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Archive for category: Occupational Therapy At Work

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Occupation Is: Doing Fun Stuff

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Remember: Occupational Therapists define the word “occupation” as the way people “occupy” their time. So, for us, this term actually includes all roles involved in living (again, therapy for living, who knew?). In keeping with my theme for October, in celebration of OT month, I will continue to explore the journey of “occupation” from morning to night, highlighting how OT’s help when things breakdown along the continuum that is living.

So, what are your plans after work? How do you like to spend your evenings? What do you do for fun? Given the choice, how do you spend free time? While being productive is essential for the human psyche, so is being unproductive. Well, sort of, because even a lack of productivity is productive. Deep, I know.

Personally, I love a good funny movie, dinner with friends, time with nature, getting out with my kids, exercising, playing sports, reading, blogging, and going on vacation. Those are my “fun”. For others, this could be creative hobbies or outlets, museums, live theatre or music, antiquing, collecting, photography, being online, or a thousand other things that I don’t even know exist.

So what if I was injured, suffered from a mental health problem, have a medical issue, or brain injury? Perhaps I would lack the ability to sit through a movie, or could no longer understand the nuances of humor. Maybe my personality would change and my friends would have a hard time relating to the “new me”. Or, I could no longer physically handle my nature walks, exercising or playing sports. If my vision was impaired, I could not read anymore. If I struggled with cognitive communication, or attention problems, putting together a blog article might also be off the table. And vacations? Those are incredibly difficult to plan and organize at the best of times.

Occupational therapists are very skilled at helping people resume the occupation of fun. There are multiple ways we do this, as we recognize that our “fun” defines much of who we are, and why we work so hard in the first place. For example, if I had to rehab myself from the problems above, I might start with suggesting sit-coms as these require less physical tolerances for sitting, and a shorter attention span. I could view these with another person, and discuss the humor, sarcasm, and recall the best one liners. Perhaps I would need education and support to understand how my personality changes are impacting my relationships, so I can try to make some changes. If my physical abilities were limited, my OT could help me find new ways to enjoy nature (bird watching, photography as examples), and could help me discover new sports and forms of exercise within my abilities (yoga, Tai Chi, and many modified sports have become very popular for people with disabilities). If I can’t read a standard book, maybe I could use an iPad or e-reader so I can change the font size, or switch to audio-books. For my blogs, I could learn new ways to move from a blog idea to a full article, by breaking down the topic into paragraphs or chunks, or learning how to dictate if written communication is my challenge. Vacations could take the form of day trips, short overnights, and eventually out of the country through the help of a travel agent that specializes in planning accessible vacations. I would probably learn that in Canada my attendant can fly for free (with approved paperwork), and that many places (Disney included) are highly accessible.

So if a disability is stopping you from enjoying the occupation of fun, OT’s treat that.

Check out more posts from our “Occupation Is” series.

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Occupation Is: Productivity

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Remember: Occupational Therapists define the word “occupation” as the way people “occupy” their time. So, for us, this term actually includes all roles involved in living (again, therapy for living, who knew?). In keeping with my theme for October, in celebration of OT month, I will continue to explore the journey of “occupation” from morning to night, highlighting how OT’s help when things breakdown along the continuum that is living.

So far we have slept, gotten up, groomed, dressed and in the last post consumed some food. Now what? Well, this is where the rubber meets the road and we get to be productive. But let’s not put productivity in the “job” box. There are a multitude of ways that people spend their time during the day, all equally important.

For those of us that “work” (in a paid capacity), this often dictates when we leave the house, and requires some kind of commute. When we arrive we need to negotiate our way to where we need to be and the next eight hours (or more) are determined largely by the demands and requirements of others. If we don’t work for money, perhaps our form of meaningful activity is child care, or care giving in general. Parents with disabled kids, or adults with disabled parents, spend a considerable amount of time in this capacity. Maybe we volunteer and that fills our day. For children, meaningful and productive activity are in the form of play or school. For young adults, this too is often education, socializing, or a job that is part time with varying hours. Some people spend their day on hobbies, sports, or exploring creative outlets that are “free time”. Some enjoy reading, and others watching television, going online, or managing the affairs of a household (errands, housekeeping, meals etc).

