Weight Loss to Reduce Back Pain

How losing those extra pounds 

can help your back

Weight loss can contribute to less back pain

If you research back pain on the internet you will find that a great many sources lead back to weight and to posture. Both contribute substantially to the well-being or lack of health. However, I would state that weight is more of an issue and a contributor to poor back health, and as a result pack pain. With a national obesity rate climbing from 28% since, there is a clear issue present. But how does exercising help your back?

Weight effects the rotation of your hips

If you look at a drawing of the skeletal system, you will see that the pelvis (or hips) of your body are supposed to be parallel to the ground. There may be a slight shift to the front, but a very minimal one. When people are overweight, the body is essentially placing a giant weight over the pelvis pushing down. Cause and effect take place and the pelvis bones rotate forward to a position that is not natural for the body. This rotation of the hips is known as Anterior Hip Rotation.

When it comes to back pain and hip rotations caused by weight, it can be more clearly understood if you envision your spine and belly as being on a tillable scale. The more weight that you add to side A (your belly) the more side B (your back) has pressure applied and is shifted up. As the spine cannot literally move up to accommodate for the unbalanced weight, the discs shift and pinch nerves, or the back humps. Either situation is typically painful. By removing the excess weight, the figurative scale is balanced and the back is put into its natural position relieving the tension and therefore the pain on the back’s disc.

Your feet, your back, and your weight

Weight on your feet can cause you to have back pain. The foot is intended to have a certain arch. Like with the back, then weight is added to the body, the pressure pushes down upon the feet. Over time, the arches in the feet become flattened. This is known as flat feet and fallen arches. The flat feet can cause the tendons in the legs to stretch causing the body to shift unnaturally to try to find the “correct” position for mobility. However, if the body is out of sync due to obesity, the body will not be able to find the best position without causing compensations to play negatively upon the back and other elements of the body. As such, the lower back, shoulders, legs, and feet are quite apt to experience pain. By exercising, the pressure or squashing of the feet is relieved and the back feels better.

An active life means less idle sitting time

Let us face the reality that most people who are obese do not want to get up and exercise. They should, but they do not. As such, the dominant position of the person is sitting. Add to the weight upon the spine from the stomach area the poor posture caused by sitting in most chairs and sofas available, and it is no mystery where the person’s back pain comes from. It is not that the person is completely immobile, but that the mobility is so limited as to cause muscle tension and quick fatigue, especially in the back muscles. Additionally, because of the immobility and non-active state, the body is more prone to experience nerve pinching, shifted discs, and misalignment.

The Feel good factor

In addition to the physical effects that exercise has on the body, there is also the emotional role in which it plays to your back pain. Where many would overlook the mental state and how it plays to the back. It does play a role. Your mind can intensify pain, cause pain that does not exists, generate fatigue, and a number of other ailments. There is an old saying that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. This saying can be applied to the inactive as well. The more inactive a person becomes the more excuses and negative behaviors will play into his or her mind.

On the reverse side of the spectrum, a person that is active is happier and seeks out more activities that they enjoy. It has been proven that healthy chemicals are released into the body when you work out and are active. If you have less time to focus on your pain, the pain will may prove to be less severe than you first anticipated.

The next step

If you are overweight, the first step is to become active. Remember that your weight did not get there overnight and so taking the weight off will take some time. Seek a doctor’s help to get a program that is best fit for your physical needs. Should you have back pain that limits mobility consider a chiropractor or special physical therapist to help you get to a point where you can exercise, get off the extra weight, and have less back problems.