
One of the worst things that you can do is wear a backpack on a single shoulder. This has been shown to cause your posture to be off balance because of the extra weight on one side. There has been much debate about if weight is a major factor in causing back pain. I'll admit that a heavy backpack no matter how you wear it is bad for your back, but wearing it properly can be less bad if you want to say it that way. When you wear a backpack lower on your back the straps pull into your shoulders more and the leverage makes the weight of the bag more noticeable, when you wear a backpack properly even the heaviest of bags don't feel all that bad anymore. The proper way to wear a backpack is to pull the shoulder straps so that it rests nicely on the upper back and you are able to stand up straight with proper posture without the bag sliding down your back.
This is just a small back to school tip that I thought I would share since there are too many students walking around with their bags on wrong, and there is no reason to ruin your spine so early in life.