will have to constantly fight to keep your body upright and eventually will cause irritation to the spine when worn lower.

Another trend that is happening right now is “Text Neck”, which is a problem caused when people are constantly looking down at their phones. This puts a lot of pressure on the neck (cervical spine) and the shoulders. It’s recommended that you keep your phone at eye level if you are going to be looking at it for longer periods of time, which will help ensure that you are not straining your neck. You can also do range of motion exercises and neck stretches to help counteract all the time spent looking down at your cell phone.

If you have any questions about backpacks or “text neck” feel free to ask either Dr. Ray or Dr. McKinley and we will be happy to give you some guidance.