Backs catch flak from heavy packs

Unknown enemies of the student population lurk in Blair's corridors. While Blazers are protected from weapons, fires and underwear worn as outerwear, nothing shields the innocent from these foes. Slowly but surely, the adversaries—heavy backpacks—are ravaging the spine, neck and shoulders of students.

The newly named Backpack Syndrome afflicts many Blair students, according to an informal Silver Chips survey of 100 students taken from Sept 10 to 12. Seventy percent of respondents consider their backpacks too heavy. Of those, 79 percent say back, neck or shoulder pain has resulted.

Backpacks should weigh only five to ten percent of a person's weight, according to the American Chiropractic Association. However, when Silver Chips weighed backpacks of 60 students from Sept 16 to Sept 19, 37 percent of the bookbags exceeded the limit.

Junior Madeline Sumida sports one of these packs, which at 13 pounds is 15 percent of her body weight. On the table rests her backpack, a large, blue contraption almost half as tall as she is and just as wide. Inside are two hearty textbooks, a composition notebook, a reading book and her lunchbox.

Sumida, a violin player, began having stiffness and numbness in her shoulders two weeks into her sophomore year, problems that still inhibit her musicianship.

Not only does Backpack Syndrome hamper musicians, but it also deters even minimal exercise. "I would want to go home straight so I could put my backpack away," says sophomore Kwasi Adarkwah, who dealt with sharp shoulder pain as a freshman.

Blazers are among thousands of students nationwide who suffer from Backpack Syndrome. A 2001 survey by Shelley Goodgold of the American Physical Therapy Association found 55 percent of school-aged children carry dangerously heavy backpacks.

No rest for the weary

Overweight backpacks cause various afflictions. Sharp or aching pain in the neck, back or shoulders and numbness in the arms and fingers are common, as are strained muscles and a rounded posture, according to physical therapist Aaron Lubick of Amwell Orthopedic Physical Therapy.

Students with preexisting back problems are at greater risk than their physically healthier peers, says Jonathan Davis, an independent chiropractor.

Among those high-risk students is senior Emma Hatton, who was diagnosed with scoliosis, or curvature of spine, last January. Carrying a massive backpack increased the curve degree, according to her doctor. "I'd come home and I'd have red marks on my neck and on my shoulder," Hatton says.

An insufficient number of lockers at Blair compounds the crime of heavy backpacks (see story, page eight). Sumida, for example, did not receive a locker the last two years. "I'm not bitter; I understand population problems," she says, but adds she would use a locker if she had one.

Junior Michael Tsegaye's third floor locker is broken, but he still stores his entire backpack there at lunch to gain a few minutes of relief from the "stabbing pain" in his lower back. "[Blair] should allow us to leave our textbooks at home and give handouts," he says.

Light at the end of the hallway

Backpack Syndrome is both preventable and treatable. While Backpack Syndrome rarely leads to permanent complications, the longer students go untreated, the more difficult it becomes to cure the pain, says Davis. Unfortunately, many students wait years before seeking medical care.

Junior Saskia Fagan's back has troubled her since eighth grade, but not until tenth grade did she begin physical therapy in which she received electric shocks to loosen her spinal muscles.

After a visit to her doctor, Hatton switched to a more padded backpack and ditched her large binder. However, she thinks she will suffer back discomfort until she stops shouldering her burden altogether. "My backpack is going to be heavy no matter what," she shrugs. "I'm resigned."