Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain due to Heavy Backpacks in School going Children of Karachi

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To know the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain due to heavy backpacks in school going children of Karachi. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with systematic random sampling. Data collection was done between August and September 2015. The inclusion criteria were healthy boys and girls, with no known history of any musculoskeletal problem or any other deformity or pathology. Excluded Students were disabilities, other health issues and those who didn’t took consent from their parents. Survey was done through questionnaire. SPSS 23.0 was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 115 students mean age of the students were 10.90 ± 0.79 with range of 9-13 years. There were 67(58.3%) male while rest were female. Prevalence of musculoskeletal Pain in different parts of body was 96 (83.5%). Shoulder pain was common in 90(93.8%) students. There were 93% students carrying >15% ratio of body to bag weight. Conclusion: Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was very high due to the carrying heavy backpacks. Shoulder pain was the most common type of pain. Moderate Pain was more found in the children. Students carry >15% ratio of backpack and it will cause musculoskeletal pain or deform posture in future.