Thousands of Ohio State students rush to classes with overstuffed book bags. While carrying a book bag may seem harmless, students who don’t pack it correctly can experience back and neck problems.

Book bags put stress not only on the spine, but also on the shoulders, in particular, the rotator cuff muscle, said Kevin Reilly, chiropractic sports physician at Reilly Chiropractic.

“When students wear heavy book bags over one shoulder, the backbone is literally thrown out of alignment,” Reilly said.

“The myofascial trigger points, knotted muscle fibers, cannot contract or relax normally. People cannot only feel pain in the location of the knot, but it also triggers pain in other areas of the body.”

Symptoms of muscle pain resulting from carrying heavy book bags include neck or shoulder pain, headaches, tingling down the arms and weakness of the muscles in the painful area.

When students visit the chiropractor, it is common to do an exam and complete a thorough medical history, Reilly said.

If necessary, he will take X-rays to look at the skeletal structure and to locate the area of the problem.

Treatment entails physical therapy modalities that relax and rehabilitate the muscles.

“The physical therapy modalities gently mobilize the vertebrae back into proper alignment, then I do chiropractic adjustments to correct the spinal alignment,” Reilly said.

If a student ignores neck or shoulder pain as a result of a strain or sprain, the body will almost always adapt, Reilly said.

However, the imbalance pulls the spine out of alignment.

“The weight of a back pack should be no more than 15 percent of the student’s body weight,” Reilly said.

Students should wear both shoulder straps because one shoulder strap can cause a disproportionate shift in weight to one side, which leads to neck and lower-back pain, said William Pease, chairman of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

More students are realizing the benefits of book bags on wheels as an alternative to traditional book bags.

Dan Joseph, a sophomore in Spanish, said he has used a book bag on wheels since he has attended OSU because it’s convenient for walking long distances and traveling.

“It is better for the back since I don’t have to use shoulder muscles and am not leaning forward when walking,” Joseph said.

“I recommend it especially to commuters who don’t have a room to store books and school supplies.”

Although some students use a book bag on wheels, others think it would be inconvenient.

“The campus is too crowded to be dragging something behind you,” said Jeff Coriell, a junior in aviation management.

Coriell said he does not carry all of his books during the day and would have no use for such a large bag.

Jeanne Rockway, a graduate student in electrical engineering, said the weight of the bag might affect the students’ ability to wheel it.

She said she usually carries three textbooks and four binders so that she can study in between classes.

It is also difficult to wheel the bag on cobble stones, grass and mud, which limits the number of short cuts to buildings, Rockway said.