Abstract
The possible adverse effects of overloading students' backpacks are a public concern and should be considered by the scientific and educational community. This topic has gained particular importance due to the childhood development process, which can increase the promotion of future disorders (e.g., back pain, low back pain, spinal column deviations). In this brief review, we critically analyze the impact of excess load in students' backpacks and attempt to identify solutions that can be useful to minimize the effects of this problem. It is necessary to find a viable alternative to classic backpacks that can contribute to minimizing the effects of backpack loads on children.
Highlights
The potentially adverse effects of students’ heavy backpacks are a public concern and must be considered by the scientific and educational community [1 - 3]
The approach that has been used to study this problem has been fundamentally based on the quantification of the load carried by students in their backpacks [4 - 6], kinematic analysis of the influence of backpacks on upright posture and walking [7 - 9], kinetic analysis by studying plantar pressure and Ground Reaction Forces (GRF) [10 - 13] and surveys on various potential influences on back pain [14 - 16]
Therefor, studies have focused on metabolic effects [29], cardiorespiratory changes [30], pain reported by children [4], possible physical disability [16], postural changes [12, 31, 32], activation of muscle [32], changes in gait [33] and GRF [12]
Summary
The potentially adverse effects of students’ heavy backpacks are a public concern and must be considered by the scientific and educational community [1 - 3]. One common conclusion has arisen: students carry excessive loads in their backpacks. This conclusion is based on the recommendation shared by the World Health Organization [19] that children should not carry more than 10% of their weight [4, 16]. All articles that did not focus on the investigation or that were not directly related to the topic were excluded. According to this exclusion criterion, only 60 articles were considered relevant for analysis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
