09 413 5312
Elevate Chiropractic
  • Home
  • Services
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Is being overweight causing your back pain?

3/7/2014

0 Comments

 
One of the questions I get asked a lot in the clinic is, “is my back sore because I am overweight?”  It is a hard
question to answer and I usually respond by saying that I see people of all sizes with back pain so it is not the only reason your back is sore, however, being overweight may not help the situation.  In the book The
Physiology of the joints
by Kapandji, it says that every extra 1lb of weight a person is carrying equates to 10lb extra pressure on the discs in the lower lumbar spine.  This is quite a big effect and can account for some of the pain an overweight person feels.  This extra pressure on the discs can lead to problems like wear and tear and disc bulges and could also slow down your recovery time.  

Carrying extra weight can also lead to problems with other joints, especially the knees.  The flip side of this, is
that if you lose weight it can have a big effect on the joints. An article published by Harvard Health Publications stated “In one study, the risk of developing osteoarthritis dropped 50% with each 11-pound weight loss among younger obese women. For men who get their body mass index (BMI) down from 30 or higher to between 25 and 29.9, knee osteoarthritis would decrease an estimated 20%. A similar change in women of the same age could cut the incidence of osteoarthritis of the knee by about 30%”. 

Losing weight can help your joints and your recovery, but it can also have a huge effect on the risk of future health problems. We have all heard about the benefits of weight loss for general health reasons.   For example, a 22lb weight loss can reduce the risk of heart attack by 75% and weight loss can help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and can help normalise blood pressure etc.  There is tons of information out there about this topic that is very interesting.  I may talk about that more in a future post.

The idea to take from this blog post is that being overweight may not necessarily be causing the back problems you are suffering from but may a contributing factor.  As with any problem, you need to have it assessed to see what the cause is and get it corrected.  Losing weight will help take some pressure off the joints and help protect them, but it will also help improve the overall function of your body.  If you have any questions or have a problem that you would like to have assessed, please contact us, and we can get you started on your road to recovery.


 


 




0 Comments
    Dr Craig Buscomb

    Dr Craig Buscomb

    Bringing you news, research and advice on health, wellness, exercise and chiropractic care to help take your health to the next level

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Air Purifier
    Athritis
    Back Brace
    Back Pain
    Balance
    Barefoot
    Blood Pressure
    Body Hacks
    Brain Development
    Brain Function
    Breathing
    Cervicogenic Headaches
    Children
    Chiropractic Care
    Chiropractic Research
    Clicking Joints
    Concussion
    Core Exercise
    Crawling
    Cryotherapy
    Diaphragmatic Breathing
    Disc Herniation
    Disc Injury
    Dizziness
    Dr Craig Buscomb
    Elderly
    Elevate Chiropractic Clinic
    Ergonomics
    Exercise
    Eyesight
    Fall Risk
    FAQs
    Fidgeting
    Flexibility
    Foot Function
    Free Spine Checks
    Functional Movement
    Gardening
    Grip Strength
    Grounding
    Habits
    Hanging
    Headaches
    Headbanging
    Health
    Heat Therapy
    Hip Hinge
    Hip-Hinge
    Hugging
    Hypermobility
    Ice
    Joint Cracking
    Kneeling
    Knee Pain
    Lifting
    Low Back Pain
    Meditation
    Migraine
    Mirgrane
    Mobility
    Movement
    Music
    Myofascial Release
    NEAT
    Neck Pain
    Neuroplasticity
    New Year's Resolutions
    Nocebo Affect
    Non-Exercise Movement
    Osteoporosis
    Overweight
    Pediatric Care
    Physical Activity
    Pillows
    Placebo Effect
    Plants
    Posture
    Power Poses
    Rehabilitation
    RICE
    Risk Of Dying
    Schoolbag
    Sciatica
    Sciatic Nerve
    Seniors
    Shoulder Pain
    Sickness
    Sitting
    Sleep
    Sleeping
    Soft Tissue Release
    Sport
    Sports Performance
    Stability
    Static Back Position
    Stress
    Stretching
    Studying
    Surgery
    Teenagers
    Tension Headaches
    Testimonials
    Text Neck
    Tongue Positions
    TV
    Upper Back Pain
    Upper Cross Syndrome
    Vertigo
    Walking
    Warning Signs
    Water
    Weightloss
    What To Expect
    Work Breaks
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

    Contact Us
    Services
    About Us
    It's what you do everyday that impacts your health, not what you do sometimes.

Let us keep you updated with our newsletter

Quick Links

Home
Services
About Us
Blog
Contact Us

Contact Us

Shop 1, 10 Greenhithe Road
Greenhithe, Auckland
P: 09 413 5312
M: 027 975 4104
E: drcraig@elevatechiropractic.co.nz
Submit once, a confirmation email will be sent to you.
© Elevate Chiropractic  2014 | Website developed by Outbox Ltd