The return to the classroom also implies the back to 'overloaded' backpacks. A topic that worries us, and a lot, to most parents.
We speak with Dr. Francisco Kovacs, international reference in back care, who gives us the keys so that the spine of our children enjoy good health.
"To have a healthy back it is essential to acquire healthy habits from childhood, such as exercising regularly and avoiding bed rest when pain is suffered."
These are some of the conclusions of the sixteenth Campaign for the Prevention of Back Diseases among Spanish schoolchildren, launched by the Collegiate Medical Organization (WTO) and the Spanish Network of Researchers in Back Diseases (REIDE).
But there are more measures to prevent the return to school and their backpacks have a negative impact on the back of our children.
Good habits from the age of six
Back pain is exceptional before 6 years, but its frequency increases from 10 years and 15 years is similar to that of adults. Before meeting them, 51% of boys and 69% of girls have already suffered discomfort.
Hence the optimal age for implement preventive habits between six and ten years:
- The first essential aspect is to internalize that, in case of back pain, it is a mistake to keep bed rest and that it is advisable to maintain the highest degree of activity that the pain allows. Dr. Kovacs, promoter of the campaign, director of the Kovacs Back Unit of the HLA Moncloa University Hospital and director of the Spanish Network of Researchers in Back Ailments (REIDE) explains that:
"A rest longer than 48 hours causes the back muscles to lose firmness and tone, and may increase pain."
- The second is to perform physical activity, exercise or sport as usual. According to the expert:
"If the child spends the day sitting, his muscles will lose strength and increase the risk of back pain."
- And the third, learn how to carry the backpack and avoid weight overload (the backpack should not exceed 10% of the child's weight).
In addition, acquiring good habits in childhood makes it much easier to maintain it during adulthood, when it is equally important.
A well organized backpack
These are some measures recommended by Dr. Francisco Kovacs:
Minimize its content. Usually school bags reach 30% of the child's weight when they should not exceed 10%.
Most suitable to carry a lot of weight (such as books) is to use a backpack with wheels. But as this is not always possible, the solution involves carrying a symmetrical load between the two arms and as close as possible to the body, because the more decompensated the weight, the more the muscles on one side have to work and the more the damage is damaged. back.
Hence, the importance of wearing the two straps correctly, with the backpack attached to the back. Better place it relatively low (between the hips).
At the time of distribute it, it is convenient to place heavy objects first and place them in the part of the backpack closest to the back.
To lift it It is a good idea to put it on a table and from there, without bending over, place it on your back.
The importance of sport for the back
Physical exercise helps the spine to acquire its definitive form, and exerts a beneficial influence on general health throughout life, both through specific mechanisms (such as the development of potency, endurance and coordination of the muscles, which protects the structures of the spine) and non-specific (improved blood flow, increased confidence in physical capacity, etc.).
Therefore, more important than the specific type of exercise or sport (swimming, basketball, athletics, football, judo ...), is Do it regularly and keep it in time. To decide what specific sport to do, it is important to take personal preferences into account and ensure that your practice is fun and motivating.
Another thing is the practice of a competitive level sport. It is advisable to start the training sessions by heating the muscles and end up stretching.
And it is that an intense exercise, almost professional, is associated with an increased risk of back pain, as the risk of injury is greater and the probability of inducing muscle imbalances. Therefore, if the child practices it at that level, he must strictly follow the advice of coaches and sports doctors.
Other recommendations to take care of your back
Forced postures. In the phases in which the growth is faster, there are large variations of stature among students of the same age, so that the optimum would be that the school furniture had an adaptable height so as not to force them to maintain forced postures for a long time. It is important to take a good posture when sitting.
In case the back hurts, bed rest should be avoided or shortened as much as possible, since keeping it for 48 hours already leads to loss of tone and muscle coordination, and makes it easier for the pain to prolong and reappear later. Conversely, maintaining during the painful episode the greatest degree of physical activity that the pain allows, doing all those physical activities that do not trigger or increase it, shortens the duration of pain and reduces the risk of recurrence.
We must prevent our children from sleeping on their stomachs or that they remain face down when they are lying down. A useful measure also for us, parents.
The involvement of the school is necessary
Dr. Francisco Kovacs states that:
“Researchers can give clear messages, the effectiveness of which has been proven scientifically, but they are only useful if they are applied in practice. Schools, by establishing healthy habits in school age, can make it easier for children to maintain them during their adult lives. "
Dr. Serafín Romero, president of the Collegiate Medical Organization, reinforces the idea that:
“The prevention and acquisition of healthy habits from childhood are fundamental when it comes to preventing back ailments and, therefore, it highlights the importance of working in this sense from the family and educational level, as well as the role of doctors who they must be involved in prevention as the best way to stop back pain and avoid other health problems arising from this condition. ”
And with the aim that children acquire the basic knowledge to keep their back healthy, the Kovacs Back Unit of the HLAMoncloa University Hospital gives children the 'Back Comics', both in its printed and virtual version, designed to Children under 12 years. You can download the printed comics for free on the Web of the Back and on the Web of the Medical College Organization.
Photos | iStock and Web back
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