If yesterday we were talking about the campaign that the College of Physiotherapists of the Community of Madrid, carries out among schoolchildren from three to eight years to promote postural hygiene and good habits that lead to health, today we bring you the 'back comics' edited by the Kovacs Foundation.
Starting at age 10, the risk of children suffering from back pain increases, and at 15 years old 50% of boys and 70% of girls have had it at some time in their life. Hence the importance of performing preventive actions at earlier ages. The Back Comics it transmits in a simple way how to prevent back ailments and how to speed up your recovery if it appears. A clinical trial conducted by the Kovacs Foundation and recently published by the prestigious scientific journal 'Spine', has shown that its distribution in schools constitutes an effective prevention measure, concluding that it should be generalized and repeated periodically.
Prevent in childhood: investment in health
The Back Comics, designed and drawn by illustrator Adolfo Arranz, teaches schoolchildren the measures that have proven scientifically effective in preventing back pain.
The weight of the backpack transported by the school must not exceed 10% of their body weight
The ideal would be reduce the weight of the load carried by schoolchildren and the duration of their transport, by installing lockers in schools or splitting textbooks into several volumes.
If the child must load the school material, it is best that the back does not support that weight. A backpack with wheels is a good alternative. If the backpack is strapless, it is best for children - unlike adults - to place it relatively low, in the lower back or between the hips, and wear it as close to the body as possible, fixing it with a belt so that it does not wobble.
It is important to know that:
Physical activity and exercise are essential for the spine to acquire its definitive form and have a positive effect for the prevention and treatment of back pain.. A sedentary lifestyle hinders the normal bone development of the spine, leads to loss of muscle strength and endurance and makes the back more vulnerable to excess load.
Children who play sports at a competitive level must follow the advice of their coaches and doctors.
Back pain is not normally due to any serious problem, but should go to the doctor if it lasts more than 14 days or is repeated periodically. In those cases, the sooner one acts, the better.
If back pain is suffered, bed rest is useless and harmful. On the contrary, it should be avoided and maintain the highest degree of activity that allows pain.
Dr. Juan José Rodríguez Sendín (president of the Collegiate Medical Organization) highlights the need for take action before the problem appears or increases. And the same scientific and ethical requirements as the rest of the medicine must be applied to preventive medicine, in addition to the fact that it is necessary to constitute a measure of savings in health expenses.
We are facing an important problem that affects a good part of our schoolchildren and that can become chronic, conditioned their development and subsequent life, but avoidable with simple, effective and low-cost measures
The back comics can be found here, and in this other version. It can help us to help our children from home, to become aware of how important it is to take care of their backs.