So you can imagine the issues that are created by a disability. What if you can’t drive, or tolerate public transit and now you are unable to get to work. Some disabilities extend the time required to complete a morning routine, and people with these problems are not able to get anywhere before 10am. Maybe you can get to work (and on time) but your office is not accessible, or your job requires abilities you no longer possess. Or if you suffer from significant fatigue, maybe being able to manage a full day, or the stresses of working, are an ongoing struggle. In your role as caregiver you are required to engage in physical activities of lifting or transferring, or this requires emotional stamina that you no longer have. As a volunteer you defined yourself by the way you were “giving back” and now this has changed. You are left feeling disappointed, discouraged and need to find a new purpose. For children that cannot play and explore their world, they need to learn alternative ways to negotiate and learn from their environment. Or, if productivity is in the form of other outlets, visual, hearing, dexterity or mobility problems can limit one’s ability to engage in those passions. Sometimes, productivity is hindered by many things, including physical, cognitive, and emotional and the barriers in each domain need to be analyzed before problems can be solved.

Again, this is all occupational therapy. For example, when my visually and hearing impaired grandmother was having back problems, I was able to align this with her “productivity” which consists of sporadic computer use and occasional television (both modified to meet her needs). What we discovered was that her significant leaning into the screens to “see” was the root of her problem. We were able to bring her computer monitor closer to her face, make changes to her computer chair, and later designed a cabinet that allowed her to get under the units to prevent leaning. Or, for another client that suffered from significant mental illness, we were able to making significant rehabilitation headway by first re-engaging her in her previous passion for making stained glass. For another client, a business owner, his treatment took the form of setting up guidelines, systems and processes at work that reduced distractions and interruptions so he could effectively work through and resolve priority items. But my favorite story is helping a friend with his neck pain by watching him use his computer. I just told him to stop being a chicken pecker and to learn how to type. Voila, neck pain gone!

The bottom line is that feeling productive and being productive are two of the most important aspects of the human psyche. Just knock something off your “to do list” and see how that feels. To become unable to be productive by virtue of physical, cognitive, emotional or behavioral problems creates a long list of secondary disability that is equally, or even more, damaging than the primary disability in the first place. Productivity following an accident or illness often takes new forms – and modifying ways to play, go to school, work, volunteer, or engage in other meaningful tasks is at the forefront of occupational therapy. Problems with productivity? OT’s treat that.

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Occupation Is: Eating

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Remember: Occupational Therapists define the word “occupation” as the way people “occupy” their time. So, for us, this term actually includes all roles involved in living (again, therapy for living, who knew?). In keeping with my theme for October, in celebration of OT month, I will continue to explore the journey of “occupation” from morning to night, highlighting how OT’s help when things breakdown along the continuum that is living.

So, we have slept, are out of bed, groomed and dressed. Now what? Typically we head to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Admittedly, I am a terrible cook. And on top of this I am leery of ready-made foods, and think the microwave is the root of all cancer. So, let’s just say I struggle with everything that is meal preparation. Many of my clients struggle with this also, but for much more legitimate reasons…

