Mochilas escolares y dolor de espalda en la población infantil

Relationship between School Backpacks and Musculoskeletal Pain in Children 8 to 10 Years of Age: An Observational, Cross-Sectional and Analytical Study

“…However, the majority of the children in this study, 74.0%, used wheeled backpacks. This result contrasts with the results of Talbott et al (2009), Yamato et al (2018) [35,36], Alberola et al (2010) [4], and Conti et al (2010) [7], who reported that only 10% of students use wheeled backpacks. Our findings are favorable given that the literature recommends their use as an alternative to handled backpacks [10].…”

“…Indeed, the participants in this study have a mean BMI of 17.38 (2.74), similar to the value reported in similar studies; the mean value is slightly higher than that found by Dockrell et al (2015) [11] and similar to that described by Arriba et al (2016) [34], as expected for a sample like ours, which was obtained in a city of approximately 110,000 inhabitants. The age of the students in our study, approximately eight years, is somewhat lower than that of students in other studies [4,9]; this may perhaps explain why the average weight of the backpack relative to the weight of the child, for students whose packs exceeded 10% of their body weight was greater than that described in previous studies. However, the majority of the children in this study, 74.0%, used wheeled backpacks.…”

“…The duration and frequency of pain and lifestyle habits were assessed using a questionnaire based on various questionnaires found in the literature: Survey to Assess Backpack Use and Neck and Back Pain [2] and the questions used by others authors [3,4,7,9,12,13,16,20]. The first questions (1-11) refer to lifestyle habits, and the last (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) refer to pain (File S1).…”

“…Back pain in children is a reality because between 8% and 74% of children and adolescents have suffered from it at some point in their lives [1][2][3][4][5][6]; and it seems that various factors are involved in its etiology [1][2][3][7][8][9]. Excess weight in backpacks is considered one of these factors, along with age, gender, body mass index, peak pubertal growth, intense sports activity, and other psychosocial factors, as well as history of traumatic events or history of incorrect postural habits, sitting for extended periods, inadequate school furniture, and sedentary lifestyle [1][2][3][7][8][9].…”

“…Transporting and carrying a backpack weighing more than the recommended maximum itself imposes a risk, and the risk to children and adolescents is increased since they are in the period of growth and maturation of the neuromusculoskeletal system [12]. Therefore, the weight of the backpack must not exceed 10%-15% of the body weight of the child or adolescent [3,4,7,8,[12][13][14]. Exceeding this value causes posterior displacement of the center of gravity, consequently, excess tension is generated in the muscles of the back of the neck and the back, an effect that is associated with spinal column pathology [15] and decreased lung volume [16].…”