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By KALEN CHURCHER kchurcher@leader.net
Thursday, March 20, 2003 Page: 9C
Some students sling them over one shoulder, others prefer two. After a
particularly draining day, a few may drag them on the sidewalk.
Backpacks are many students’ constant companion. But although they make it
easier to transport books, some experts say the bags can strain students’
backs and cause posture and muscle problems.
State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, plans to introduce legislation this
month directing the state Department of Education to institute regulations
minimizing backpack weight for elementary and secondary school students.
The bill is similar to one in California that proposes the state Board of
Education survey school districts to learn if they’ve addressed potential
health problems caused by heavy backpacks.
“Young children’s bodies are still developing and the vessel they carry
their books and school supplies in every day shouldn’t be the cause of severe
back problems in adulthood,” DeLuca said in a press release.
A recent study by the American Physical Therapy Association shows 55
percent of backpack-wearing students carry more than 15 percent of their body
weight, putting them at greater risk for injury.
Wyoming Valley West Middle School student Megan Stefanides, 14, wore her
backpack sagging below her waist as she walked into the Kingston school’s
nurse’s office to have her backpack weighed for a reporter. “Sometimes (the
backpack) can be heavy walking home and I have to keep the straps up high.”
The bag, containing Spanish, science and American cultures books, two
binders, a notebook and umbrella, weighed 24 pounds – 19 percent of this
eighth-grader’s 126-pound body (including some rather heavy-looking shoes).
Inside Matt Cecconi’s 14.5 pound bag – about 10.6 percent of his body
weight – were Spanish, science and algebra books, two binders and a notebook.
The students gathered the same gear they took home the day before for our
reporter. Middle School Principal David Tosh said students cannot carry bags
while in school, but may leave them in their lockers during the day.
That’s OK with Stefanides and Cecconi, who say it would be more straining
to carry books all day on their backs. Both agreed their backs or shoulders
sometime hurt, especially during mid-term and final exams.
“There’s really two solutions,” said Cecconi, 14. “Get rid of backpacks
or get rid of homework.”
Although Rich Burk’s bag was the lightest at 9 pounds – about 5.6 percent
of his body weight – he said carrying the backpack home from his bus stop can
sometimes be painful, especially if he has American cultures homework. That
book weighs 5.25 pounds.
Michele Smith, a physical therapist with Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical
Center, Plains Township, says too much improperly distributed weight may throw
off a child’s center of gravity.
“Kids that age, in preadolescence or adolescence, tend to have postural
problems.” she said. “You put that weight on the back, they end up slouching
forward.
“(Students are) not looking at the long-term effects. That’s why you have
to get to the parents.”
If children become used to walking or standing improperly, they must break
the habit to prevent future problems. According to Smith, as muscles contract
and stiffen, hunching over may become more comfortable – for awhile.
Eventually, that position will also become uncomfortable, but straightening
out will also be painful.
Ergonomically correct backpacks exist, though too much weight can void
their benefits as well, Smith said. Carrying a pack over one shoulder
restricts students from slouching but causes them to shift to one side.
“It’s fashionable for one (shoulder), but it’s easier for two,” said
Cecconi, adding comfort outweighs style.
Backpacks and book bags have been banned at the three Wilkes-Barre Area
high schools for safety reasons for three years, forcing students to carry
their books. That eliminates the weight of extraneous stuff that accumulates
in the bottom of bags, but not the real bulk.
“We have tests every day,” said Angela Kondraski, 17, outside of Coughlin
High School. “It’s never in the light (books) though, it’s always in the
heavy ones.”
Kondraski says she takes three or four books home daily but would likely
take more if she could use a backpack. On a recent day, she carried home 10
pounds of books – about 8.5 percent of her 116-pound frame.
Classmate Amber Rodola, 16, said she usually carries two hardcover books
and two notebooks. She’d also probably take more books home if she could carry
a backpack.
“I don’t know if I’d touch them,” she said, laughing, “but I’d probably
bring more home.”
Kalen Churcher, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7329.