For most of us, breakfast is typically simple. Cereal, toast, maybe eggs, pancakes, granola or fruit. Lunch slightly more complicated, and dinner is an effort. So what if you have a brain injury and have difficulty planning meals? Or, you cannot drive, or can no longer access public transit so you have problems getting items at the store? Maybe you are on a strict budget and can only get food from a food bank. Perhaps you have food in the house, but your appetite is supressed from medication, depression, or some other physiological or mental illness. The dishes might be too heavy to lift if you have upper extremity problems, or you have one hand you can’t use at all which makes cutting, peeling, and carrying heavy pots very difficult. If you have a special diet, or cannot consume foods by mouth, meals take on another form – pureed, soft, smoothies, Ensure, or even through a feeding tube. If the meal is made, perhaps you just can’t carry it to the table as you use a wheelchair, or cane, and the last time you tried the meal ended up on the floor. If you have tremors, shakes or dizziness, walking carrying anything is a challenge. Once you are at the table with your food, an upper extremity or visual problem might make it hard to get the food onto the fork, spoon, or into your mouth. Chewing could be another problem if you have oral-motor difficulties. Then you have to swallow and choking or aspiration are possible.

Occupational therapy treats all that. We provide strategies and supports to enable shopping, and aids that might help get the groceries into the car, into the house, and into the cupboard, fridge or freezer. Or to improve memory we can help to set up systems that enable people to shop efficiently and effectively, including meal planning, creation of lists, mapping out products in isles, and providing strategies on ways to prevent visual and auditory overload common to most stores. When cooking, occupational therapists look at safety around appliances, provide strategies to reduce bending, standing, or reaching, or even aids to reduce bilateral (two-handed) tasks if necessary. If there are dietary concerns, occupational therapy can provide aids and education, and can work with a speech therapist or dietitian to make people are able to manage nutritional needs. If there are negative eating behaviors, we can treat that through cognitive and behavioral therapy, tracking, and helping people access other resources and programs. For consuming food, there are several devices that we can use to address a visual-perceptual neglect, a dominant hand impairment, and train people how to eat with a prosthetic. We can make customized utensils and splints to bridge the gap between a hand and mouth if the two can’t connect.

Spoken quite simply – occupation is everything that is eating: from planning what to eat, getting the food from the store to the house, preparing this safely, and making sure the food meets the mouth, or the stomach. If these things are a challenge for you, occupational therapists treat that.

 

 

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Occupation Is: Managing Toileting, Grooming, Showering and Dressing

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Remember: Occupational Therapists define the word “occupation” as the way people “occupy” their time. So, for us, this term actually includes all roles involved in living (again, therapy for living, who knew?). In keeping with my theme for October, in celebration of OT month, I will continue to explore the journey of “occupation” from morning to night, highlighting how OT’s help when things breakdown along the continuum that is living.

Okay, so you are up, out of bed, heading to the bathroom. “Occupation” is also the process of managing personal care tasks involved in toileting, grooming, showering or bathing, and dressing.

Assume you have reached the bathroom. What happens if your back is too sore to bend you towards the sink, or the toilet is too low and you don’t have the lower extremity mobility or strength to crouch to that level? Or, maybe you have lost bowel and bladder abilities and you are required to toilet differently? What if when you look in the mirror your thoughts start racing to negative, derogatory or harmful comments about yourself? You want to shower or take a bath, but you can’t stand that long, can’t get your cast wet, or have hypersensitivity to the water hitting your skin. Maybe you can’t get to the bottom of the bathtub, or even if you sit to shower, can’t reach your shower head, lift your shampoo bottle, or lack the arm, hand and finger abilities to scrub your body or your hair. If you are using a wheelchair or commode, maybe you can’t even get into the bathroom in the first place, or if you can, can’t get into the shower, under the sink, or can’t see yourself in the mirror. Or, perhaps your depression limits your motivation to shower, or to brush your teeth or hair in the first place.

Maybe you have managed to do your grooming, toileting and washing. What if you can’t get dressed? Perhaps you are on the main floor because you can’t do the stairs, but all your clothes are in your upper bedroom. Or, your clothes are not clean because you lack the ability to do so. Maybe you dresser is too high, or too low, or you can’t reach the shelves in your closet due to pain, limited strength or mobility. Putting on a bra requires significant shoulder movements and putting on socks requires flexion and external rotation of the hips, or bending, and you can’t do any of that?

