Soon we’ll be waving goodbye to the summer holidays and sending our little (or perhaps not so little) ones off to start another term at school. But with a new term comes new books, new back packs and new opportunities for potential back problems.

Here at our Witney Chiropractic Clinic, we are seeing an increase in school children suffering from back pain. And quite often, incorrect use of backpacks is to blame! Many of the children we treat carry school bags that are much too heavy for their bodies. They also tend to carry their bags on one shoulder only, which is a leading cause of back strain.

Before you send your children off to school this September, make sure their bag (when loaded) weighs less than 10 % of their body weight.  Also make sure that they wear their backpack on two shoulders.

We can’t reiterate how important this is to looking after your child’s spine health.