KARACHI: “My son Ali (not real name) is always complaining about pain in his leg and lower back, especially when he is going to sleep,” said Rizwana Rizvi, mother of three children aged six, 11 and 15.

“Ali is just six and I believe it’s the heavy schoolbag he has to carry that has caused the pain. Schoolbags are too heavy nowadays. Even I can’t lift the bag of my older child,” she adds.

Other parents also complain that their children are complaining of body pains, especially in the back and legs. Of course they haven’t ruled out the use of mobiles as one such reason but most think heavy schoolbags are the main reason for this.

Nadia Tanvir, a schoolteacher and mother of teenaged children, said, “Schools should decrease the number of books that students have to carry. Every subject has at least three copies and two books, and children are asked to bring them all. Schools should have lockers for students where they can keep extra books.”

School lockers and ‘digital school bags’ can be a solution to overloading kids

Problem across the globe

The issue of heavy schoolbags is not restricted to Pakistan and is a problem faced by students across the globe.

Some experts think that heavy school bags may not be solely responsible for the increasing back pain in students. According to experts of University of Sydney in New South Wales in 2018, heavy school bags may not be a bad thing.

On the contrary the experts said that “people mistakenly think back pain in kids is an injury and so look for a cause of the back injury and the schoolbag is an easy target to lay blame at.” And that “In fact physical activity and load are actually good for the spine, so we want kids to be physically active and to carry loads.”

However, other experts say that a child should not be carrying heavy bags on their backs as it could be detrimental to their health. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) students should not be carrying “more than 10 per cent of their body weight in a backpack”.

Sobia Rahman is an educationist and has been in the profession for more than eight years. During this time she has trained many primary level teachers and developed innovative strategies to help improve learning.

Ms Rahman thinks the education system needs to be changed and many things need to be taken out and replaced with modern and better things. She thinks that the bag does not have to be heavy in weight but the education imparted from them should hold weight and add value to the child’s education and character.

She has some suggestions regarding this issue.

“Course is not regulated.” She said. “Schools tend to put multiple textbooks and notebooks for one subject. If they limit one textbook per subject, then it can be managed.

‘Textbooks becoming redundant’

“Encourage research at every level in school. If schools reduce the number of textbooks, they should encourage children to get information from the library or the internet. With all information just a click away the use of textbook is becoming redundant,” she adds.

Another way to reduce the weight of the school bag is to regulate the timetable and planners.

Ms Rahman says: “Reduce teaching of 4-5 subjects every day. Reduce monthly homework and test — homework and testing are the only reason children will need to carry books.”

Cabinets or school lockers are a solution but it would be unfair to burden the parents with this added finance. However with online learning, the weight of the bag can be reduced automatically by the ‘digital school bag’.

The editorial ‘Heavy backpacks & backache in school-going children’ by Humayun Mirza and Mehwish Arif published in the August 2020 issue of the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA) summed up the situation in Pakistan.

The editorial said “Back pain in children and youngsters aging from 10-19 years is reported to be more common as compared to adults. Back pain in children is matter of serious concern as it can lead to severe back problems is adulthood’.

The editorial said backpack should not be more than 15pc of the body weight. Citing studies, the editorial also said “prevalence of low back pain in schoolchildren ranges from 25pc to 55pc in the age group 10 to 15 years. Studies from different countries of the world, including Pakistan have shown prevalence of back pain in children which can be attributed to different reasons and factors.”

Dr Anjali Batra, a doctor of physical therapy (DPT), said there was an increase in young children — between 14-17 years old — complaining about back pains, especially in the lower back. She said one of the reasons for this was heavy school bags and bad postures of students.

“Heavy school bag impacts health but the repercussions are felt even later on in life,” Dr Batra said. “Kids carry heavy school bags on their backs or one shoulder, the weight will automatically pull the body back. To compensate, the body pulls forward to keep some kind of balance.”

Dr Batra added that this creates a pull and push on the body that can lead to pain as the bag’s weight is usually more than the body weight.

She said, “The bag’s weight will automatically pull the body back putting pressure on the neck — the cervical spine, the upper part which is attached to head. Nowadays, due to increase of mobile devices necks are usually bent forward adding to the bad posture. Students will try to walk straight putting pressure on the thoracic — the main back — and bag will pull it back. This affects the upper back and cervical portion — the normal angulation; the natural curvature will be disturbed which will sometimes lead to scoliosis, in which spine curvature changes and becomes abnormal.”

Prolonged sitting for video games

“The body tries to correct this and makes an “S” shape which is not normal,” Dr Batra said. “Prolonged sitting due to video games, online games and classes are causes for back pains — especially lower back — in the young.”

She stressed on the importance of a good nutritional diet, increase in water intake and exercise for the body, adding that exposure to sunlight during the early morning and before sunset is also necessary so the body can produce vitamin D — important for the bones.

She suggested some ways that parents can help to improve their child’s health.

These include: They have to monitor the time their children are using devices and try to decrease the time they use mobiles; During online classes, children (and teachers) need to correct their postures every 15-20 minutes. Do head, neck and back exercises. This will help reduce any back pain; All books, mobiles and computer screens need to be kept at eye level to keep the spine healthy because you will not bend constantly. This applies for everyone.

On the other hand, the Sindh government also has to take the issue of heavy school bags seriously and order all educational institutions to decrease the number of books to be carried to school. The Sindh government can use the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa School Bags (Limitation of Weight) Act, 2020 as a guide in this regard.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021