Physiotherapists are sounding the alarm: School-age children are particularly vulnerable to the appearance of postural defects and the aggravation of existing ones. - The risk factor is primarily: adopting an incorrect body shape for many hours, while sitting in a school desk or in free time while using smartphones and carrying too heavy schoolbags, as well as low physical activity, says Wojciech Kiebzak, PhD, professor of the Jagiellonian University, specialist in physical rehabilitation, head of the Clinical Rehabilitation Department of the Świętokrzyskie Pediatrics Center, provincial consultant in physiotherapy.
Too heavy school bags and bad posture when sitting
Published Aug. 30, 2024 11:43
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- It is important to note that wearing backpacks is not an activity that is prolonged over time, as is the abnormal, hours-long way of maintaining body posture. Some authors from a review of scientific publications indicate that the impact of the weight of a schoolbag is important for the quality of health. Particularly harmful is the weight of a schoolbag above 10 or 15 percent of a child's body weight, but also the carrying of a bag on one shoulder, explains Professor Wojciech Kiebzak.
- The just mentioned factors, according to the mentioned authors, can cause the following complications: a reprimanded, bent body posture, breathing disorders, compression of intervertebral discs, curvature of the spine or spinal pain. Another complication is: muscle imbalance, i.e., when carrying a schoolbag with an incorrect weight, the muscles responsible for maintaining the correct posture are activated, not those responsible for maintaining the correct posture, the professor adds.
According to him, however, a more common problem is inadequate sitting posture and uninterrupted, prolonged sitting time both in and out of school, including smartphone use.
-During class, it would be difficult to interrupt the class and get up for 5-10 minutes, during each hour of sitting, as some specialists recommend in their publications. Therefore, it is particularly important to tell children not to sit, for example, on the floor of the corridor after leaving the classroom, thus prolonging the period of improper sitting all the more, but to make a few simple movements - mainly a careful bending of the trunk backwards - the so-called "trunk straightening" - during breaks between lessons and during free time outside of school, explains Professor Wojciech Kiebzak.
The specialist adds that a good solution (applied at least briefly), may be the principle of sitting at a desk, in such a way that the notebook, computer keyboard or smartphone are moved away from each other, that is, towards the end of the table, and the pelvis in the opposite direction, achieving naturally, without effort, the straightening of the spine. Usually, however, the opposite is done incorrectly: the notebook is moved to the closer edge of the table, and the pelvis is slid under the table, and on top of that, the seat plane is raised upward, forcing an intensified flexion position.
- It should also be emphasized that when adopting a reprehensible body posture, there are not only problems with spinal overload but, among other things, poorer academic performance, disorders of breathing, intestinal peristalsis or even malocclusion. It is important to remember to report all concerns about emerging abnormalities to specialists. We also encourage people to follow the principles of healthy nutrition, physical activity and relaxation, he says, while wishing: good luck in the new school year - UJK professor Wojciech Kiebzak, PhD.
Source: Regional Hospital in Kielce
