Having excess weight to the point of obesity can be harmful. This is a serious problem that affects both children and adults.

It is common knowledge that obesity is associated with various diseases like diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease. But did you know that your weight is also a contributing factor to your back pain? That is right. Being overweight can contribute to symptoms that are commonly associated with degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis, among others.

How Excess Weight Can Affect the Spine

Your spine carries your body’s weight and distributes the load both when your resting and moving. When your spine has excess weight to carry, it is forced to take in the burden. The problem with this is that it may cause structural compromise and even injury. The lumbar spine or the low back is a region of the spine that is most vulnerable to the negative effects of excess weight.

How Exercise Can Help

When you do not exercise, your muscles in the back, thighs, and pelvis can get weaker and even lack flexibility. This can also increase that curve in your lower back which will result in the pelvis tilting too far forward. It can be bad for your posture and you know that a weak and poor posture can cause pain in other regions of the spine, including your neck.

Does Back Pain Always Come with Age?

Many people think that the causes of many spinal disorders come naturally with aging. But while it cannot be denied that the spine and body tissues do change as one gets older, the pain is not exclusive to the elderly. If you are carrying excess weight, there is a big chance that you will experience back pain.

Weight-Related Concerns

In fact, you may already have one of the following concerns:

*Unhealthy posture which accounts for back and neck pain. To properly support your spine (and reach a healthier weight) you need to add more physical fitness activities to your daily routine.

* Low back pain that gets worse as the number on your weighing scale gets higher. Your weight may be the reason your back pain never goes away or keeps happening.

* Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis that may happen when excessive body weight adds unnatural pressure and puts your joints under so much stress every time that you move, and sometimes even at rest.