Dr. Lee's Spine Center Highlights the Importance of Weight Management for Back Pain

QUEENS, N.Y., March 06, 2016 -- For millions of Americans, their back pain is greatly tied to being overweight or obese. In order to control back pain, patients need to ensure they exercise and have the right diet.  Dr. James Lee, of Dr. Lee’s Spine Center, wishes to educate patients on how obesity leads to back pain, what exercises can help patients improve their back pain, and how a chiropractor can help patients pursue a comprehensive weight loss plan.

How Obesity Causes Back Pain

The American Obesity Association (AOA) indicates that musculoskeletal pain, and especially back pain, is seen in one-third of all Americans who are obese. This might explain why the AOA also finds obese people report being disabled and unable to perform everyday activities at higher rates than people with other chronic health problems.

Extra weight puts an enormous amount of strain on the back. While the spine can attempt to adjust to extra weight, often it becomes tilted and strained. In fact, the back may even become deformed over time and lose its ability to support a person’s frame. This results when the spine develops an unnatural curvature, which can lead to long-term back issues and chronic pain.

Weight in the stomach also causes the pelvis to move forward, straining the lower back even further. That’s why many people with lower back problems are overweight or obese. Other conditions like sciatica, pinched nerves, osteoarthritis, and pirformis syndrome are all also tied to excess weight.  

How Weight Management Helps

Weight management is about controlling weight levels to reduce stress on a patient’s spine. With the right weight management program from a professional chiropractor, patients can perform safe and gentle exercises, such as light walking or water therapy. They can then build to regular exercise activity while avoiding exercises that put too much strain on their back. These exercises help build back strength while reducing overall weight at the same time.

Diet is also important, and with the right nutritional counseling, patients will help accelerate their weight loss. It’s ultimately very important that a weight loss management program is tailored to an individual patient’s specific back pain issues and dietary needs.

“We have seen dramatic improvement in back pain levels for patients who successfully completed our weight management program,” said Dr. Lee. “I am always happy when patients can naturally heal themselves without expensive surgery. Weight loss has been medically proven as one of the most effective and least expensive treatments available for back pain.”

Dr. Lee's Spine Center, located in Queens, New York, offers a variety of treatments for patients, including decompression, massage therapy, nutritional counseling, and rehabilitation.

Dr. Lee's Spine Center, (347) 960-7774