Occupation is all of that, and these things are addressed in occupational therapy. If you can’t use the toilet, perhaps you need education, supplies or help to manage briefs, urinals, catheterizations, bed pans, disimpaction, a colostomy, ileostomy, or suppositories. Maybe you need a commode beside the bed because your bathroom is not accessible, or you don’t have a toilet on the level of the home you are required to sleep on due to limited mobility. What if the commode you do have won’t fit over the toilet, or even through the bathroom door? If you can get in the bathroom, but the toilet and sink are not usable for you, perhaps devices would help to correct this, or you need education on alternatives. Perhaps your shower or bath needs some adjustments to help you transfer into / out, to sit to shower, or to reach the shower head. Maybe the shampoo and soap bottles need to be changed or relocated. A reacher may help you to access some of your clothing, or you need education and support to rearrange your things to promote your independence. Education and equipment for dressing may help to reduce your need for assistance with dressing your upper and lower body. No motivation to do these things in the first place? Solutions can include cognitive, emotional and behavioral strategies and supports to change thinking patterns, reengage the psyche, and to restore normal routines.

Spoken quite simply – occupation is going to the washroom, grooming, showering and dressing, and if these things are a challenge for you, occupational therapists treat that.

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Occupation Is: Getting Out of Bed in the Morning

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Back by popular demand and in recognition of Occupational Therapy Month we are re-running our series “Occupation Is.”   I will be spending the month of October defining the word “occupation”. Why? Because, contrary to the traditional understanding of the word, occupational therapists define this differently. For us, the word “occupation” does not only include “paid” work, employment, or jobs. Rather, we define it as the way people “occupy” their time and as such it actually includes all roles involved in living (therapy for living, who knew?). So, for this month, I will explore the journey of “occupation” complete from morning to night, highlighting how OT’s help when things breakdown along the continuum that is living.

I assume the routine for most of us is the same. Morning hits, we hear the alarm clock, snooze it a few times, and eventually swing our legs over the bed, stand, stretch and head to the washroom. Sounds easy, right? But what if it isn’t?

What if you have had a terrible sleep? Perhaps you live with chronic pain and cannot get comfortable in your bed. Or, you have an acute injury and are trying to sleep on broken ribs, while wearing a cast or sling, or with bruises, scrapes, or swollen body parts. Maybe you live with anxiety, depression, or have trouble controlling your thoughts when you try to drift off. You have restless legs, or are on medication that makes you sleep too much, or causes insomnia. You are worried about something, someone, or have a child, spouse, or family member in your home that might need you during the night. Tomorrow is a big day and you are excited or nervous. You have neighbors that are too loud, or are spending the night in a shelter because you have nowhere else to go. Really, obtaining a restful sleep is actually difficult.

Assuming you have slept, and recognize the alarm is going off, what if you can’t just “throw your legs over the bed, stand and stretch”. Then what? Do you have or need support or devices to make the transition from lying to sitting, from sitting to standing, to a walker, cane or onto a wheelchair or commode? Perhaps your depression or anxiety makes it extremely difficult to transition out of bed to face the day, or to start your morning routine. Maybe you need to stay in bed for an extra hour because the amount of sleep you got just won’t cut it for challenges that day will bring.

Occupation is all of that and as such, these things are addressed in occupational therapy. Why are you not sleeping? Can we assist you to obtain a better sleep surface? Can we educate you on how to obtain a restful sleep position by suggesting changes to how you are lying, or through the use of pillows or wedges? Can we help you to shut your mind off through progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, natural sleep remedies, or by assisting you to obtain medical assessment and intervention? Can we aid in reducing your stress such that you are more at ease when trying to fall asleep, or so you won’t wake as much during the night? If you are sleeping through your alarm, or can’t motivate yourself out of bed in the morning, perhaps we can provide you with cognitive and behavioral strategies to re-frame that process to enhance your success. If there are physical barriers to positioning in bed, sitting, transferring or standing, we can prescribe equipment, aids, tools and support to ensure this part of your morning routine is safe, to promote independence, or to assist your caregiver.

