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Heavy backpacks place a measurable strain on the spines of children, with heavier loads causing greater spinal strain and increased back pain, reports a study in Spine, January 2010 

My husband and I started getting concerned about heavy backpacks when our son was required to carry a very heavy backpack weighted down with a year's worth of books when he was in gradeschool.  It just didn't make sense.  It's taken a long time to get the research to prove the problems.  But it's here now, and solutions need to be found -- such as eBook readers.

The next step in convincing schools to "lighten the load" is to show how expensive back pain and back care is to our society.  Maybe business and government can prevent that long term impact on healthcare costs by providing children is an alternative to heavy books.

Test Results for Children's Back Health 

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans show compression of the spinal discs and spinal curvature caused by typical school backpack loads in children, according to Dr. Timothy Neuschwander of University of California, San Diego, and colleagues.

Backpacks' Effects on Disc Height and Spinal Curve Linked to Back Pain

The study included eight children, mean age 11 years. A special upright MRI scanner was used to image the children's spines in standing position--first with an empty backpack, then with increasing weights of 9, 18, and 26 lb. These weights represented about 10, 20, and 30 percent of the children's body weight.

Two key spinal measurements changed as the backpack load increased.

• Heavier weights caused compression of the intervertebral discs, which act as a cushion between the vertebrae (bones of the spine).
  
• Especially in the lower spine, the disc height became smaller (reflecting greater disc compression) at heavier backpack weights.
• Heavier loads were also associated with increased curvature of the lower spine, either to the right or the left.
  

Half of the children had a significant spinal curve even with the 18 lb weight. Most of the children had to adjust their posture to bear the 26 lb backpack load.

As backpack weight increased, so did the amount of pain reported by the children. At the heaviest load, the average pain score was nearly five (on a ten-point scale).

Parents are increasingly concerned about the heavy backpacks their children have to carry. The new study is the first to use imaging techniques to see how backpacks affect children's spines.

More than 90 percent of U.S. children carry backpacks, typically with weights equal to 10 to 22 percent of their body weight.

Carry Backpacks on One Shoulder or Two?

The results suggest that heavy backpacks cause compression of the spinal disks and increased spinal curvature, both of which are related to back pain reported by the children. Although the children were wearing the backpack straps over both shoulders when the MRI scans were performed, the researchers note that spinal curvature could be even greater if the backpack was carried over one shoulder--as many children do.

Lower Back Pain for Children -- Through Adulthood

"Low back pain in children may be worsened by discogenic [disc-related] or postural changes," Dr. Neuschwander and colleagues write. This could have long-term implications, as children with back pain are at increased risk of having back pain as adults. The researchers call for similar studies to examine the effects of heavy backpacks in children with existing back pain.

About Spine
Recognized internationally as the leading journal in its field, Spine is an international, peer-reviewed, bi-weekly periodical that considers for publication original articles in the field of spine. It is the leading subspecialty journal for the treatment of spinal disorders. Only original papers are considered for publication with the understanding that they are contributed solely to Spine. According to the latest ISI Science Citation Impact Factor, Spine ranks highest among subspecialty orthopedic titles. Visit the journal website at www.spinejournal.com

Prevention is powerful medicine!  Some occupations rely on voice more than others, and teachers lead that list.

Teachers tend to spend more time speaking than most professionals, putting them at a greater risk for hurting their voices.

Teachers are 32 times more likely to experience voice problems, according to one study. And unlike singers or actors, teachers can't take a day off when their voices hurt.

Now a new study by the National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS) reveals how teachers use their voices at work and at home and uncovers differences between male and female teachers. Its findings will be presented at a meeting of the 2009 Acoustical Society of America (ASA).

Eric Hunter, deputy director of the NCVS, and colleagues equipped teachers with the NCVS voice dosimeter, a device which captures voicing characteristics such as pitch and loudness rather than actual speech. The dosimeter sampled their voices 33 times per second. The researchers analyzed 20 million of these samplings which were collected during waking hours over a 14 day period for each teacher.

Female teachers used their voices about 10 percent more than males when teaching and 7 percent more when not teaching.

The data also indicated that female teachers speak louder than male teachers at work.

"These results may indicate an underlying reason for female teachers' increased voice problems," writes Hunter.

All of the teachers spoke about 50 percent more when at work, at both a higher pitch and a volume (about 3 decibels louder).

Instead of resting their overworked voices at home, the teachers also spent significant amounts of time speaking outside of work.

Me thinks it's time to let the students do some of the talking!

I've picked up bits of studies over the years that report stats hinting that students have very few opportunities to speak in the classroom -- maybe it's time to create some new best practices that are good for the children's development of communication and social skills...and time to give the teacher a rest!

SOURCE: 2009 Newswise, Inc