Moms Takes Notice: New BackPack Lightens School Back Pack Load

Moms, do you cringe every time you see your kids going off to school with their back packs chock full to the point that they are going to fall over ? Personally, I notice it every morning on the way to work when the children get on the bus. These days kids have to carry heavier and heavier back packs that includes their books, lunches, sports equipment, musical instruments and other school supplies.

Kid’s backpacks should be no more than 15% of their body weight, so a seventh grader that weighs 100 lbs should have a backpack that's no more than 15 pounds.

11 year old Amanda’s back pack was so full of books that she had pain in her shoulders, back and legs. "It's just too heavy for me!" she cried.

Amanda was introduced to a special type of Backpack called an AirPack, as offered on Arc4life.com.
This backpack has a unique patented, ergonomic air transfer system. This support system is created by a hidden adjustable air chamber placed in the lower back which transfers weight to the hips. The wide, foam-cushioned straps have buckles at the top and bottom to provide a two point adjustment. These back packs self-adjust side to side to provide better fit across the shoulders. Side cinches pull the load closer to your center of gravity increasing balance and stability. These backpacks come in 3 convenient sizes: Small, Medium, Large. The Air Packs also come in a variety of colors, popular with kids.

Well how did Amanda fare with her Airpack backpack? According to Amanda,the book bag has definitely lightened her load.

“When I put on my book bag with all of its textbooks, and books, its just much lighter. If feels much better. The Pain is Off. My backpack is just…I mean its wonderful. The straps help my shoulder and I have an airpack over here which the greatest thing. I mean, It helps the spine, it helps by back.[It] carries the load off of my back and shoulders. The back pack is my favorite color- its pink. Its comfortable, its light- its just the best book bag ever. I am definitely going to keep using the Airpack. It's just wonderful !"

Additional Reading Sources:

BackPacks A Pain in the Neck
The Case of the Heavy BackPack

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of the AirPack BackPacks. Available in Small, Medium and Large.

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Source: Rachel Ray: Back to School- Watch Little Amanda Handle all her Books with her AirPack on the Rachel Ray Show


Happy Halloween from Arc4life.com

The Case of the Heavy BackPack

Last month Bobbie (name changed for privacy), presented to our office for neck pain mid back pain, and lower back pain after a rear end motor vehicle accident in which she was a seat belted passenger. Bobbie is a 13 years old and weighs about 100 lbs and looks like a typical bright eyed student. In early September she started school. After that first day of school, the first thing she told me was that her back was really hurting her because she had an enormous amount of textbooks to carry back and forth. On top of that she stated that carrying her saxaphone aggravated her back as well.

I gave her mother two suggestions.
#1. Get a rolling backpack with wheels.
#2. Photocopy the pages out of the textbooks and just decrease the amount of books to bring home.Talk to Bobbie's teachers about lightening the load, maybe even buy a 2nd set of the most used textbooks for home.
#3. Get an ergonomic BackPack that distributes the weight from the shoulders to the hips.
Well, my first suggestion did not go over too well. Apparently it is not cool for a six-grader to be rolling around a back pack. Jeesh!!! Practically, Bobbie also mentioned that her school has many staircases that would make it difficult for her to lift her backpack during the day in between classes. Suggestion #2 Got an automatic head shake from Bobbie- she must be studying weeks ahead every night !

Individuals should carry no more than 10-15% of their body weight in their backpack. For example, for a child who weighs 100 lbs, this means they should carry 15 lbs or less. These days, you add in a lunch, textbooks, your pencil case and gym clothes--- you may well over be that amount. In the case of Bobbie textbooks caused her maximum load to go over the allowed amount.

A properly fitted BackPack enhances the body's natural ability to carry weight, reducing stress on the body up to 80% and lightening the effective load up to 50%.

Arc4life offers AirPacks Backpacks- these supportive backpacks have a great support system that is created by a hidden adjustable air chamber placed in the lower back which transfers the weight to the hips. The wide, foam-cushioned straps have buckles at the top and bottom to provide a two point adjustment.
The Backpacks also allow for self- adjusting side to side to provide a better fit accross the shoulders. There are also side cinches to pull the weight of the backpack closer to to the persons center of gravity, therefore increasing balance and stability. The great thing about the AirPack BackPacks is that they come in three sizes:

• Small: Ideal for elementary or middle school students (12" x 16 1/2" x 7"). Click Here
  
  
• Medium: Ideal for middle school or high school students (11 1/2" x 17" x 8"). Click here
  
  
• Large: Ideal for high school or college students (12 1/2" x 18" x 12"). Click here
  

As for Bobbie, her mother mentioned that she did indeed buy her daughter a rolling back pack last year, but that it was not "cool" enough for her to be seen with it at school. Her mother stated that she would order a specialized AirBack BackPack for Parvati. I made a few more suggestions for Parvati and her backpack ways:

• Always use both shoulder straps.
  
• Tighten the backpack straps so that the Backpack is close to the body as possible
  
• Pack light as much as possible.Make the backpack does not weigh more than 10-15% of Parvati's body weight
  
• Make use of the school lockers. There is no need to carry all of your textbooks all day in school.
  
• Organize the backpack so that all the compartments are properly used
  
• When bending forward, make sure you bend at the knees, especially with a heavy back pack
  
• Learn back- strengthening exercise to prevent injury and strain.