Schoolbag weight and musculoskeletal symptoms in New Zealand secondary schools

Whittfield, J. K.; Legg, Stephen; Hedderley, Duncan

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2004.10.004

Cited by 102 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…First (Phase I), a search for suitable previous work on low back pain, back care, and the use of questionnaires on back care, was made in the specialized literature. We took into account results from studies on basic and applied knowledge to the comprehension of the body mechanics [20], knowledge on backpack book load [21], the correct way to carry the backpack [22], the sitting posture and classroom furniture [23], and the spine load in different positions [12,24].…”

Section: Methodology Instrument Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resulting 24 multiple choice items were associated with one of the following categories according to conceptual knowledge: topographical-anatomical knowledge (items 1, 2, 3 and 6); functional-anatomical knowledge (items 4, 5 and 7); habits in standing posture (items 8-10); or seated (items 11-13); or lying (items 23 and 24); habits in carrying heavy objects in a backpack (items 14-18); and how to move heavy loads (items [19][20][21][22]. The score for each item was 0 (wrong option) or 1 (correct option).…”

Section: Methodology Instrument Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and psychometric evaluation of a health questionnaire on back care knowledge in daily life physical activities for adolescent students

et al. 2016

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Purpose The most relevant musculoskeletal problems are related with back health. Study instruments have been designed for adult patient population but not for school-aged children. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire to assess adolescents' level of back care knowledge in daily life physical activities. Methods Participants were 171 adolescents from secondary schools. The questionnaire was made up of 24 questions. A Delphi method was used for test validation. Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, Wilcoxon signed-rank and Bland-Altman graph were used to evaluate the instrument reliability. Results Cronbach's alpha (a = 0.82) showed a strong internal consistency. Test-retest was excellent for total score (0.76) and moderate to excellent (0.54-0.76) for seven score conceptual categories with good results of standard error of the mean and minimal detectable change. No differences were found between test 1 and test 2 except for the standing posture scores. ConclusionThe questionnaire showed acceptable psychometric values. Results showed that this questionnaire is a good instrument to assess adolescent's back care knowledge.

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Section: Methodology Instrument Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodology Instrument Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and psychometric evaluation of a health questionnaire on back care knowledge in daily life physical activities for adolescent students

et al. 2016

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“…A research done on the weight of schoolbags and prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms amongst 140 students in New Zealand found that the students were carrying weights which exceeds the recommended guideline load limits for an adult industrial workers and carrying heavy schoolbags was suspected as the contributory [6]. The research shows that 77.1% of the students reported to suffer from musculoskeletal symptoms and the symptoms was most prevalent in the neck, shoulders, upper back and lower back.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The modified Nordic questionnaire is used together with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) as shown in Figure 1. This is to help the students provide a more accurate responses to the intended questions and the usage of VAS with a questionnaire is very common in research conducted among school children as it would be much easier for kids to understand since it is more graphical rather than words [6,8,10,11]. Furthermore, the height and weight of the students were measured together with the weight of their respective schoolbags.…”

Section: Observation On the Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, there are different weight limit among different countries and the mean carrying weight for boys and girls not more than 16 years old of age are 14kg and 8 kg [5]. Meanwhile, for primary school students, 10% of body weight (BW) has been commonly accepted as a recommended schoolbag weight as the physical capability of school children are different from the adults [6]. The National Back Pain Association recorded that the schoolbag weights for British children of 13-year olds is 10.4% of their body weight and 10.2% of their body weight for 16 year old children [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Study on Relationship Between Carrying Schoolbags and The Prevalence of Neck and Back Pain Among 7 – 9 Year Old Students

Kabilmiharbi

Santhirasegaram

2016

MATEC Web Conf.

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Abstract. There is a growing concern these days that children are carrying way too much weight on their backs. School students are at risk of developing Musculoskeletal Disorder or possibly long term back pain due to the frequent exposure of carrying heavy schoolbags. In Malaysia, this problem is currently an overlooked issue as not many are aware of the importance of maximum allowable load that should be carried by school students together with proper posture and how all these will affect the children in the future. An interview was conducted based on 90 school students of age 7 to 9 year old regarding the body part discomfort that they experience while carrying the schoolbag. Furthermore, the weight of the schoolbag and the student's height and weight was taken for this study. The responses were classified based on age and gender as the anthropometry differs on ages and gender. A statistical analysis is carried out with the results obtained. The finding of the statistical analysis showed that the prevalence of neck and back pain does exist among 7-9 year old school students and almost 90 of them are affected. Among the main problems are that the schoolbag design, the incorrect ways of carrying the schoolbag, the excessive weight of the schoolbag and the prolonged duration of constantly carrying the schoolbag. Necessary action should be taken to overcome these problems.

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Backpack-related musculoskeletal symptoms among Nigerian secondary school students

et al. 2014

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Musculoskeletal discomfort in schoolchildren is significantly related to the weight and mode of carrying backpack to school. Prevalence and patterns of musculoskeletal discomfort among Nigerian secondary school students carrying backpack was investigated. Systematic sampling technique was used in the selection of the participating junior secondary schools for this study. Participants comprised 1,785 students aged 10-15 years. Standardised Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was used to collect information on musculoskeletal pain. Backpack weight and participants' body weight were measured using a weighing scale. The visual analogue scale was used to assess pain intensity. Gender differences in backpack weight, backpack percentage and musculoskeletal discomfort were studied using Mann-Whitney U test; Kruskal-Wallis test was used to study the influence of backpack carrying style on musculoskeletal discomfort; and Spearman rho correlation to determine the relationships between backpack weight, backpack to body weight ratio, age and pain intensity. There were 882 boys and 903 girls recruited into the study. Shoulder pain was the most prevalent discomfort (63.5 %), and pain was significantly higher in girls (p = 0.013). There were weak relationships between pain intensity, body weight and backpack to body weight ratio (r range 0.433-0.442; p < 0.001), and a weak negative relationship between pain intensity and age [r = -0.135; p < 0.001; 95 % confidence interval (CI) -0.168, -0.075]. There was a strong relationship between backpack weight and age (r = 0.892; p < 0.001; 95 % CI -0.129, -0.013); however, there was a weak relationship between backpack weight and body weight (r = 0.136; p < 0.001). Prevalence of shoulder pain was high, particularly among the girls, in this sample. We suggest that factors other than the weight of backpack may predispose to musculoskeletal pain. Parents, teachers and clinicians can influence the mode of carrying backpack by secondary school students.

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Schoolbag weight and musculoskeletal symptoms in New Zealand secondary schools

Cited by 102 publications

References 17 publications

Development and psychometric evaluation of a health questionnaire on back care knowledge in daily life physical activities for adolescent students

Development and psychometric evaluation of a health questionnaire on back care knowledge in daily life physical activities for adolescent students

A Study on Relationship Between Carrying Schoolbags and The Prevalence of Neck and Back Pain Among 7 – 9 Year Old Students

Backpack-related musculoskeletal symptoms among Nigerian secondary school students

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