It’s that time of the year! Students are officially returning back to the classroom and hitting the books as the new school year kicks off. Along with a student’s busy schedule, a backpack filled with books, binders, lunches, laptops, iPods and gym clothes can easily pack on the pounds and lead to improper fit, causing back strain and pain to a child’s back.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2010, nearly 28,000 people were treated in hospitals, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms for backpack-related injuries including strains, sprains, dislocations and fractures.

To avoid pain and discomfort caused from heavy backpacks, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends the following safety tips:

·         Always use both shoulder straps to keep the weight of the backpack better distributed.

·         Tighten the straps and use waist strap if the bag has one.

·         Remove or organize items if too heavy and place biggest items closest to the back.

·         Lift properly and bend at the knees to pick up a backpack.

·         Carry only those items that are required for the day.

·         Encourage you child or teenager to tell you about pain or discomfort that may be caused by a heavy backpack, like numbness or tingling in the arms or legs.

·         Purchase a backpack appropriate for the size of your child and look for any changes in your child’s posture when they wear the backpack.

·         Watch your child put on or take off the backpack to see if your child or teenager expresses discomfort.

                                         ·         Talk to the school about lightening the load. Keep the load at 10-15 percent or less
                              of the child’s bodyweight.

                                         ·         Be sure the school allows students to stop at their lockers throughout the day.

For more information about backpack safety, please visit AAOS at: http://www6.aaos.org/news/pemr/releases/release.cfm?releasenum=1014

Photo and Image Credits:

Freedigitalphotos.net- Photostock

Written By Jason Shinn, M.D.

Broken wrists are common work related injuries. Although a “broken wrist” can indicate a number of different injuries, usually it refers to a fracture of the end of the radius bone at the wrist, or “distal radius fracture”. Usually, distal radius fractures are a result of a fall on an outstretched hand.

In the past, orthopaedic surgeons treated most distal radius fractures in casts. This practice is changing due to extensive study of the problem. Although these fractures usually do heal in a cast, they may not heal in the proper alignment. This may lead to long-term problems, including arthritis and wrist instability. To prevent these problems, it is very important for the wrist to heal close to its original anatomic position, and the surest way to guarantee that this happens is with surgery.

The surgery usually involves opening the wrist, putting the bones in the right position, and then holding them in that position with a plate and a number of screws. The plate and screws hold the bone until it heals. After the bone heals, they are no longer necessary. However, because it means additional surgery to take the plate out it is usually left in forever.

Distal radius fractures treated in casts are casted for about six weeks, followed by therapy to restore range of motion. Surgically treated fractures are typically not casted but are protected in a removable splint and begin therapy much earlier. This earlier motion, with less residual stiffness, is one of the advantages of operative treatment.

According to a 2007 study, average return to work time after a distal radius fracture was about nine weeks, although 20 percent of participants reported no lost work time (probably as a result of their specific occupation). The most important predictors of time lost were occupational demands and self-reported disability.

Another study from Canada looked at level of disability six months after a distal radius fracture.  Similar to what has been found in a number of worker’s compensation studies related to orthopaedic injuries, patient factors rather than injury or treatment factors were found to be more predictive of disability. Injury compensation was the best predictor of pain and disability at six months.  Patient education level and initial radial shortening (a measure of fracture severity) were also predictive. The majority of the patients in the study had very low disability levels at six months.

Although most distal radius fractures treated appropriately heal with few functional limitations, some degree of stiffness is common. Other potential complications include infection, carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.  As with any upper extremity injury, reflex sympathetic dystrophy is a feared and often devastating complication.  Fortunately, it is rare, but it can result in significant disability when it occurs, even in spite of appropriate treatment.

There is a spectrum of treatments and outcomes for distal radius fractures. It may require some time to accomplish healing, but most patients return to their previous occupation uneventfully.