Tag: School bags

As children and their families are getting ready to go back to school this September, it is important to remember to look after your children’s back health.

Here are some simple tips from The British Chiropractic Association to help make the return to school a happy and healthy one.

• Bag it up – a rucksack really is the best option, as long as your child carries it over both shoulders, with the straps are adjusted so that the bag is held close to their back and heavier items are placed at the top of the rucksack.
•  Keep it light – your child should avoid carrying any excess weight in their bag – check it every day to make sure they aren’t carrying any unnecessary items.
• Best foot forward – wearing good, soft-soled shoes that are supportive and have a good grip on the ground will make carrying a heavy bag much easier. Ensure shoes laces are tied up properly for support.
• Move around – staying still for a long time is bad for the spine. Limit your child to 40 minutes on their phone, laptop, tablet, and computer or in front of the TV then encourage them to get up and do something else for a while.
•  Keep fit – Regular and frequent exercise is best – the fitter they are, the less likely they are to injure themselves.

If you have concerns over a back injury for your child then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us as we offer a lot of help and advice in this area. Contact us on 01702 430430 or email us at info@CliffsChiro.co.uk to get in touch.

As the new school term approaches, it is important to think about your child’s posture, as they will be carrying schoolbooks and stationary in their school bags. It is how your child carries these things that can have the most impact on their health.

Research from The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) has shown that 33% of parents say that their child has suffered from neck or back pain in the past. Back pain can be caused by a number of things but heavy school bags are often a common trigger. Books, lunchboxes, sports gear (including trainers) are the most common found items in a child’s school bag and if these are packed incorrectly it can cause aches and pains.

Below is some very useful information from a BCA Chiropractor.

 Tim Hutchful, BCA chiropractor, comments: “Making sure your child doesn’t suffer from back or neck pain this autumn term can be as simple as checking they aren’t carrying around heavy items with them unnecessarily and that they carry their school bag correctly.I see an increasing number of young people complaining of back or neck pain and often it’s due to the weighty bags they carry. As youngsters have more belongings than ever before, like mobile phones and tablets, there’s a tendency for them to overfill their bags but, by doing these two basic things, you could be helping them avoid painful back problems”.

If you have concerns over a back injury for your child then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us as we offer a lot of help and advice in this area. Contact us on 01702 430430 or email us at info@CliffsChiro.co.uk to get in touch.