BACKPACKS – HEAVY LOADS & BACK PAIN – PLUS TIPS TO HELP PREVENT PAIN

Backpack technology: American Chiropractic Association

Not only do kids of today pack heavy schoolbooks into their backpacks, many of them also strap popular electronic devices as laptop computers, cellular phones, MP3 players, CD players, and personal digital assistants (PDA) specially designed compartments inside their backpacks.

This improvement in backpack technology has brought about a greater awareness of the dangers of young, developing bodies wearing backpacks that are too heavy. For example, school textbooks are the heaviest they have ever been. So what happens to our kids’ bodies when they haul these heavy books and other personal effects directly on their backs? Two new studies may help to answer that very question.

The first study, published in the May 2003 issue of the journal Spine, found that the use of backpacks during the school day and the weights of the backpacks associated with back pain. And a second, presented by researcher Dr. Heidi Orloff at a May 28, 2003 meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in San Francisco, concluded that children actually hunch their bodies forward and lower their heads to accommodate the burden of wearing heavy backpacks.

You should only wash a sleeping bag when absolutely necessary; just a couple of times
over the life of the bag. Bag insulations are fragile and their performance can be
adversely affected if not washed correctly.

Home Cleaning

- All bags should be washed and dried in an oversized, commercial washer and
dryer. Use a front load, tumble washer, NOT a top loading, agitator machine.
Agitator washers can eat your bag!
- Wash all insulations in cold or warm water.
Dishwashing liquid is good for washing bags with down or Polarguard insulation.

Just be careful not to use too much dish soap.

- Do not “Dry Clean” bags. Dry Cleaning solution is a petroleum-based solvent
that will “coat” the insulation and prevent it from re-lofting.

Down fill bags

- Down bags should be dried thoroughly at a MEDIUM heat setting.
- Pull the bag out during the drying process and “break up” the wet clumps of down
so that they can dry completely. Be careful when pulling the clumps apart so
you don’t damage the down.
- Make sure the bag is completely dry to avoid mildew. This could take 2-3 hours.

1. BRUSH OFF LOSE DIRT.CLEANING MAY BE EASIER IF YOU REMOVE ANY LOOSE STRAPS, INTERNAL STAVES OR ACCESSORIES.

2. USING HAND SOAP AND SOFT BRUSH, WASH BY HAND IN COOL WATER.
DO NO USE DETERGENT OR BLEACH.

3. THROUGHLY RINSE IN COOL WATER, AT LEAST TWICE.

4. IF THE PACK HAS STAVES, REPLACE THEM BEFOR DRYING TO AVOID SHRINKAGE.

5. HANG TO DRY, IN SHADE.

6. STORE YOUR PACK IN COOL DRY PLACE AWAY FROM DIRECT SUNLIGHT

7. DO NOT DRY CLEAN . DO NOT USE ANY SOLVENT.