Samantha Hirschman | Marketing & Events Manager

It’s never any fun getting hurt.

About a month ago, I was in a car accident where I was injured. If you’ve seen me, you wouldn’t think that I was in pain constantly. Most times when people are hurt, they have a cast or ice wrapped around the area that was hurt. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way of wrapping my entire back with ice, so there’s no easy way of people knowing I’m hurt.

But yet, I walk to all my classes with a roller bag. It’s so embarrassing and I feel like I am constantly being looked at because I am using a different kind of bag. But the truth is: no one should be carrying 20 pounds on their back. Backpacks are heavy, and students should stop overloading their bags.

Backpacks are the leading cause of back pain for students. The average backpack weighs between 12 and 20 pounds. The recommended weight is no more than 10% of a person’s bodyweight.

Not carrying my school books, notebooks, and computer on my back is probably the best decision in order to regain my health and to heal my back.

It’s a lot easier having everything you need for the day, but it might just save your spine if you go back to your room once or twice throughout the day. Another thing that students can try is filling up their water bottle before classes.

September 17 is National School Backpack Awareness Day. Try to carry less and avoid the back pain.

Photo by Samantha Hirschman