Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Karen Jacobs, Ed.D., OTR/L, CPE,
FAOTA, Clinical Professor, Boston University, Programs in Occupational Therapy,
635 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215, USA. Tel.: +1 617 353 7516; Fax: +1
978 688 1554; E-mail: kjacobs@bu.edu
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe
adolescents' low back pain, investigate its prevalence and explore its
associations with backpack load, time spent carrying loads, time sitting, and
time playing sports, to determine whether relationships exist among these
variables. Method: One hundred urban middle school students in
Manchester, New Hampshire completed a questionnaire (55% response rate).
Participants were between 13–14 years old. Weights of students, loaded
backpacks, backpack contents, and students' heights were measured separately.
Results: Eighty-nine percent of the participants wore the
two-straps backpack. Over eighty percent of them preferred to carry the load
over two shoulders. The average load weighed 4.9 kg (approximating 9.6% of the
participants' body weight). There was a significant association found between
backpack carrying time and adolescent low back pain. Conclusion: Daily backpack carrying is a frequent cause of
musculoskeletal discomfort for adolescents. The association between backpack
carrying time and low back pain may provide the impetus for parents, teachers,
and school administrators to decrease the prolonged carrying of backpacks.
Further investigations should be conducted to evaluate the intervention
effectiveness after implementation of controls.
