EFFECT OF BACKPACK ON GAIT KINETICS IN FRONTAL PLANE IN SCHOOL CHILDREN.

Frontal plane analysis during gait is an area which needs more investigations as the sagittal plane analysis is the always the subject of concern. Backpack carrying considered an everyday task during the school year. Carrying the backpack causes undesirable changes that affect different body systems. Purpose: The aim of our study was to determine the effect of backpack carrying on the hip abductors, the main pelvis stabilizer in the frontal plane, during gait. Thirty female normal children participated in this study. They were randomly selected from different schools at Giza government, Egypt. Their ages were ranged from 10-15 years old, their height ranged from 140-160 cm and their weight ranged from 40-50 Kg. Three dimensional motion analysis system with a force plate unit was used to measure the hip abductors moment during walking. The measurement was done with and without carrying a backpack weighted 15% of the subject?s weight. The results: The results revealed that there was a significant increase in the hip abductors moment during walking while carrying a backpack when compared with walking without carrying backpack. The significant increase was detected in both right and left sides. Conclusion and recommendations: - Carrying a backpack weighted 15% of the body weight causes increase in the hip abductor moment and so increase the demands on the body during walking. Further studies are needed to determine the effect of lighter ones.