Ergonomic School Bags: Can Additional Straps Make a Difference in Posture?

S Veena Kirthika; Selvaraj Sudhakar; D Monika; G Mohan Kumar; S Ramachandran; N Senthil Kumar    nbsp

doi:10.17485/IJST/v16i46.2301

Article

Ergonomic School Bags: Can Additional Straps Make a Difference in Posture?

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Indian Journal of Science and Technology

DOI: 10.17485/IJST/v16i46.2301

Year: 2023, Volume: 16, Issue: 46, Pages: 4429-4435

Original Article

Ergonomic School Bags: Can Additional Straps Make a Difference in Posture?

S Veena Kirthika^1*, Selvaraj Sudhakar², D Monika³, G Mohan Kumar², S Ramachandran², N Senthil Kumar⁴

¹Joint Registrar/Vice Principal/Professor, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India
²Professor, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India
³Student, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, India
⁴Assistant Professor, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Deemed to be University, Maduravoyal, Chennai, 600095, Tamil Nadu, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:11 September 2023, Accepted Date:18 October 2023, Published Date:20 December 2023

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates the potential benefits of incorporating additional anterior straps into school backpacks to alleviate postural issues in children aged 10 to 15 years. Methods: The research was conducted at a Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai for a duration of 7 months and involved 50 students from grades 4 to 8, encompassing both genders. The study utilized experimental design using pre and post-test measurements. This ergonomic school bag consisted of anterior additional cross straps and horizontal straps which is not usually present in conventional school backpacks. The Craniovertebral Angle, Craniohorizontal Angle and Sagittal Shoulder Posture were measured before and after use of ergonomic bags. Findings: Results indicated a significant improvement in postural angles after the use of school bags with additional straps. The Craniovertebral Angle scores increased from 38.47 ± 3.63 (Pre-test) to 45.63 ± 3.05 (Post-test). Craniohorizontal Angle scores decreased from 26.89 ± 2.30 (Pre-test) to 19.98 ± 1.68 (Post-test), while Sagittal Shoulder Posture scores improved from 61.80 ± 4.46 (Pre-test) to 52.74 ± 1.89 (Post-test). The p-value of ≤ 0.001 indicated highly significant difference between mean values obtained from pre and post measurements. Novelty : A backpack with additional anterior straps was designed which differs from conventional back packs and the effectiveness was tested. Previous literature has not reported the benefits of adding additional anterior straps and this research is the first to have studied the effects of this ergonomic backpack on posture among school going children.

Keywords: Backpack, Ergonomics, Posture, School bags, Children, Musculoskeletal pain, Additional straps

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Copyright

© 2023 Kirthika et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Published By Indian Society for Education and Environment (iSee)