Brandon Macias, a principal investigator for the study, tells Reuters Health, "Based on this study and recent unpublished data, we have four recommendations - backpacks should be positioned high on the back, backpack straps should be over both shoulders, weight in the backpacks should be minimized, and backpacks should have wide straps."
The team reports in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine that the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that nearly 7,500 school children are seen in emergency rooms each year due to injuries related to backpacks or book bags.
Co-principal investigator Gita Murthy says in a university statement, that the medical problems stemming from the heavy backpacks is not a new, but is still relevant.
"The more objective data that the public has, the more educated they become, and perhaps the more inclined to change the way children carry backpacks."
