back packs
Back Packs: Your Child's Spine's at
Risk:
http://www.icpa4kids.com/pediatric_chiropractic_articles_backpacks.htm
Bookbags: What Every Parent Should
Know:
http://www.icpa4kids.com/pediatric_chiropractic_articles_book_bags.htm
Carrying the Back Pack Issue into the
schools:
http://www.icpa4kids.com/pediatric_chiropractic_articles_carrying_the_backpack_issue.htm
April is Back Pack Safety Month
The month of April has been
designated as National Backpack Safety Month by the Congress
of Chiropractic State Associations, (COCSA). This organization
is an association of other US state chiropractic organizations.
This month-long event is designed to help educate parents,
children and school officials about the potential dangers of
heavy backpacks used by children and the solutions to this
problem. This is the second year for this event. However, this
year a large corporate sponsor has joined in. Office Depot
will be promoting the program directly to school officials
across the country. Office Depot, Inc. is one of the world`s
largest sellers of stationary supplies to schools.
In a February
22, 2003 release, COCSA President, Dr. Kevin Donovan, also
added, "Recent research reports that
a majority of today's students are carrying more than the
recommended weight levels and sustaining significant injury
that may last a lifetime. It is imperative that doctors of
chiropractic become involved with this growing epidemic.
I am very excited that the chiropractic community has taken
a leadership position and created national focus on the issue
of backpack injury."
On their website, COCSA offers
two links of importance on this subject. The first is a Facts
About Backpack Injury , and the second is Ways
to Prevent Backpack Injury. Both these are available
for free download in Adobe pdf format.
The founders of Back
Pack Safety America have put together a flier for
their members to cut and paste to letter head and used
to enhance community awareness and participation for the
month of April. If you are interested in finding out more
about their letter and other educational materials, - e-mail
them .
Backpacks Affect Teen Postures
What postural influences do backpacks have
on teenagers' spines? To answer this question, researchers
evaluated the head-on-neck posture of 985 high school students,
aged 12 to 18 years. Specifically, the investigators assessed
the craniovertebral angle of subjects wearing backpacks,
and not wearing backpacks.
The study found that backpack use
significantly altered head-on-neck posture in every age group
studied. This finding was most pronounced in younger students.
However, increased pack load did not appear to correlate with
changes in craniovertebral angle, researchers report - indicating "craniovertebral
angle may not be the most sensitive measure of head-on-neck
postural change for adolescents."
Grimmer KA, Williams MT, Gill
TK The
associations between adolescent head-on-neck posture,
backpack weight, and anthropometric features Spine.
1999 (Nov 1); 24 (21): 2262-2267
Backpack Injury on the Rise
A study conducted by the American Academy of
Orthopaedic Surgeons adds to the growing body of research
on the negative impact of backpack use. Investigators surveyed
more than 100 physicians at Children's Memorial Hospital,
Chicago, Illinois and Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children,
Wilmington, Delaware. The study revealed that backpack injuries
are on the rise. In total, 58% of the orthopedists reported
seeing patients complaining of back and shoulder pain caused
by heavy backpacks. More than 70% of the orthopedists surveyed
indicated that heavy backpacks can become a clinical problem
in school-age children if not enough attention is made to
decrease some of the weight being carried in the packs.
American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Tells Media That
Backpacks Can Cause Problems American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons - October 18, 1999
Stress Linked With Back Pain in Young
Adults
Psychological stress during young adulthood
more than doubles the risk of low-back pain (LBP), finds
an international team of researchers. Investigators interviewed
a cohort of people in Britain at age 23 years and again ten
years later. In total, 571 reported first experiencing LBP
at 32 to 33 years of age. A control group of 5,210 individuals
without LBP was also established.
Those who reported psychological
distress when they were 23 years old were 2.52 times more likely
to suffer from LBP age 33, compared with their less-stressed
peers. Persistent moderate or heavy smokers had a significantly
bolstered risk of LBP, compared with non-smokers. Social
class, childhood emotional status, body mass index and job
satisfaction were not related to LBP, after multivariate
analyses.
Power C, Frank J, Hertzman C, Schierhout G,
Li L. Predictors
of low back pain onset in a prospective British study Am
J Public Health. 2001 (Oct); 91 (10): 1671-1678
Additional
Articles and Resources:
The
Backpacks Page @ Chiro.Org
Back
Packs as a Cause of Repetitive Stress Syndrome
The ICPA endorses the use of Air Pack brand
Back Packs. Visit them at www.airpacks.com
Family Wellness First
The E-newsletter for Parents to make Informed Health Care Choices
Issue 6: Back
to School
Back to School bring up several issues parents
will make choices about. We have infomation for you on:
1- Back Packs
2- Obesity and Diabetes Rate Increase.
Back Packs:
There has been a raised awarenss about the amount of weight children are required
to carry to and from school in their back packs and the potential injury to
their developing spines. The following article: http://my.webmd.com/content/article/92/101856.htm is
one of many articles that have been published around the continent warning
parents about the numerous injuries associated with back pack usage.
The I.C.P.A. has many articles related to this issue which include these growing
concerns and helpful tips for the prevention of injury. Please browse the following
articles for additional information. http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/children/backpacks.htm , http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/articles/childhood/backpack_research_newsletter.htm ** http://www.icpa4kids.org/newsletters/backpack_safety.htm
Finally, if your child complains of spinal
discomfort associated with the use of back packs, find a
Doctore of Chiropractic in your area who can help you address
these issues before further spinal injury occurs. http://www.icpa4kids.org/find.htm
Obesity and Diabetes:
Back to school means a more sedentary
lifestyle and less parental supervison over our children's
daily diet. The rate of childhood obesity is on an alarming
increase. Sugars, carbs and "bad fats" are known to cause obesity
and yet the American diet is filled with these foods. School
lunches and the presence of junk food vending machines in
cafeterias are offering our children choices we may not feel
so comfortable with. Will it change? Accoding to the release
of new federal guidelines--there will not be much support.
Aug 27th Reuters reported:
"A U.S. panel of nutrition experts recently proposed new
federal dietary guidelines that acknowledged a link between
soft drinks and weight gain, but stopped short of recommending
that overweight Americans eat less sugar...Consumer groups
had hoped the panel would bluntly recommend that Americans
limit their consumption of soft drinks and other sugary foods,
a view sharply opposed by beverage makers and the sugar industry,
who say weight gain is due to many factors....The recommendations
included non-controversial language advising consumers to choose their fats and
carbohydrates "wisely" and to limit salt and alcohol.
'A reduced intake of added
sugars (especially sugar-sweetened beverages) may be helpful in achieving recommended
intakes of nutrients and in weight control,' the report said. The
experts stopped short of directly urging Americans to cut
down on soft drinks, cakes, cookies, pies, candy and other
sugar-filled food, saying more research was necessary. Soft
drink makers and the sugar industry contend it is unfair
to link diabetes to soft drink consumption. They said an
unhealthy lifestyle, not a particular food or beverage, increased
an individual's risk of developing diabetes."
Although the guidelines
have not been released, there is little anticipation that the
recommendations will include the reduction of soft drinks.
It will be up to us as parents to get to our schools directly
and have the junk removed.
This Family Wellness First Issue
is co-sponsored by Mothering Magazine
Family Wellness First
comes to you as a courtesy of the International
Chiropractic Pediatric Association.
Please forward this e-mail to friends and family
who are interested in making informed health care choices.
To find a Doctor of Chiropractic in your area who works with families please
visit: http://www.icpa4kids.org/find.htm
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