If you are overweight and have a bad back, chances are that the two are related. Nearly 6 out of 10 Americans have a weight problem with a body mass index of 25% and over. Carrying more weight that what your body frame was designed for can lead to chronic back pain. Back pain relief can be attained just by losing these extra pounds and anyone can do it with a little help and will power. Getting your diet in order is the first step but it is not easy and it often takes considerable time and regular exercise to get to your ideal weight. If you are experiencing back pain, exercising can be difficult and even painful so that makes it even harder for you to lose the weight. The idea is to stay focus on the end result and obtain back pain relief.
It's All About The Spine
The spine is basically the frame that supports the entire body and lugging an extra 50 to 100 pounds around can add a lot of pressure on the spinal discs. Over time, this will result to a nagging back pain that just won't go away. This is known as chronic back pain. Try to imagine how good it would feel to walk around without all that extra weight.
Chronic back sufferers know that the journey to back pain relief is a long and painful one. Ask yourself one question. Would you rather stay fat for the rest of your life and try to deal with your back pain on a day-to-day basis or lose the weight and maybe cure your back problem in the process?
There are also several reasons why you should attempt to shed the extra pounds. Heart disease, diabetes and other similar medical conditions have all been linked to being overweight. Looking good and feeling better about yourself are also very important to your self esteem, so start losing that weight and on to back pain relief.
If you are not aware of the dangers of being overweight and the extra stress that it places on the spine, then consider this. High-heeled shoes have become enemy number one to many surgeons because of the stress that they put on the knees and toes. Being overweight does the same thing to the discs and joints within your spine and reduce their lifespan quite considerably.
Get Rid of Your back pain For Good
Back pain related to the muscles affects around 30% of the overweight American population. These same patients also report suffering from fatigue and running out of breath often. Both these conditions in turn makes matters worse for the patient due to their inability to properly exercise and lose the weight.
No matter how bad your situation, it is important to start getting active. Just by taking a five minute walk a few times per day can start you going in the right direction. The next step is to watch what you eat. Remember the rule "too much of everything is bad but everything in moderation is good".
There are also other measures that you can take to try to reduce your weight. Pay a visit to your local doctor and ask for his/hers advice on weight loss medication or in extreme cases, surgical procedures that will get you to your goal a lot sooner. Eating smaller portions but more often, increase in physical activity and getting properly checked by a doctor to determine your thyroid levels are all matters that you must consider doing to kick start your weight loss. The key to back pain relief is wanting to change to a healthier you and sticking with it.