Ways To Use Backpacks - Travel In Comfort
Backpacks are commonly associated with kids carrying books to
and from school. However, there are many other ways to use
backpacks. Campers, hikers and mountaineers have been using
backpacks for decades. It allows them to have their hands free
when climbing over a wall or fallen trees, using a walking stick
when traversing rough terrain, or climbing a mountain and still
being able to carry all of their gear, makes the backpack a
vital piece of their equipment.
It was from these groups that college students first got the
idea to use backpacks as book bags. Now most students at all
grade levels use backpacks to haul their school supplies back
and forth. One concern of parents and pediatricians is the
increased incidence of back, neck and shoulder pain, and numbing
of the hands and arms, among kids who routinely carry heavy
backpacks to and from school.
When these symptoms could not be linked to any other causes, it
was found that the one thing all the children had in common,
was, that they all used backpacks. Obviously the backpack in and
of itself, is not the whole problem. The load being carried, the
way the pack is worn and the construction of the bags, marketed
as book sacks for kids, all contribute to the problem.
Orthopedists, pediatricians, physical therapists, and
chiropractors all agree that kids