SHAH ALAM - It is undeniable that heavy backpacks can change a person's body posture, causing them to hunch at a young age.
Senior Consultant Spine Surgeon at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Datuk Dr Azmi Baharuddin said, there should be more awareness among the people to maintain good body posture even though it is a challenge nowadays.
"Heavy backpacks can cause the body posture to change, so it is important for the public to know how to stand and sit in the right manner as a way of maintaining good body posture.
"To prevent back pain now or in the future, kids not only have to pay attention to carrying heavy backpacks but also learn on proper sitting posture.
"However, it is quite challenging nowadays as most kids and even adults, tend to spend their time on gadgets. Kids also are also not interested in outdoor activities like in the past,” he told Sinar Ahad.
Dr Azmi explained that when children carry heavy backpacks, they will have to hunch and bring their bodies forward.
"We can see many of the students who carry backpacks are not walking naturally but they tend to lean forward, when it happens it can cause tensions in the neck, shoulder and back muscles.
"However, for school children, age 10 to 15, the pain intensity due to carrying the heavy backpack, is low, between 25 to 55 per cent.
"They will experience back pain but not to the extent of being hospitalised as the pain will go away when they remove weight,'' he said.
Screening
Dr Azmi who is also the head of the Orthopedic and Traumatology department at HCTM said there are over three per cent of children In Malaysia with scoliosis.
"Generally speaking, children with scoliosis amounts to over three per cent of the population, or 900,000 to one million people. However, not all are aware that they have the disease.
"Some of the conditions are detected indeliberately. For example, during medical check-ups before going to the boarding schools,” he said.
Dr Azmi also said, for most cases in Malaysia, scoliosis is often detected in the chest area and serious scoliosis can cause the space between their lungs to shrink.
"If the patient has a hunch risk of 70 to 80 degrees, it can cause the space between the lungs to shrink
"When it happens, it can cause breathing difficulties and it requires immediate surgery,” he said.
Awareness
Dr Azim also added that the public's awareness of scoliosis is increasing due to advancements in medical technology
"In the past, scoliosis surgery was high risk and require a high cost, as well as having a low effectiveness rate but now as technology improves, the surgery can be done safely, and the results are more satisfactory.
"Many people are now seeking treatment for their condition. We may not be able to curb the issue but we can help with early detection of the condition,” he said.
However, Dr Azmi opined that the issue of children carrying heavy backpacks is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly.
"Although research does not indicate that this is a serious issue, however, why would we risk the future of these students?
"I think the reason children carry heavy bags is that they have to carry a lot of books as if they are not told beforehand of which topic to be discussed in their class for that day.
"The tools that they also need to bring to school and the design of the bag itself also adds to the burden of these students,” he explained.