Group takes aim at backpack weights

By: Samie Hartley

Posted: 4/26/07

Members of the Student Occupational Therapy Association want San Jose State University students to know about the dangers of wearing a heavy backpack.

To help students realize the harm of carrying an overloaded book bag, the student organization sponsored Backpack Awareness Day by setting up a station at a table by the Student Union to weigh students' backpacks while handing out informational flyers yesterday.

According to Shifra Hansen, a graduate student majoring in occupational therapy, a student should never carry a backpack that weighs more than 15 percent of his or her bodyweight.

"People often wear backpacks that are too heavy and that can lead to problems later in life," Hansen said.

Raegan Hoffman, a senior majoring in occupational therapy and vice chair of the organization, said most students don't know how a heavy backpack can affect their health. She said students need to learn about the damage that can be done and seek out alternatives so that they don't harm their bodies.

Karen Swinehart, a graduate student studying occupational therapy, said an overloaded backpack could cause problems such as weakened posture, hunching, spinal injuries, weakening of back and neck muscles and nerve damage.

To avoid these injuries, Swinehart said students should wear backpacks over both of their shoulders. Using both shoulder straps to help evenly distribute the weight of the backpack will keep the spine aligned correctly and prevent injury.

Students should also wear padded straps and utilize a waistband if it is available.

Swinehart praised Tamara Slaten, a senior majoring in Japanese and English, for wearing a backpack with well-padded shoulder straps. Swinehart told Slaten that she should wear her backpack up higher since backpacks should be adjusted to rest against the lower back, but Slaten said that position was not comfortable for her.

If a backpack is too heavy, Swinehart suggests a student should take some items out of the backpack and carry them or invest in a backpack with wheels that can be pulled when not worn on the back.

Kristen Middleton, a senior majoring in animation and illustration, said she wasn't surprised that her backpack weighed 15.5 pounds.

"As an art major, I have to carry a lot of books for reference, so it adds up," Middleton said. "Sometimes I have to carry my stuff in a separate bag because it is too heavy."

Alicia Gamoke, a senior majoring in nursing, said she was surprised that her backpack only weighed 12 pounds on what she called a "light day."

"I know my backpack is heavy - it's been this way since high school," Gamoke said. "On a heavier day, my backpack must weigh 20 pounds."

Gamoke said she tries to pack her backpack as lightly as possible because she doesn't want to have back problems down the road.

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, more than 40 million students in the United States carry backpacks at school, and the average student's backpack weighs about 1/4 of his or her body weight.

Backpack Awareness Day was a part of the Student Occupational Therapy Association's celebration of Occupation Therapy Month.

Occupational therapy is "the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important to them despite impairment, activity limitations, or participation restrictions," said Hoffman, the organization's vice chair.

INFO BOX
San Jose State University's Student Occupational Therapy Association is hosting an interactive stereognosis test today. This test will check students' abilities to locate items without the use of sight such as finding keys in a purse without digging around for them. The test station will be set up by the Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

** Event information from Raegan Hoffman, Student Occupational Therapy Association vice chair.