back pain and weight

Today I will talk about the most common non-fatal medical diagnosis of low back pain. More money is spent on lower back pain than on diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, to name a few. Today’s question is; Does your weight affect whether your back hurts or not?

The answer is yes, it can cause back pain. Many other things can also cause back pain. You could sprain your back with an injury, arthritis, ruptured discs, osteoporosis, and many other conditions as well. Before we discuss how your weight could make your lower back hurt, we need a quick anatomy lesson.

The neck and lower back have a loroditic curve; that is, bending backwards and it looks like a “C” backwards. The mid back is flexed forward and has a kyphotic curve and looks more like a forward “C”. The muscles of the back and spine are more important in maintaining the structural integrity of the neck and lower back than the muscles of the mid back. This is why auto accident injuries always seem to injure the neck and lower back.

So where does the weight fit in? In most obese people, they gain abdominal weight, fat, and this puts additional pressure on the lower back. The added frontal weight throws off your body’s center of gravity and makes your back muscles work more than they should. Do you need proof? Go to the store and pick up a 20 pound bag of dog food and walk up and down the island. Better yet, ask any pregnant woman in her 8-9 months; “Your back hurts?”

Lastly, very few people specifically exercise their core muscle, let alone attempt to isolate the muscles of the lumbar spine. If you don’t exercise them, they become weak and more prone to injury. Even a minor back injury or overworked muscles can cause the lower back muscles to squeal in pain. Mild pain can be treated with over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen. More severe back pain adds up to medical bills. In addition to medicines we have physiotherapy, X-rays, MRIs, surgery, not to mention hospitalization and free time.

Imagine if you just lost a 20 pound bag of “dog food”. His back would hurt less and, in turn, he would have more energy and become more active. Losing abdominal weight puts less stress on your lower back muscles, and in turn, they don’t cause you pain.

If you need help losing weight to get healthy or relieve your back pain, check out my bio box below.