Weight Loss and Musculoskeletal Pain
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 11:47PMIn the US the prevalence of obese and overweight individuals has increased from 47% in 1976 to 66% in 2003.[i] More than 44 million Americans are considered obese.
Every day I get people asking if losing weight would help with their pain. The evidence on this issue is mixed in some senses. Intuitively, though, we all know that we feel a little better if we lose a little weight.
A recent study shines some interesting light on this issue. A group at the University of Cincinnati looked at the impact of weight loss of musculoskeletal pain over a short-term window of time. [ii] The participants were enrolled in a weight loss program that involved bi-weekly visits to a weight loss clinic. They had pain assessments taken at baseline and over the course of the study.
The study participants lost an average of approximately 1.5lbs per week over the course of the study. The authors observed a trend of decreased pain associated with increased weight loss. This trend was more significant for back and lower extremity pain.
“For the lower back, the decrease in pain was immediate and consistent across the 6 bi-weekly assessments with an approximately 21% pain reduction.” [iii] Weight loss had a less prominent effect on neck and upper extremity pain. Pain related to the low back, hip and knee demonstrated the most significant reductions in pain over the course of the 12 weeks.
[i] Work 36 (2010): 295-304
[ii] Work 36 (2010): 295-304
[iii] Work 36 (2010): 295-304
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