ATLANTA - Even if you're not a parent of school-aged children, the traffic and returning road rage have signaled the beginning of a new school year.
But what may not be common knowledge, even to parents, doctors say, are the risks associated with lugging around heavy backpacks.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, backpack-related injuries send an estimated 5,000 children a year to emergency rooms. More than 14,000 children are treated annually for injuries.
Carrying a heavy backpack is bad enough, but if a child also suffers from scoliosis, a stress fracture, or muscle strain, the weight can aggravate the condition or delay recovery, said David Marshall, medical director of sports medicine at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Marshall said parents should consider a second set of books for home use to avoid the lugging. And a visit to the doctor to evaluate children for core weakness, tight back muscles, and poor posture might be in order.
The risks associated with heavy backpacks have long been a concern for parents like Suzanne Schaefer and Diane Crowell, who suggested her daughter bring home only the books she needs to complete assignments.
Because she needed all of them, they compromised. Crowell purchased a rolling bag. But rolling bags also pose a safety risk, since students have to navigate stairs, said Schaefer, mother of an elementary- and a middle-school student.
Schaefer said she worries about both having to carry so many books but particularly about her son, Matthew, because he is so small.
"The books probably weigh as much as he does, but he has to bring them home every day," she said.
To help take a load off, Marshall offered these tips:
Buy a backpack with two wide, padded straps that go over the shoulders. Make sure your child uses both straps.
Choose a backpack with a padded waist or chest belt. This distributes weight more evenly across the body. Multiple compartments also help distribute the weight.
Your child's backpack should not be wider than his body.
Consider choosing a backpack with a metal frame (like hikers use) or on wheels (like a flight attendant's bag). Check with the school first to see if these types of bags are allowed.
When fully loaded, your child's backpack should weigh less than 15 percent of his body weight. Use your bathroom scale to measure the maximum backpack load so your child can know what it should feel like.
Make sure your child isn't toting unnecessary items like laptops, CD players, and video games. These can add a lot of pounds.
Heavier items should be placed closer to the back of the backpack, near the body.
Picking up the pack properly is important. As with any heavy object, your child should bend at the knees and grab the pack with both hands when lifting it to his shoulders.
Encourage your child to develop stronger lower back and abdominal muscles. This will help avoid back injury. Weight training and yoga are two activities that can help strengthen core muscles.