Backpacks: Not Your Spine’s Best Friend

Alas, the new school year is here! On top of every child’s list of school supplies is a new backpack. While backpacks vary in their style, color and sizes, they all share one thing in common: they are detrimental to the health of your child’s spine. According to an article in a 1998 edition of the prestigious scientific journal Spine, by the time a young adult has graduated from high school, he or she has experienced at least one episode of back pain, due in part to the improper use of backpacks.

Children are carrying around excessive amounts of weight on their backs. In fact, a backpack can easily weigh upwards of 20 pounds. That kind of pressure on the back of a child in early adolescence can result in premature degeneration of the spine. But how do the backpacks cause so much damage? Backpacks cause postural shifts, which then may result in shifts in the alignment of the spine. Shifts of spinal vertebra are called vertebral subluxations (a.k.a. vertebral subluxation complex). Vertebral subluxations can lead to back and neck pain, muscular tension, muscular imbalance/asymmetry, decreased range of motion and early degeneration and arthritic changes of the spine.

As chiropractors that focus on the structural correction of the spine, we are now seeing a higher incidence of children and young adults with severe neck and back pain. Unfortunately, damage to the spine at such a young age is likely to result in debilitating pain and early arthritic changes that will be most apparent in later years.

So how do we go about preventing damage to the spine that may result from the use of backpacks? Dr. Chad Laurence has adopted recommendations in accordance with Backpack Safety America®, including advice for purchasing backpacks and proper lifting techniques:

1. Make sure the backpack has belt straps. A belt strap serves as a means of stabilization when fastened around the waist.

2. The backpack should have a structurally reinforced base. This will prevent unnecessary sagging commonly found in less expensive models.
3. When the child is preparing to put on the backpack, have them face the backpack when lifting it onto their shoulders.
4. Next, Have them bend at the knees, squat down and use their legs (not their back) to lift their backpacks (always lift with the legs).
5. Have the child slip one arm at a time underneath the straps, securing both straps comfortably around the shoulders.
6. Finally, make sure that all straps are adjusted so that the backpack is snug to the body.


My favorite backpack company is Airpacks. When parents bring their children to a CBP® practice, we perform a very thorough structural evaluation. In addition to offering structural corrective care, we go the extra mile by providing education that will help families implement proper postural habits that will prevent any further damage to their spines and inhibit the development of vertebral subluxation complex. In our practice, we believe that the greatest gift any parent can give their child is the gift of health. Since health and wellness are dependent on a properly functioning nervous system, it’s easy to understand the benefits of structural corrective chiropractic care.