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A Newsletter From Maryland Sports Injury Center
You Can Be Fit! August 2007
BACKPACKS FOR STUDENTS
Pack it Light and Wear it Right!
Elementary, middle and high school students all over
the country are going back to school in the next few
days. Most will be carrying a backpack loaded with
school supplies. It's safe to say they won't be thinking
about back and neck pain, but that's what they risk if
the load is too heavy or the bag isn't carried properly.
Is carrying a heavy backpack to school causing back
pain for your kids? There is a good chance that it does
or it will if the answer to any of the questions below is
yes:
- Does your child complain of back pain?
- Does he walk bent over sideways to try to adjust
for the heavy load of a backpack?
- Does he complain of numbness and tingling in
his arms or hands?
- Does he carry more than 15-20% of her body
weight in his backpack?
Here are the facts:
Fact: There has been a 330 percent increase
in backpack-related injuries among school-age
children in America since 1996.
Fact: Students lift and carry nearly 11 tons in
their backpacks in a single school year. Twelve
pounds in an average child's backpack X 10 lifts per
day = 120 pounds Per day X 180 school days per year
= 21,600 pounds lifted in one school year. That's
nearly 11 tons of weight; the equivalent of six mid-
sized automobiles!
Fact: Many students have no lockers or
access to their lockers to relieve the load.
Fact: Most school districts are doing little or
nothing to address this growing problem.
Fact: The Consumer Product Safety
Commission estimates that 4,928 emergency room
visits each year result from injuries related to book
bags and back carriers.
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE BY CLICKING
HERE
KIDS AND COMPUTERS - A PAIN IN THE NECK
Pay Close Attention to Your Child's Computer Set-Up
In or out of the classroom, young computer users
need to know about proper posture and have their
monitor and chair properly adjusted. The advice
comes from the Association of Canadian
Ergonomists (ACE) just as the children of North
America are about start a new school year.
As far as the setup of the equipment is concerned, the
ergonomics considerations for adults and children
are similar, according to ACE Executive Director Margo
Fraser in a recent article in the Toronto Star. She
emphasized, however, that everything needs to be
lower for kids. The adjustment includes making sure
the computer monitor is at eye level and an arm's
length away.
"If you set it up for an adult it's going to be way too high
for a child so they're going to be bending their neck
backwards, putting a lot of stress on the neck," Fraser
says. "The arm's length is just sort of a starter
guideline, but you really have to pay attention to the
posture they're using after that."
She recommends that they keep their wrists up and
straight when they're doing computer work and
support their feet with a phone book, box or other
footrest. And she says a height-adjustable chair is a
good investment.
"At minimum, I really encourage people to try and go
out and get one of the height-adjustable chairs,
because that can help take a lot of the problems
away," Fraser says. "Then they can use the chair to get
the keyboard and mouse at the right height and just
have to adjust the monitor height from there."
She recommends mini-keyboards that have no
number pads so the mouse can be positioned closer
to the child. Training a child to use the mouse with
both hands shares the load, another option.
Read my article
ERGONOMIC CHECKLIST for specifics on setting
up a workstation with a computer.
From Ergoweb
FILE OF LIFE AND EMERGENCY ALERT
Free Montgomery County Services
Montgomery County is offering residents a free "File of
Life,"
which can give emergency workers a quick medical
history of people living in a home. The file is a red,
plastic, magnetic file pocket that attaches to a
refrigerator. See the link below.
The county also has an emergency text alerting
system that will provide information about emergency
incidents, severe weather report, significant
transportation disruptions or events and any
changes in the threat level for terrorist attacks. The
alerts may be sent via email, cell phone, Blackberry,
PDA, or pager. See the link below.
FITNESS CORNER
Golf: How to make swing changes stick
"A considerable amount of research has been
conducted in the last decade to determine the number
of times a movement must be repeated in order to
make it natural. Different studies report different
values when examining the hours of practice required,
but all suggest that it takes thousand of hours, and
that almost all high level performers practice upward
of 20 hours per week-for years! While the definition
of "practice" varies across researchers, most experts
agree that using a variety of practice types when
developing new skill is important. Typically, these
include focused physical practice at the range,
working with a coach or teaching professional,
imagery training, and watching yourself (via video
lesson) or other perform. The bottom line is that you
need to spend considerable dedicated time and effort,
under good practice conditions, to develop expertise."
Penny McCullagh, Ph.D., professor and interim
associate dean of the College of Education and Allied
Studies at California State University, East Bay.
From Golf Magazine, September 2007, p. 71
Keep an eye out for our GOLF FITNESS MADE
EASY CLASS given through the Montgomery
County Recreation Department. The classes will start
in January 2008 in several locations throughout the
county. More to come in future newsletters.
NUTRITION CORNER
Celiac Disease: Get rid of GLUTEN!
A lifelong autoimmune intestinal disorder, found in
individuals who are genetically susceptible. Damage
to the mucosal surface of the small intestine is
caused by an immunologically toxic reaction to the
ingestion of gluten and interferes with the absorption
of nutrients. Celiac Disease (CD) is unique in that a
specific food component, gluten, has been identified
as the trigger. Gluten is the common name for the
offending proteins in specific cereal grains that are
harmful to persons with celiac disease. These
proteins are found in all forms of wheat (including
durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn, and faro), and
related grains: rye, barley, and triticale and must be
eliminated.
From Celiac.org
Common Symptoms: Bloating or Gas ,
Diarrhea, Constipation, Fatigue, Itchy Skin, Rash,
Tingling/Numbness, Pale, Mouth Sores, Joint Pain,
Delayed Growth, Poor Weight Gain, Thin Bones,
Infertility, Headaches, Depression, Irritability,
Discolored Teeth.
From Celiaccentral.org
If you have these symptoms, try removing gluten from
your diet. The best list of gluten free foods can be
found at
Clanthompson.com.
GOLF FITNESS MADE EASY
A Complete Guide to Golf Fitness and Injury Prevention
Purchase my updated E-Book for only $9.99!
Tiger, Vijay, Ernie Els do it, so should you. Get Golf Fit
and take strokes off your game!
Just
click
on Golf Fitness Made Easy! to
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ROTATOR CUFF RELIEF
The Ultimate Guide to Rotator Cuff Fitness and Injury Prevention
THE DVD IS FINALLY HERE AND
AVAILABLE
ONLINE AND AT OUR OFFICE!
Just click
on RotatorCuffRelief! to
order!
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