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As they head off to school to learn 21st century mathematics and science, do your children look like Neanderthals, hunched over under a heavy load? For growing bodies, backpacks that are too large or too heavy can lead to long-term back problems. If you’re buying a new backpack, shop with these guidelines in mind:

The pack should fit the child. Don’t buy a full-size pack for a first grader, expecting her to grow into it. With the shoulder straps adjusted, the pack should fit vertically between your student’s shoulders and the top of their hips.

Choose a pack with shoulder straps. That takes stress off the shoulders.

Choose a pack with a waist strap, padded if possible. The waist strap keeps the load close to your child’s body, reducing strain on the spine.

Choose a pack without wheels. Wheels are not a solution. They force the child to twist his or her spine, add weight and can cause falls on stairs.

Teach your child to use his or her backpack correctly:

Pack correctly. Backpacks should weigh no more than 10% to 15% of your child’s body weight. The median weight for a 9–year-old boy is about 60 pounds; that means his backpack should weight no more than 6 to 9 pounds.

Load correctly. The heaviest items should be closest to the child’s back.

Lift correctly. You child should use both hands and bend her knees to pick up the backpack. Put one shoulder strap over one shoulder and then the other.

Wear correctly. Both straps should be snug on top of the shoulders. Everyone, including fashion-conscious teens, should use the waist strap. The backpack should be against your child’s back at all times. There should be no space between the pack and his back. When wearing the backpack, your child should be able to stand and walk upright. Ears should be aligned over shoulders and shoulders over hips.

Many children visit the emergency room with neck pain and headaches from using backpacks incorrectly. And faulty posture during childhood causes wear and tear on the tissues of the spinal column, which can result in back pain later in life. To prevent these problems, help your child to carry less and to carry a backpack correctly. Remind your children to wear both straps and to stand up like a 21st century man or woman.

Are you joining a gym? Whether you are starting, returning to, or continuing an exercise program, here are some suggestions for exercising consistently and safely.

Choose your gym strategically. If the gym is not with 10 to 15 minutes of your home or work, don’t sign up. Find a gym you pass on the way to work or home.

Is the gym clean? Is there a complete line of equipment available? You should be able to work a balance of muscle groups.

Does the equipment fit your height? Are you 5’4″ or shorter or 6’2″ or taller? Most gyms do not have equipment that adapts outside these ranges, particularly for smaller people.

Will qualified employees teach you to use the machines correctly? Good gyms give you an introduction to the equipment.

Do you have a particular problem with your head or back or neck? Are the gym’s employees qualified to understand the problem?

Do the exercisers at the gym look happy? If people look miserable because they are straining and struggling, gym members could be at greater risk of injury.

Tips for the gym

Go to exercise. Don’t go to read a book. Exercise promotes a sense of relaxation and muscle awareness. When you read, it throws off your body position and body awareness.

Let go on the treadmill. If you have to hang on, the speed is too fast. As soon as you hang on, you twist, which can lead to back injuries.

Do what is appropriate for you. Don’t try to compete with the person next to you.

Choose age–appropriate classes. Understand what your want to do for your body and make sure you’re with the right age group.

Go eay on the weights. After a certain point, upping the weight is not that beneficial. It’s more important to exercise a balance of muscle groups and to stretch before and after.

If you miss a week at the gym, don’t start where you left off. Back down a bit. Ask for help. Double check to be sure you are using machines correctly.

Away from the gym

Stretch every day. When you’re stretching you also build strength. Stretching promotes good body mechanics, which help you avoid injury. See my video for home exercises.

Do some physical work. Both an elliptical machine and your vacuum give you the benefits of cardiovascular exercise.

Walk or bike outdoors. Swim. Your own body is the best piece of exercise equipment.

When you can’t get to the gym, keep walking and stretching. If you make a big effort and then skip a few days, you lose the benefits of exercise. Try for consistent, everyday exercise.

A lot of people are afraid to play golf. They think it’s bad for their backs. But you can play golf safely and without pain if you pay attention to your posture. This is the secret: If your posture is good, you’ll play better. Good posture improves your swing. Good posture in golf requires that you keep your spine straight . Don’t curve your body into a C–shape with your head hanging down.

Stretch for a Smooth, Strong Swing
Golf, like every athletic activity, requires flexibility, strength, endurance, and the ability to relax. Stretching helps you keep your posture correct and your swing strong. Stretch before you play and between holes. You need flexible strong hip muscles to turn your hips.
Stretch your hip flexors by slowing raising your foot toward your buttocks. Hold your toes and feel the stretch in the front of your thigh.
Pull in your abdominal muscles as you walk the course. You need strong trunk muscles to hold your spine stable.
Reach your hands around your shoulders and give yourself a hug. You need flexible and strong shoulder muscles to swing your upper arms.

For more stretches, see Fairbend DVDs.

What Causes Golf Injuries
For one thing, clubs. To avoid injury, treat your clubs like any heavy item: your printer, a big bag of garden mulch. Remember:
Keep heavy items close to your body.
Don’t lift and twist at the same time, look straight ahead, first lift your clubs, then turn.
Bend your knees to lift.

Golf Mania
Golf is good for you because it involves varied motions and walking. But sometimes, enthusiasm for the sport leads to injuries:
Play golf only when the temperature is above 50 degrees. In cold weather, your muscles don’t warm up and you’re more prone to injury.
At the practice range, vary your shots to avoid repetitive motion injuries. Don’t practice the same swing 100 times.
No matter how eager you are to play, stretch first. Don’t jump out of your car, sprint to the first tee, and swing. (Don’t “grip” the club and “rip” your muscle.)

