EFFECTS OF VARYING BACKPACK LOADS ON TRUNK INCLINATION DURING LEVEL WALKING IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Several studies have been completed to determine the effects of backpack load on the dchanges of posture and gait pattern. The study on the trunk posture usually consists of the trunk inclination angle and range of motion. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of load carriage on the trunk inclination angle of children while walking with different loads. Two male subjects, aged 6 years old were asked to walk at their comfortable speeds while carrying their schoolbags with load 0%, 10%, and 20% of body weight. The children were required to walk on an 8 m track a few times before their movement was recorded. The result showed that carrying heavy load of 10% and 20% of body weight induced a significant increase in forward lean of the trunk.