You don’t need to lose weight in order to fix your back pain!

One of the most common things people are told with lower back pain who also happen to carry some excess kilos is that in order to fix their back, they need to lose weight.

Let's look at how absurd this common statement is:

• Many people with chronic back pain can not exercise, and as a result they put on excessive weight. They had the exact same level of back pain at a healthy weight, as they do when they seek advice from their practitioner.
• Advising the cause of their back pain is from carrying excess weight.. Wouldn't that imply that all overweight people have back pain??
• And what about all the skinny people out there who suffer from back pain? Is losing more weight going to help them too?
• Many people told to lose weight by their practitioner, adhere to their every word and regain a healthy physique, only to still have their debilitating back pain.. Now what??
• Most people are as desperate to lose their excessive weight as they are to fix their back pain, however they cannot exercise due to their pain which makes the incorrect advice even more frustrating to the back pain sufferer.

How about we change the paradigm:

• Fix the back pain and strengthen the body so it never returns.
• Then focus on losing the excess weight when been able to do quality exercise becomes an option to the now pain free, former back pain sufferer.

Being overweight has nothing to do with lower back pain. I will admit there are many other health concerns that come with carrying excessive adipose tissue, however the point we are making is that you need to address the cause of chronic back pain and often times being overweight is just a symptom.. Yes a symptom, where people put on extra kilos as a result of being inactive and comfort eating due to the pain and stress in suffering from long term chronic back pain.  

Regardless of your age, weight, sex or race, chronic back pain is brought on by muscular imbalances that lead to postural asymmetry. Address the muscular imbalances made up of muscle groups that are over dominate, tight and shortened (anterior muscles groups) and weak, lengthened (posterior muscle groups) then the lower back pain will be eradicated.   

With a new found symmetrical posture, not only will the patient have a pain free back, their body and mind will be well prepared to commence the task of losing the excessive weight often accumulated over years of chronic back pain.

For more information on the process of restoring postural symmetry, please refer to the relevant link on our website.