Authors
Department of Physiotherapy, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nowadays, a large number of students experience spinal pain quite early in life due
to heavy school bag loads. Moreover, external forces in the form of school bags may influence the
normal growth, development of children and adolescents, and also maintenance of alignment of their
bodies, which can pose a huge threat to postural integrity under external load. Awareness about the
appropriate load and placement of backpack is thought to be important in reducing musculoskeletal
complications among children’s.
METHODS: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to determine
the influence of postural deviations due to backpack load among school children’s. Electronic databases
were searched, and a reference list of retrieved articles were relevant to postural changes among school
children with the backpack were screened. Reviewers graded the papers according to Lloyd‑Smith’s
hierarchy of evidence scale. Papers were quality appraised using a modified Crombie tool.
RESULTS: Twelve papers were identified for inclusion in this review. Methodological difference
limited our ability to collate evidence.
CONCLUSION: Most of the articles recommended that backpack load limit for school children should
be 10–15% of body weight. However, the appropriate load limit for school children is limited due to
lack of articles, the low hierarchy of evidence, and small sample size. This review constrains the use
of published literature to inform good load limit of school pack among the school children.
Keywords
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