Modern age is the age of science and technology. We are addicted to our gadgets. Unlike the past age, life is mechanical today. Machine has replaced manual labor, and as such people have become idle and sluggish. All these have changed the way people used to live life earlier and given rise to many lifestyle diseases. Obesity is one of the most common lifestyle diseases. A person is said to be obese when he has excess body fat. Lack of proper nutrition, lack of physical activity and exercise, unhealthy lifestyle, stress, alcoholism, eating disorder etc, are the major causes of obesity.
Obesity is a serious disease that leads to the development other diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, colon cancer, coronary heart disease and lower back pain. If a person is obese, he is likely to develop symptoms related to spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative disc disease and other musculoskeletal symptoms.
How is obesity and lower back pain related?
Lower back pain and obesity correlation
Our spinal cord carries the whole weight of our body. The spine distributes the weight when we are doing some physical activity or taking rest. Owing to obesity, the weight of a person increases. Thus the spinal cord is not able to carry that burden and this may even lead to damages like sciatica and injury.
The lumbar spine, that is the lower part of the spinal cord is affected mostly due to obesity. This causes lower back pain which originates from the muscles on the both sides of the spinal cord. If more stress is put on the spine, it will start paining and naturally, we will start having back pain.
Most of the times, obese people have excess abdominal or belly fat. These people are more prone to lower back pain. The fat stored in the abdomen will put strain on the lower back muscles. The lower back muscles becomes stiff and makes it difficult to move, sit and sleep.
There are many obese people who prefer sitting on or sleeping in the same posture, as they believe their back pain will increase if they move frequently. But, this is not true. If you do not engage in any physical activity your body will suffer from poor flexibility and your muscles will become weak. Thus, your lower back pain will increase, and you may fall prey to some life-threatening diseases.
Little changes in lifestyle can relieve pain
We can bring some common changes in our lifestyle to get a healthy body. The following methods will reduce body weight and lower back pain:
- Exercising for 1 hour
- Brisk walking for 30 minutes
- Having healthy food
- Having small portions of food six times a day
- Avoiding junk food or having those only once or twice a month
- While working on the office, change your posture frequently and go for a two-minute walk once in every two hours.
If you are suffering from chronic lower back pain, you must consult a doctor who will show you the right exercises along with prescribing medicines. Taking the advice of a dietitian and a physical trainer is really essential. You should educate yourself regarding back pain and the ways of reducing it. You can visit the website www.theobesityfacts.com to know more about obesity and eating habits. Remember a healthy body devoid of those extra pounds and back pain will definitely help you live a happy life.
Author Bio:
I am Ella Jones. I am a freelance writer and have been writing for a number of years on health related topics. I write blogs on health-related issues. If you want to educate yourself on obesity and the ways to combat this problem, you can take help from my blog obesityfacts.tumblr.com
