Straight “A” Backpack Posture | Chiropractor for Posture in West Omaha, NE
I know what you’re thinking. This cat looks pretty cool. And you’re right, I am cool, but not because of this terrible posture… Hi, I’m Dr. Jeremiah Sample at Family First Chiropractic. Today we’re gonna cover backpack 101 and how to have the proper posture for going back to school. Now, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons indicates that a child carrying more than 20% of their body weight in a backpack can have serious spinal problems later in life. So what we’re gonna talk about is, what’s the best way to carry this thing around?
Healthy Backpack Posture
First of all, never over just one shoulder. What that does is cause excessive strain on one side and it tends to make a hunched up tighter musculature which causes unilateral strain on the cervical spine and the upper thoracic spine. So ideally, when you wear a backpack, you want to use both straps over each shoulder. Now another thing to watch for is make sure it’s not too low. If your backpack is too low and it’s right in here on the hips when you walk, bumping it back and forth, it can lead to Sacroiliitis and problems in the lumbar spine itself. So what we want to do is get that backpack up as high on the back as possible. So rise up on the shoulders for better support that way we keep your head up right and keep your body upright and reduce fatigue in the head, neck and shoulders. Another thing we want to watch for is how do we pack our backpack. So what you want to do is ensure that all of your heavy items are as close to the top and as close to body as possible. So right now I have my backpack loaded with everything shoved down below all the books in the bottom. This is causing all that strain and making it pull even harder on the clavicle and the shoulders. So I’ll bring my larger items towards my back that way it can be supported against the spine, and easy to carry throughout the day. Over both shoulders, tightened up as high as possible. Right now the good thing to do is, before you start that school year, make sure you get your spine checked by a local chiropractor.
Now if you have any other questions or comments, please let us know and reach out to our office for more tips!
