Sciatic pain is a common type of nerve pain. Excess weight is also one of the most common causes of sciatic pain. Being overweight and sciatica can turn into a vicious cycle. Excess weight and persistent pain make it difficult for you to stay active.
Not being able to move limits the type of exercise you can do, which can lead to additional weight problems and even more severe sciatia-related pain. Weight, for example, fuels sciatic nerve pain in many patients. If you're obese or even just overweight, those extra pounds put excessive pressure on your spine, which also starts or aggravates sciatica. If you're above a healthy weight, healing from sciatica also takes longer.
Yes, being overweight can cause sciatica indirectly. When the human body supports more weight than it is designed to, it can cause problems other than obvious heart disease or diabetes. That extra weight also puts pressure on the joints of the body, especially those in the spine. Unfortunately, the lower back bears the brunt of this stress, which is why sciatica is a problem among people who are overweight.
This is because the more weight you carry, the greater the strain on your spine and joints, which can irritate the sciatic nerve. Until now, the roles of overweight and obesity in lumbar root pain or sciatica, as more specific or objectively evaluated results, have not been addressed with a meta-analysis. Scott Smith, MD, addresses those issues, conservatively at first, and provides you with a healthy weight loss plan. At Failed Back Surgery in Weatherford, Texas, we'll look at all the possible causes of your sciatic pain.
If you have limitations in what you can do or find it difficult to lose weight due to chronic sciatica pain, schedule a consultation with The Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care today using the online booking function or by calling the office. It may surprise you to learn that obesity is also a factor related to the debilitating lower back and leg pain associated with sciatica. The etiologies of lumbar radicular pain and sciatica are not well known, but they appear to be multifactorial. Sciatica pain puts many out of service because it affects much of the back and lower body because of the location of those nerves.
When you're ready to rest your back and lose excess weight, come see us at Apollo Pain Management to get started. Second, it may take longer for you to recover from these injuries due to the additional strain on your body. In a 3-year follow-up study of patients with sciatica (6), BMI was the strongest prognostic factor for incident lumbar artery occlusion, which also suggests that nutritional impairment may be one of the pathways in the relationship between obesity and sciatica. In fact, numerous studies show that chiropractic care promotes weight loss, as well as helping patients reduce pain, improve posture, and increase well-being.
Fortunately, the best and most effective ways to lose weight can also help relieve sciatica pain, such as eating healthy and exercising.