Contact Us
802 Industrial Ave., PO Box 669
Williston, VT 05495
Phone (802) 863-2272
Fax (802) 658-0823
Email: info@bisaccia.net
A complete team approach for all your chiropractic and sportsmedicine needs.
Almost 100% of children in grade school, high school, and college carry backpacks to transport books and materials. Statistics released by the American Occupational Therapy Association show that most backpacks are overloaded, unbalanced, and cause damage to the spine. A published study showed children should not carry more than 15% of their body weight in a backpack. More realistic estimates would be anywhere between 10% and 17% of body weight to be carried on a child’s spine. Some countries have even gone as far as passing laws limiting the amount of weight a teacher can make a child carry. This option may not be feasible or even necessary if parents, teachers, and especially the children are made aware of the limitations of a youth’s spine in relationship to loading.
General Guidelines for Backpack Safety: