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Subject: Family Resource Management × Author: Saikia, Bristi Angkita × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2014 × Type: Thesis × Thesis Type: M.Sc ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    SCHOOL BACKPACK WEIGHT AND PREVALENCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL DISCOMFORT AMONG ADOLESCENT STUDENTS
    (AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Saikia, Bristi Angkita; Borah, Ruplekha
    Every morning children with their backpack on and heading towards school might not seem harmless enough, but this very concern has drawn in many researchers to explore beneath the veil. This is because the practice of lifting heavy load is often found to be accompanied by health issues. And the school backpack is nowadays considered as a daily occupational load. The present study ‘School backpack weight and prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort among adolescent students.’ was carried out with the objectives (1) to determine the backpack weight of adolescent students and its association with selected variables, (2) to ascertain the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort and its association with selected variables, and (3) to suggest measures to reduce the risk involved in carrying the backpack load. For this study a total of 120 samples (30 samples from each school) were selected from four different schools of Jorhat district, Assam by simple random sampling, comprising of both the gender. Survey method was used and collection of data was done through a questionnaire and still photographs. Information on demographic profile, anthropometric factors, and information on backpack and its use and characteristics of musculoskeletal discomfort, such as frequency and severity were collected. Further Chi Square analysis was done to determine the association between variables. The samples selected were of the age group 11 years to 14 years and the study revealed that only 3 per cent students carried backpack less than 4kg, 38 percent were carrying between 4-6kg and 59 per cent were carrying more than 6kg. In terms of percentage of body weight carrying; only 16 per cent were found to be carrying less than 10% of their body weight, which is the recommended bag weight by many scientific associations. Data further revealed that the highest musculoskeletal discomfort reported was in shoulders (94.2%), followed by upper back (78.3%), neck (73.3%) and others. It was observed that there is a significant association between backpack weight and musculoskeletal discomfort (p=0.001*), class of the respondent (p=0.009*) and age of the respondents (p=0.018*). And musculoskeletal discomfort was found to be associated with class of the respondent (p=0.009*). Further, an effort was made to determine the comfortable backpack carrying position. The body joint angles formed in the sagittal plane while hanging the backpack in three different positions on the back was compared. Ten percent of the total sample students were selected for this experimental study of average body weight of 44.39 kg and carrying backpack of average weight 5.8 kg. Data analyzed in the software Ergo Master revealed that carrying the backpack high on the back i.e. upper back (Position C) snuggling it promotes the least deviation of the body angles from the neutral posture compared to backpack hanging low over the buttock and backpack worn in the middle back. Further on the basis of the experimental study and information collected from research papers, journals, internet and also govt. regulations and guidelines, measures were suggested for the children, parents, school authority and other concerned authorities on safe usage of the backpack.