Spoken quite simply – occupation is getting out of bed in the morning, and if this is a challenge for you, occupational therapists treat that.

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How to Conquer “Sitting Disease”

The negative health effects of sitting for extended periods of time, coined as “sitting disease” has been a hot topic recently. Studies show that sitting for extended periods of time, as many of us do at work, while commuting, and even while watching television or reading, can lead to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and a decreased lifespan. But while we need to work, commute, and enjoy our down time, how do we combat these negative effects? Here are our top 5 tips to conquer sitting disease:

1. Take Regular Breaks: Taking a regular break can help boost productivity, reduce stress and benefit your physical health. Once an hour make sure you stand up, walk around the office, stretch or do some simple exercises like squats or lunges.

2. Stand While You Work: Standing workstations are becoming an increasingly popular choice in offices across the globe. These workstations allow you to adjust your desk from sitting to standing so you can have both options during the day.

3. Switch Your Seat: If you must sit while working, think about changing your seating options! From exercise ball chairs to desks with pedals, there are many options to help you increase your health while sitting.

4. Perfect Your Posture: While you are seated ensure you are not slouching, leaning or bending over to access your workspace. Sitting up straight and ensuring proper posture will go a long way for your physical health!

5. Make it a Mobile Meeting: If you’re meeting with a colleague see if you can have your meeting on the go. Take a walk around the block while you discuss or walk to your favourite coffee shop where you can continue your discussions there.

Check out the following article from The Guardian for more information on “Sitting Disease” and be sure to speak with your employer or an occupational therapist about ways your workspace can be accommodated.

The Guardian:  Is Sitting Down Bad for my Health?

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Sensory Overload! Understanding Sensory Sensitivity in Kids

Guest Blogger Jana Maich, Occupational Therapist

In my previous blog, “Busy Bodies, Is It Sensory Seeking,” I wrote about the sensory seeking child. To quickly re-cap, sensory seekers are always on the move, searching for sensory input in order to meet their high sensory thresholds. On the other end of the spectrum is the sensory defensive child. Unlike sensory seekers who have high thresholds for sensory input, sensory sensitive children have very low sensory thresholds. Due to these low thresholds, they experience sensory input much more intensely or notice sensory input much more often than their peers. This means that sensory input that may not bother you and I (for example the feel of jeans, brushing our teeth, or the sound of an alarm going off) may be very aversive, distracting, threatening, or even painful for that child.

Sensory sensitive children can respond to their low sensory thresholds in couple of ways. For some children, they may actively avoid sensory input in an attempt to avoid meeting their threshold. They may set strict rituals and routines to avoid unfamiliar sensory input which can be seen as threatening, engage in disruptive behaviours, or escape the situation in an attempt to avoid feeling the pain or discomfort caused by some sensations.

Other children may demonstrate less active attempts to avoid sensory input. Although these children do not actively avoid the situation, they are constantly bombarded with sensory input as they notice it much more than others. They may appear distracted, hyperactive, or have difficulty focusing as their attention is constantly being diverted to a new sensory stimulus in the environment.

Sensory sensitivity is not to be confused with normal selectivity of children. For example, it is not uncommon for a child to dislike going to the dentist or to cover their ears in a noisy environment. Ask yourself: How much is the sensitivity negatively impacting my child’s daily routine and functioning? Is my child unwilling or unable to participate in daily routines and activities due to avoidance or sensitivity to sensory information?