“Summertime,
And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high”When these lyrics were written, summer living was indeed easy. In pre–air–conditioning 1935, people slowed down for summer. Fast-forward 74 years and summer is fun, but not necessarily relaxing. We golf. We waterski, swim, boat. Jog, bike, hike, play pickup baseball. Carry picnic coolers. Haul compost. Play tennis. Then, we get hurt.

What causes summer injuries?
Many adults are fairly sedentary during the winter. When summer comes, they dive into a full pool of activities. Suddenly, they are swinging, lifting, jumping, reaching in ways they haven’t since the previous August. Children, who are active during the year, get summer injuries when they overspecialize. Camps and clinics that focus on one favorite activity all day for a week or weeks at a time are dangerous for children in the growth spurt years.

How to avoid summer injuries
It’s very simple to avoid summer injuries, but also surprisingly hard. Here are four things you can do:

Alternate activity and rest. After strenuous exercise, your body needs time to recover and rest the tissues. You know that. But faced with 14 days straight of glorious summer weather, the temptation to overdo it on the golf course or in the garden or on the ball field is strong. That’s when you should take a break. Take a day off, even if it’s not raining.

Drink water. No one expects to get dehydrated. But it’s very common in summer, for both children and adults. You need water to avoid injuries to your muscles and tendons and also to regulate your body temperature. Old and young alike should drink water. In hot weather, you should drink 16 ounces of water 15 to 30 minutes before exercising. While exercising, drink small amounts of water frequently.

Wear sensible shoes. This doesn’t mean “ugly” shoes but rather shoes appropriate for the activity. Flip flops are fine to wear to dinner. They’re not fine for errands and gardening.

Stop if you feel pain. That’s stop – s, t, o, p – stop. This is difficult when you’re having fun. You might think, “Oh, it’s just a little twinge,” or “I’m sure that will feel better in the morning”. But pain is a protective mechanism. Even if it’s just five more holes or one more match, stop.

Best approach to summer injuries: Prevention
The best way to deal with summer injuries is not to get them. Stretch before activities. Take a break. Drink water. Wear the right shoes. Stop the minute you feel pain. Then, you can have fun in the sun, from today all the way through summer to Labor Day.

Like many people who walk for regular exercise, I find that getting out the door can be the most difficult moment of my routine. Then, I remind myself of all the benefits of such a simple activity as walking. If you have trouble sticking to a walking routine, I propose that you join me in our own version of the Boston Marathon.

Here’s how it works:
Walk one mile outdoors every day for 26 days. On the 26th day, add an extra one-fifth of a mile. Your total for these 26 days will be 26 miles and 385 yards, the official distance of the Boston Marathon.

Most people can walk a mile in about 20 minutes. Every day for 26 days, leave your home or office and walk outside for 10 minutes. Then walk back to your starting point. Follow this schedule and imagine where we’ll be:

Day 1: Mile 0, we’re at the start line in Hopkinton.
Mile 0 advice: Like runners at the starting line, hydrate. Drink water before and after your walks.

Day 13: Mile 12.5, we pass through the Wellesley College “scream tunnel” of cheering students.
Mile 12.5 advice: Like the runners at Wellesley, get encouragement. Tell a friend your goal to walk every day and check in as you make progress.

Day 20: Mile 19, we run by the statue of Johnny Kelley, who ran the Marathon 61 times.
Mile 19 advice: Like Johnny the Elder, count the times you exercise. A simple tic mark on your calendar will encourage you to walk more often.

Day 26: Mile 25 to the finish. We pass the Citgo sign, the crowd goes wild as we turn the corner at Hereford Street, we burst over the finish line at the Boston Public Library.
Mile 26 advice: Use your imagination when you exercise. I hope visualizing the Boston Marathon will help you walk every day this month.

Running the Boston Marathon may be glamorous, but walking is still the best exercise you can get. Walk every day, and you’ll enjoy a ripe old age, like the 113-year-old marathon.

Whatever your exercise program, you should walk outdoors every day. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to these philosophers:

“Walking is man’s best medicine.”
Hippocrates, the Greek physician and founder of medicine knew his stuff. In the intervening 2,500 years, medical researchers have noted that walking reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, lowers blood pressure, wards off dementia, reduces obesity, and strengthens muscles.

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
Henry David Thoreau understood that walking is good not only for your body but also for your spirit. People who walk sleep better and have more energy. They have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression.

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.”
As Thomas Jefferson advised, make walking a habit. Try to walk every day at the same time. You can slip a few minutes of walking into a busy day by parking farther away or walking to the next-closest subway stop. There’s more benefit in a half-hour walk every day than in a run once a week.

“Take a two–mile walk every morning before breakfast.”
Harry S. Truman knew that you can walk anywhere, even if you’re the President. You don’t need special clothing or equipment. You can walk in most types of weather. Walking is free.

“No problem is so formidable that you can’t wall away from it.”
Feeling stressed? Get outdoors. And Charles M. Schulz would suggest that you take Snoopy with you. If you don’t have a dog, offer to walk a neighbor’s pet. Or make a regular date with a human friend to keep you both walking every day.

“A penny saved is a penny earned.”
Benjamin Franklin never drove but he would adise you to save gas. Save on medical bills, massages, physical therapy. Walk.