Tomorrow marks the start of the last school term, so it's timely to think about backpacks and back pain in children. A 2012 Spanish study looked at whether backpack weight is associated with back pain and back pathology in 1403 school children aged 12-17. It found that 61.4% had backpacks exceeding 10% of their body weight and those carrying the heaviest backpacks had a 50% higher risk of back pain. Girls had a higher risk of back pain than boys. The study concluded that c