Obesity: A Major Cause of Low Back Pain
February 12th, 2009 - 1 Comment - Category: Basics of Back Pain
According to a new study from the University of North Carolina, chronic low back pain is linked to the increased obesity rates among the people. According to the researchers, low back pain has increased from 3.9% in 1992 to 10.2% in 1996 in North Carolina. The researchers believe that obesity is a strong factor resulting in low back pain.
How Obesity Can Cause Low Back Pain?
Increased body weight due to obesity puts extra pressure on the spine resulting in back pain. The spine joints and discs depend upon motion for being strong and healthy. However, obesity and inactivity go hand in hand, resulting in muscle atrophy and back disorders which result in chronic back pain.
Obesity can result in the following problems of the back:
- Degenerative disc disease
- Spondylisthesis
- Spondylosis
- Spinal Stenosis
- Lordosis
- Osteoarthritis of Spine
About 87% of spine specialists agree that obesity has a major role to play in back pain. Most specialists also recommend weight loss for the treatment of back pain for obese patients. Obesity increases the risk of complications in back surgery. For those who are morbidly obese, the risk of back problems is even higher.
The good news is that people who lose weight have a significant improvement in their back pain. Eating healthy and being physically active is the best way to lose weight. Hence, we should recognize the seriousness of obesity and find ways to lose weight to stay free from back pain
March 18th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Exercising regularly is so critical for overall fitness. This article and many others on websites like http://fitnessforu.info do give a positive motivation to keep fit. Rest is on an individual.