As mentioned in the last blog, if you are concerned that sensory sensitivity may be a problem for your child, an occupational therapy assessment can help determine the underlying causes and potential solutions. Therapy sessions for sensory sensitivity may focus on specific exercises and techniques designed to desensitize your child and support increased tolerance for sensory input. Additionally, occupational therapists can offer simple strategies and/or modifications to daily routines that enable your child to better accept difficult sensations (e.g. hair washing, eating certain foods, or tooth brushing). Strategies can also be recommended to improve your child’s ability to filter out extraneous sensations in order to promote increased attention and focus. As always, all strategies would be tailored to meet your child’s specific needs, modeled, and modified as needed.

If you are concerned that your child may be experiencing sensory sensitivity, and you would like some support and guidance to understand or reduce those behaviors, try occupational therapy.

References
Dunn, W. (2002). Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile: User’s Manual. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation.

Dunn, W. (1997). The impact of sensory processing abilities on the daily lives of young children and their families: a conceptual model. Infants and Young Children, 9(4), 23-35

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Busy Bodies: Is it Sensory Seeking?

Guest Blogger Jana Maich, Occupational Therapist

In my experience as an occupational therapist working with children, sensory related concerns are some of the most common issues brought to me by parents. Sensory processing is complex, however, often there are simple home-based strategies that can be very helpful in meeting your child’s sensory needs. One of the most troubling sensory related concerns for parents is when their child is a “sensory seeker,” meaning they seem to be constantly looking for additional sensory input. In this blog post, I will be explaining what it means to be a “sensory seeker” and will provide information on how occupational therapists can help you to meet the needs of your child in order to keep him or her in a more regulated state throughout their day.

Sensory seekers are constantly “on the go” as they are attempting to obtain the sensory input that their bodies crave. They may run, crash, jump, mouth items, bounce, flip, spin, etc. to keep their bodies moving. This type of child has what we call a high sensory threshold (1). This means that in order to feel “regulated” and in an optimal state for attention and focus, they require much more intense sensory experiences than others. As a result, they are constantly on the lookout for such opportunities.

Occupational therapy works with children who struggle with sensory seeking by first identifying the types of sensory experiences your child is seeking, and second by helping to create more opportunities for sensory input throughout your child’s daily routines. When needed sensory input is provided naturally, these children are able to remain in a more regulated state, reducing the behavior.

If you are concerned that sensory seeking may be a problem for your child, an occupational therapy assessment can help to outline the behaviors, causes, and possible solutions. Our treatment would then involve specific activities and strategies tailored to your child’s needs. Additionally, these strategies will be modeled, monitored, and adjusted as needed during treatment sessions to help reduce them over time.

There are many activities that occupational therapists can suggest to support you in meeting the unique needs of your child. Everyday activities such as household chores, park visits, games and activities can be designed in ways that help provide needed sensory input. An occupational therapist will ensure to make the activities FUN and a part of the daily routine. The ultimate goal is to integrate activities that are enjoyable for your child naturally into their day, making “therapy” not seem so “therapy” and to ultimately benefit your child and other members in the family impacted by the behavior.

If you are concerned that your child is sensory seeking, and you would like some support and guidance to understand or reduce the behaviors, try occupational therapy.

1) Dunn, W. (1997). The impact of sensory processing abilities on the daily lives of young children and their families: a conceptual model. Infants and Young Children, 9(4), 23-35

2) Ayres, A.J. (2005). Sensory integration and the child. Understanding hidden sensory challenges. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Service.

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Back to School – Backpack Safety

Backpacks are a staple for every student. They travel back and forth between home and school, lugging books and school supplies. They are put through the unavoidable daily abuse of being thrown on the ground, trampled on, stuffed into a cubby or locker, saving a spot in line, and become over-stretched and over-used with the necessities of school. They are a necessary part of your child’s education, yet how much thought do you really put into the backpack your child wears aside from maybe price or color?  Have you considered the health implications of an improperly worn, fitted, or poorly supportive backpack?

