Tuesday, September 16, 2008
USI and St. Mary’s partner for National Backpack Awareness Day
 The University of Southern Indiana and St. Mary’s Rehabilitation Institute are partnering with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to conduct a Backpack Awareness Day on Wednesday, September 17. This local event is part of National School Backpack Awareness Day, being held in schools and community centers across the country.USI professors and 90 students in the occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs and St. Mary’s occupational therapists will weigh the backpacks of students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at St. Phillip, St. Joseph, Holy Spirit, St Boniface, St. Theresa, Corpus Christi, and Good Shepherd Catholic schools. They also will educate students on the correct way to pack and wear school backpacks. Each year, over 5,000 school children go to emergency rooms because of injuries related to over-weighted backpacks. In a recent study, 60 percent of school age children reported chronic back pain related to heavy backpacks. Students may experience aching back and shoulders, weakened muscles, tingling arms, and stooped posture. For strategies on how to properly load a backpack, go to www.promoteot.org/AI_BackpackStrategies.html. Occupational therapists recommend that a student’s backpack weigh no more than 15 percent of his or her body weight. If a student weighs 100 pounds, he should not be carrying a backpack that weighs more than 15 pounds. For more information on National Backpack Awareness Day, visit the American Occupational Therapy Association Web site at www.aota.org. Wendy Knipe Bredhold News & Information Services wkbredhold@usi.edu or 812/461-5259 |
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