Back Pain Prevalent Among College Students

Since starting college last fall, my back has been killing me. I assume it’s from crouching over my desk studying all the time and a heavy backpack. After talking with some upperclass friends, they told me that it happens to everyone and that I’ll get used to it.
So I am wondering, how prevalent is back pain among college students?
I’m not sure if I just have a bad back and need to go see a chiropractor (lol, just kidding I don’t have time for that) or just suck it up because it happens to everybody.
It’s not horrible- really just a full dull ache-as much as annoying. Any advice for copeing?

Back pain, while apparently common, is definitely not “normal”.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/5-steps-to-a-pain%E2%80%93free-back

I’ve had some back problems for a while but they were aggravated when I entered college. I was using a “novelty” backpack that I had bought on vacation to carry textbooks + binders when in hindsight, the backpack should’ve been used for clothes at the very most since there wasn’t really any sort of ergonomic design to the straps or the general weight distribution of the backpack. The straps started to tear towards finals week.

I decided to invest in a North Face backpack which was approved by the American Chiropractic Association – the straps are padded, there’s a number of different compartments (my original backpack had one huge compartment with a small pocket on front) and the overall design of the bag hugs my back properly so it can endure a lot more weight without being a huge burden. I highly recommend buying a good quality backpack – North Face, L.L. Bean, and Eddie Bauer all make very good bags that a lot of college students swear by. They go for 50-200 dollars depending on the style and whether or not they’re on sale. I recommend getting a dark color so that they don’t have to be washed as often (I had a white Eddie Bauer backpack and it looked a lil gross after maybe 5 weeks and had to be cleaned.)

Another factor might be sleep. Are you getting enough sleep at night? Do you find yourself tossing and turning at night? (I sound like a mattress salesman…) The bed you sleep on has a lot to do with back, shoulder, and hip pain. Pillows are really important too. Too firm or too soft of a pillow leads to achy necks and shoulders. Make sure your pillow is providing a good balance of support as well as plush - you don’t wanna sleep on a boulder - but you also don’t want to sleep on a something with the consistency of mush.

Try to maintain good posture - if you’re studying for hours on end, don’t succumb to hunching over. Every 15-30 minutes, stand up, walk around, and sit back down. You’ll become more conscious of the way you’re sitting that way. I find myself rolling my neck and squeezing my shoulders every now and then while sitting in front of a computer to prevent cramps and aches.

Note that a backpack with a hip strap will distribute the weight better than one without a hip strap.

Also - NEVER carry a backpack on one shoulder…

^ there’s no problem with carrying a backpack on one shoulder if you have a light load, though. There were days where all I had in my backpack was a single 80 page college-ruled notebook, so carrying my backpack was like wearing a purse on those days.

My back hurts when I actually study in my room… The furniture sucks… I end up just sitting on the floor and using a hard chair as a desk/table. That way, I don’t need to bend over my work – it’s at eye level already

It’s not common as far as I know of. I might suggest sitting in furniture with an arced back position, or one that you are comfortable in so you don’t always have to lean forward when you sit.

Also, I was one of those kids who carried around a heavy backpack in high school up until the last day of finals. But in college I found that it is not necessary to do so. For most of my classes textbooks do not need to be brought to class, and some can be replaced with looseleaf or web versions. Therefore, for most of the day, I carry around 3-4 notebooks and my laptop in by backpack, a fairly light load. Everything else I don’t need I keep in my dorm. Is that a viable solution to you?

Another option if your backpack does not allow such accommodations is to take notes on the computer or to leave it at home and use the ones in the library. There’s many different things you can do to lighten the load. For most of my classes, I have found no more than a one subject notebook is necessary, and I haven’t even used all the pages in that notebook. Also, consider investing in contacts or glasses if you find yourself crouching over all the time or arrange a system where you stop yourself before you do so. Have desks closer to eye level or seek a better study place.

Good luck