The online world is awash with information claiming that being overweight needn’t be “unhealthy”. Those advancing this claim are, no doubt, thinking of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, primarily.
But there is no question that carrying more weight than is naturally supported by your skeletal system creates another type of health problem.
Your joints and cartilage are forced to work harder when your body is larger than your skeleton is happy to bear. This means you’re at risk for health complications that affect mobility, like osteoarthritis.
This post, then, is about how weight reduction can help back pain. While you may not want to believe it, losing a little weight can help back pain, reducing your chances of having to live with it by over 30%.
Not Just About How Much You Eat
The terrible truth is that we live in a culture which promotes the consumption of fast food. Laden with the unholy trinity of sugar, fat and salt, this type of food synthesizes into inflammatory proteins. This can provoke or aggravate pain.
Adding more fruits, vegetables, lean meats and grains to your diet and eating less fast food will inhibit this effect. Further, the fiber content of foods which aren’t highly processed will result in more efficient digestion of what you eat, resulting in weight reduction.
Not only will these foods not synthesize into inflammatory substances, they’ll provide you with an anti-inflammatory effect, in many instances.
Just Add Movement
Many of us dismiss the superlative health benefits of adding more movement to our lives. But when we perform any kind of exercise, we build muscle. Muscle does not store toxins, but fat most certainly does.
Most important when discussing back pain is your mid-section (core). These are the abdominal, back and gluteal muscles, which all work to support the spine. When these muscles are kept strong, your spine is protected.
Excess weight can also be addressed with exercise. Talk to your doctor about exercise and back pain and start a program. If you’re living with back pain or concerned that you may be if you don’t do something, it’s time to act.
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint
It’s crucial that you understand how weight reduction can help back pain and that you begin to make some subtle changes in your lifestyle to achieve it.
But you’re running in a marathon, not the 100-yard dash.
Weight reduction is a lifestyle change. You’re not losing weight for a big event, or to be beach-ready next summer. You’re losing weight to feel better and stronger and healthier. Take your time. You’ll find that making small changes makes it easier to keep going – to make more significant changes in diet and exercise as you go.
Doctors see “sprinters” fall off the track all the time. Almost every one of them was in a hurry to make a profound change. But real change that lasts is achievable only with patience and consistency.
At Spine Consult New Jersey, we treat all conditions of the spine. Let us know how we can help!