Dubai: Parents should not ignore constant back pain in schoolchildren as their heavy bags can take their toll and even cause deterioration in pre-existing spinal conditions, doctors say.
As a result of his 12kg school bag, grade 7 student Chiranjib (not his real name) experienced constant back pain.
His mother, who preferred anonymity for both, said her child experienced the pain for three months. However, because her son made excuses like falling while playing and the pain subsided with the use of oils and other medication, she did not take him to the doctor.
“When the pain became more persistent, I took him to the doctor and found that he has a deformity in his back. His spine was curved and the heavy bag was causing him the pain,” she said.
Gulf News spoke to Chiranjib’s doctor who said while heavy school bags were causing the pain, they did not cause the spine to curve.
“We can’t say that the heavy school bag itself caused the back to curve. There are many other factors. Once tested we found that he has a mild case of scoliosis [abnormal curvature of the spine], which is genetic. Carrying the heavy bag aggravated his case of scoliosis since the weight of the bag is not distributed evenly,” said Dr Sreedhara Doddery, orthopaedic specialist at iCare Clinics.
The doctor said depending on the child’s weight, the bag’s weight, and how long the child carries the bags, heavy bags can cause pain and spasms.
He believes that school bag weights should be reduced or other alternatives should be adopted to take the heavy weight off children’s backs.
Worsens condition
Dr Sanjay Kumar Sureen, specialist orthopaedic surgeon at Prime Hospital, said carrying a heavy bag while having scoliosis can cause the condition to deteriorate and sometimes even cause the spine to curve more.
Dr Sureen said doctors first need to find the cause of scoliosis.
“It can be congenital scoliosis, which is caused by a bone abnormality present at birth. It can be neuromuscular scoliosis, which is a result of abnormal muscles or nerves. Or it can be idiopathic scoliosis, which has no identifiable cause.”
He said if children with any of these types of scoliosis carry heavy bags, it will cause the symptoms like back pain to multiply. In some cases it can even cause the spine to curve even further.
For this reason he advised parents whose children suffer from persistent back, hand and shoulder pain to visit the doctor and added that they should not carry heavy bags.
Despite the many negative effects of carrying heavy bags, there are no laws set by the Ministry of Education or the Knowledge and Human Development Authority on this issue.
Mohammad Darwish, Chief of Regulations and Permits Commission at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, stated: “Safety of the children is our primary concern and we are confident that private schools in Dubai also put children’s safety first."
He said no guidelines currently exist on school bag weight, but both parents and schools must find a solution.
"Although currently there are no guidelines on the specifications for the school bags that students carry to schools, schools and parents must work together to find solutions that are practical, effective and safe for students of all ages — this includes but is not limited to the weight and type of bag that children need to carry,” Darwish added.
