CORRELATION BETWEEN BACKPACK LOAD AND FOOT POSTURE IN SCHOOL STUDENTS: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Background: Backpacks are routinely used by school students to carry books and other educational materials. Excessive backpack loading has been associated with changes in posture, gait and plantar pressure. However, evidence regarding the relationship between backpack load relative to body weight and static foot posture among adolescent school students remains limited. Objective: To measure backpack load expressed as a percentage of body weight. To assess foot posture using FPI-6. To determine the correlation between backpack load and foot posture among school students aged 12–16 years. Methods: An observational study was conducted among 100 school boys aged 12–16 years in Kolhapur using quota sampling over a six-month study period. Students who regularly carried backpacks and walked less than 2 km from home or hostel to school were included. Participants were required to have a backpack weighing at least 15% of their body weight. Students with neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorders affecting gait or posture, recent lower-limb or spinal injury or surgery or hip-knee deformity were excluded. Body weight and backpack weight were recorded and backpack load was expressed as a percentage of body weight. Static foot posture was assessed using the Foot Posture Index-6 (FPI-6). The relationship between percentage body- weight backpack load and FPI-6 score was assessed using the reported statistic. Results: The mean backpack load was 16.75% of body weight and the mean FPI-6 score was 7.03. A strong positive correlation was observed between backpack load expressed as a percentage of body weight and FPI-6 score (ρ = 0.817, p = 0.001), indicating a statistically significant association. Most participants (89%) carried backpacks weighing 15–19.9% of their body weight, while 44% had FPI-6 scores between 7 and 9. Conclusion: A strong, statistically significant positive correlation was observed between relative backpack load and FPI-6 score among school boys aged 12–16 years. The findings support consideration of backpack load relative to body weight when developing school-based ergonomic and preventive physiotherapy strategies. Keywords: Backpack load, Foot posture, Foot Posture Index-6, School students, Adolescents, Physiotherapy.