Low back pain is a common problem that affects many people around the world. It can lead to disability, missed work, and high health care costs.
People who don’t sleep well, are under stress, don’t exercise, smoke, or are older are known to have a higher risk of developing low back pain.
But whether being overweight or having a high body mass index (BMI) also adds to this risk has not been fully clear. Many past studies were small or only focused on specific groups, like young men or patients visiting spec…
Now, a large new study from Boston University has provided stronger evidence. Researchers found that people who are overweight or obese have a much higher chance of developing low back pain compared to those with a healthy weight. The study was published in the journal Pain Medicine.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Michael Perloff, said that low back pain is one of the top reasons people visit doctors. While there are treatments like physical therapy and medications, it is also important to address the root causes.
He said that quitting smoking and staying physically active can help. This new research adds that keeping your weight in a healthy range may also help reduce back pain.
For this study, the researchers used computer tools to look at the medical records of more than 110,000 adults who had visited a large urban teaching hospital for outpatient care during one year. They collected basic information like age, sex, height, weight, and whether the person had mentioned low back pain during their visit.
The results showed that the number of people reporting low back pain went up as body weight increased. People with a BMI of 18, which is considered a low but healthy weight, were the least likely to report back pain.
As BMI increased to 35, which is considered obese, the risk of low back pain also increased. For every one unit increase in BMI—about 10 pounds for an average adult—the likelihood of having low back pain rose by 7%.
Interestingly, the study also found that once someone’s BMI went above 35, the risk of low back pain stopped rising. It stayed the same at those higher weight levels. This suggests that there may be a limit to how much extra weight contributes to the risk.
Not everyone who is overweight will have back pain, but the study shows a clear connection. The researchers believe that keeping your weight in a healthy range may help prevent or ease low back pain.
Dr. Perloff, who is also the director of pain medicine at Boston Medical Center, said this study strongly supports the idea that managing body weight is one way to protect your back health.
This new research adds important information to our understanding of back pain and gives people one more reason to aim for a healthy lifestyle that includes weight control.
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