Walking around campus with a backpack full of heavy books orsleeping on a sagging mattress can hurt a student's back and classperformance, some University of Memphis students said.
"The beds in the dorms suck me in and make my back curve," saidjunior accounting major Randi Herrera.
Herrera, who lives in Rawls said her aching back "definitely"affects her classroom performance.
"I never want to get up. It's my excuse for not going to class.I never sleep, and I'm always rolling around during the night,"Herrera said.
But students aren't the only ones who say back pain takes awayfrom performance.
"I think back pain is a problem," U of M health educatorJacqueline De Fouw said. "If you have any pain, it takes away fromstudies."
She said dorm beds are notorious for creating back problems.
De Fouw said students should place plywood under their dormmattress to get rid of the lumpiness. If they don't have plywoodavailable, they should put the mattress on the floor.
A pamphlet distributed by Student Health services called, "Oh,My Aching Back!" promotes back massage as a method of relievingback trouble. Massages improve muscle tone and help to relaxstressed muscles.
Overloaded backpacks are another cause of back pain, said KarenCraig, owner and director of the Massage Institute of Memphis.Carrying a backpack with one strap might compress disks on one sideof the spine, she said.
If a disk protrudes away from the spinal cord, there will bepain or a tingling sensation in their back, Craig said, and if thedisk protrudes toward the spinal cord there will be a numbness,which is much more dangerous.
Students wishing to avoid back injury should stretch the backmuscles often, Craig said. One benefit in going to a massagetherapist is that muscles are passively stretched.
Bending over to pick up books or posture when using a computercan also cause back strain, De Fouw said.
To avoid injury, De Fouw said students should keep their booksup high and keep good posture at the computer.
Fitness and wellness graduate assistant Amanda McClain said themost common back problem in adults is due to a forward pelvicthrust.
"Make sure abdominal muscles and lower back muscles have thesame strength," she said, because the forward pelvic tilt occurswhen one of the muscles is not as strong as the other.
Lower back pain comes from weak abdominal muscles and tighthamstrings, and it is important to work and stretch both, McClainsaid.
It is also important when carrying books to make sure weight isproperly distributed across the back, according to healthprofessionals.
"Help your back to stay strong by exercising," De Fouw said.