Backpacks are meant to be worn over both shoulders so that the weight can be evenly distributed across some of the largest and strongest muscles in the body. Due to this, backpacks are preferable to shoulder bags, however they must be worn properly in order to avoid postural issues and injuries to the back, shoulder, and/or neck (1). Additionally, backpacks that are too heavy or large increase a child’s risk of injury due to falling or tripping (2). The following are some simple tips to help ensure your child’s backpack is fitted properly in order to avoid any negative health implications.

First of all, when choosing a backpack look for the following features (1,3):

  1. Make sure the backpack is made of a lightweight material. Sure, some trendy materials may look cool, but these can also add unnecessary weight.
  2. The backpack should have two wide, padded shoulder straps that are adjustable. Thin, narrow straps can cut off circulation resulting in pain, tingling, and numbness.  Straps with a clip to secure them across the chest are best.
  3. Look for a padded back to increase comfort and also to protect your child from being poked by items inside the bag.
  4. Backpacks with a waist strap help distribute the weight more evenly and can protect the neck and shoulders from carrying the weight independently.
  5. Check out backpacks that have a roller option if allowed in your child’s school. This allows freedom to switch between wearing on the back (for example on snowy days when rolling is not practical) and rolling the bag on the ground to take stress off of the neck and shoulders.
  6. Ensure the backpack has multiple compartments as this helps to distribute the weight more evenly, and keeps things organized and separated.

Once you have found the perfect backpack, ensure the backpack is worn properly by following some of these general guidelines:

  • The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that backpack load should never exceed 10-20% of your child’s body weight. Make sure unnecessary items aren’t traveling back and forth – leave heavy items at home or school if possible.
  • When putting on a backpack, ensure your child bends at the knees (not the waist!) and uses both hands to lift it onto their shoulders. Watch for signs of strain or difficulty when putting it on – if any are present consider reducing the load in the bag by having your child carry a few items.
  • ALWAYS use both of the shoulder straps. No matter how “cool” your child thinks using one shoulder strap looks, it can cause muscle, spine and orthopedic injury down the road.
  • Tighten the shoulder straps and use the strap around the waist (if available). This helps to ensure even weight distribution. The bag should sit in the center of the back, about two inches above the waist (not down near the buttocks!).
  • When packing, ensure heavy items are near the center / back of the bag. Use all of the available compartments to help distribute the weight more evenly.
  • Talk to your child about making frequent trips to their locker, desk or cubby to avoid carrying extra weight around all day.
  • Consider the backpack as a possible culprit if your child starts complaining of back pain, numbness or tingling in the shoulders or arms, or discomfort in the upper body or lower back.  If so, consult with a professional about how to correct the issues, and prevent these from getting worse.  Core, back, or strengthening exercises might be needed if your child is having difficultly lugging around their school stuff – and consult a professional to have any exercises prescribed.

Then, make it fun!  Give your child a list of things to look for when picking out their backpack, and comment on the different features of the ones at the store.  Once purchased, load this up with different things so you can show them the difference when weight is distributed evenly, unevenly and gets too heavy.  Have them try the straps at different lengths so they can comment on what is most comfortable.  Encourage them to leave things at school that should stay there (like indoor shoes) and consider having a double set of school supplies at home so these don’t need to travel back and forth.  Make Friday “clean out your backpack day” for a special treat.

Remember that you get what you pay for.  A $10.00 backpack chosen on style or color may cost you a lot more in the long run.  Backpacks are not an item you should cheap out on!

1)      American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (2013).
2)      KidsHealth (2013)
3)      American Academy of Pediatrics (2014)

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30 Days Of Organization

This August Entwistle Power has launched a social media campaign dedicated to helping you clear the clutter and get organized! Being organized, at home and at work, helps increase productivity, decrease anxiety and stress, and can help teach responsibility to children. Check out these great organization tips from WebMD and follow our campaign using #organizedOT for daily tips and tricks to help get yourself and your life in perfect order.

WebMD:  10 Ways to Cut Clutter in Your Home