Weight of School Bags and Its Relationship With Musculoskeletal Disorders in Elementary School Students of Kerman, Iran in 2014

Background: heavy school bags increase students’ musculoskeletal disorders. according to instructions, weight of school bags should not exceed 10% of students’ body weight. this study aimed at investigating the ratio of school bags weight to students’ body weight and evaluating the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. methods: in this cross-sectional study, 723 students were selected from six elementary schools in kerman. such information as the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and demographic characteristics were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. results: the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was related to shoulders, neck, and waist. indeed, weight of 50.1% of students’ bags was over 10% of their body weight. the results showed a significant relationship between the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and school bags’ weight to students’ weight ratio (p = 0.03). additionally, such disorders were significantly more frequent among students of higher grades. conclusions: this study revealed a significant relationship between school bags’ weight and musculoskeletal disorders.