OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze the biomechanical alterations during unilateral backpack carriage in adolescents and to compare the kinematic parameters of the loaded and unloaded sides. METHODS Twenty adolescents (mean age: 13 ± 1.2 years) were assessed during walking with no backpack and with a backpack on one shoulder. The kinematic parameters of a gait at a self-selected sp...

The aims of this pilot study were to determine whether the weight of a backpack, its position on the spine or time carried affected adolescents cervical and shoulder posture. Standing posture measured from the sagittal and frontal planes of 13 students was recorded photographically under several load carrying conditions. Cervical and shoulder position angles were calculated and compared. Resul...

PURPOSE This study investigated the effects of carrying weighted backpacks of up to 20% of body weight on the posture and pain complaints of elementary-school children. METHODS Craniovertebral, forward trunk lean and pelvic tilt angles were measured from sagittal photographs of 62 children (8-11 years old) before and after walking while carrying backpacks containing 10%, 15%, or 20% of body w...

BACKGROUND Backpack loads produce changes in standing posture when compared with unloaded posture. Although 'poor' unloaded standing posture has been related to spinal pain, there is little evidence of whether, and how much, exposure to posterior load produces injurious effects on spinal tissue. The objective of this study was to describe the effect on adolescent sagittal plane standing posture...

The school backpack constitutes a daily load for schoolchildren: we set out to analyse the postural effects of this load, considering trunk rotation, shoulder asymmetry, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and sagittal and frontal decompensation from the plumbline. A group of 43 subjects (mean age = 12.5 +/- 0.5 years) were considered: average backpack loads and average time spent getting to/fr...

The ability of a perceiver-actor to perform a particular behaviour depends on their ability to generate and control the muscular forces required to perform that behaviour. If an intended behaviour is to be successful, perception must be relative to this ability. We investigated whether perceiver-actors were sensitive to how changes in their mass distribution influenced their ability to stand on...

Identifying field measures to estimate backpack load-carriage work intensity in elite soldiers is of interest to the military. This study developed rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate models to define metabolic workload for a backpack load-carriage task valid for a population of elite soldiers using serial data. Male soldiers (n = 18) from the British Parachute or Special Air Serv...

The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of carrying backpack on the balance of female students aged 9-11 years. In the present study, 30 students (mean age of 15.02±2.07 years, height of 140±8 cm, and weight of 41.51±15.26 kg and body mass index of 20.68±5.39 kg/m2) were randomly selected. Their static and dynamic balances were evaluated using singl...

Data regarding the effects of backpack carriage on children's body strains while walking are limited. This study measured the body posture, muscle activation, and subjective discomfort scores of 12 male schoolchildren (age: 12.3 (range 12.1-13.0) y, height: 151.3 (range 144.2-154.6) cm, weight: 46.6 (range 43.6-49.7) kg) carrying backpacks weighing 5%, 10%, and 15% of their respective body weig...