Association between bag weight, carrying style and low back pain and spinal curvatures among school children in Ablekuma South

Abstract

Background:Carrying school bags forms part of the daily routine of school children in the Accra Metropolis. Carrying of these heavy school bags especially in an inappropriate manner has been found to have negative musculoskeletal effects on developing children. Ascertaining the direct and indirect effects of the weight and way of carriage of school bags on school children could save the child the trouble of possible secondary effects such as scoliosis, kyphosis and even chronic pain. It also creates awareness for parents, teachers and all others who are directly or indirectly involved in the welfare of the developing child. Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the association between school bag weights, style of carrying and the deviations in the frontal and sagittal curvature and selfreported low back pain among school children. Methods:School childrenwere selected from 20 different public and private schools in Ablekuma South district of the Accra Metropolis of Ghana. A weighing scale was used to measure the weight of the participants and the school bags separately. The vertical inelastic plumbline was then used to screen the sagittal and frontal spinal curvatures and the backpack questionnaire was also used to obtain data on selfreported low back pain. One-way ANOVA and Chi-Square was used to analyze the data obtained using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 624 participants were recruited for this cross sectional study. Of this, 90.2% used backpacks as bags for transporting school items. Furthermore, 54.7% of private school participants reported that their bags were heavy, whilst 59.6% of their counterparts in public schools reported same. There was a significant association between carrying style and sagittal (p= 0.003) and frontal (p= 0.005) curvatures respectively but not low back pain (p= 0.926). The weights of the bags also had a significant association with sagittal curvature (p< 0.0001) but no association was reported for the frontal curvature (p= 0.784) as well as low back pain (p= 0.914). Conclusion(s): A few backpacks had the correct features of an ideal bag for school children. This study also revealed that deviations in the spinal curvature were as a result of carrying style. The carrying style and weights of the school bags did not account for their low back pain. Many children however complained of pain in others areas besides their lower back, hence further studies is recommended to ascertain the veracity of such occurrences. Implications: The findings of this study serve as a basis for education on proper school bag ergonomics among school children. The Ministry of Education in collaboration with Ghana Education Service may use findings to formulate and implement policies regarding the appropriate school bag and the minimum weight school children could carry to school.