How to Prevent School from Becoming a Pain in Your Neck

It’s that time of year again: “Back to School.” After a few months of summer fun, this season of new beginnings brings along activities your child’s body might find out of practice, including some that could strain students’ spines. Here are some back-pain prevention tactics, provided by Spine Solutions, to keep in mind when jumping back into school schedules.

Keep heavy backpacks to a minimum

One of the most well-known enemies to students during the first few weeks of school is the backpack. Stuffed with new textbooks, notebooks, calculators, pens and pencils, a student’s backpack call fill up quickly and be as heavy as 30% of a student’s bodyweight. Not to mention, students’ haven’t been accustomed to carrying that kind of weight on their spine in months.

To alleviate the pain, make sure the backpacks are at a healthy weight for students. The backpack should weigh between 10-15% of the student’s body weight. Students should also wear BOTH straps of the backpack, one on each shoulder. This ensures the weight of the backpack is evenly distributed.

Wear the right shoes

If your student’s dress code is lax, make sure he or she wears shoes that are appropriate for walking and standing at different times throughout the day. Students are going to be on their feet much more and will need shoes that give them the right support for proper posture. For younger students, comfortable shoes with room to grow are ideal. For students in college, flexibility, sole support and style come to mind when choosing the perfect pair.

Be mindful of increased exercise

Although summertime allows for excess outdoor activities, those fun and games can be different than the Physical Education regimen students learn at school. Students should start off the school year exercising at a slower pace to get to know what their bodies are comfortable with, and intensify exercises as the weeks progress. Diving into physical activity without a focused strategy can damage one’s spine, especially if exercises aren’t performed correctly.

To learn more about protecting children or young adults from straining their spines during “Back to School” season, contact our team of experts at Spine Solutions. Call us at (954) 329-1769 or email us at info@spinesolutionsfl.com to learn what Spine Solutions can do for you.