5 Ways Belly Fat Can Cause Severe Back Pain | Possible

Excess weight around your stomach can strain your spines and cause back pain.

Belly fat is not only unhealthy for your heart and health levels but also bad for your posture and spine. It causes back pain which can be avoided with some weight management.

According to spinal doctors today, a huge stomach and back pain are directly related.

Belly fat and back pain go hand-in-hand because the fat ends up straining the ligaments and muscles of the back.

In fact, one of the very first pieces of advice that doctors give to overweight patients with backbone pain is to lose weight. So, exactly how can back pain be caused by weight gain?

Belly fat causes a shift in the centre of gravity

When one has a huge stomach and back pain, it’s because of a shift in one’s centre of gravity.

When one has a proper posture, one stands upright with their chest out, chin up, the stomach tucked in, and the lower back curves to keep the hips straight.

However, when one is carrying extra weight or is overweight, every body part is heavier and it’s the spine that bears the burden.

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When one is overweight, especially the in the stomach area, the situation tends to shift one’s entire centre of gravity forward, thus straining the back muscles.

In fact, staying within 5 kg of your ideal weight will help you avoid lower back pain due to being overweight.

Lack of physical activity leads to back pain

If you have a big stomach and back pain, there is a chance that your body lacks physical activity.

Overweight people tend to experience more instances of lower back pain, even during a simple activity such as walking.

The absence of physical activity leads to abdominal muscles becoming weak, reducing the support given to the lower back.

On the other hand, exercise keeps the abdominal muscles strong which help protect the muscles of the back by contracting and bracing the body during moments such as carrying and lifting.

And while you do that, keep a sharp eye on your BMI. Try out TruWeight’s BMI calculator now.

Belly fat puts pressure on the back

It is surprising just how much losing belly fat in the stomach and back pain are connected, but it’s true – belly fat puts a literal pressure on the muscles of the back indirectly.

Due to the pressure felt by the abdominal muscles due to belly fat and a huge stomach, the muscles which lie along the back of one’s legs and in one’s butt must make up for the same and have to end up working more than their usual capacity.

This leads to shortened, less flexible tissues and muscles, restricting one’s joint mobility and increasing the propensity for sprains, strain and pain.

Restricted torso movement leads to back pain

According to the self-treatment workbook ‘Trigger Point Therapy for Lower Back Pain’, a huge stomach and back pain are also related to restricted torso movement.

The research says that belly fat restricts the torso movement, causing pain via the trigger points in the lower back and the abdomen.

In fact, even when one simply takes a deep breath, it could aggravate a trigger point and cause increased lower back pain.

Belly fat causes digestive issues

Digestive issues causing swollen bellies could lead to possible chemical or dietary imbalances, which in turn cause back pain.

A faulty digestive system will cause waste build-up, which is a direct cause of chemically-induced back pain.

According to the book ‘The Truth About Back Pain’, if belly fat and a big stomach are caused due to a poor diet, it indicates high cortisol levels in the body.

This results in increased cravings for calorie-rich food which, in turn, aggravates the condition and triggers an inflammatory reaction. This ends up leading to both – a huge stomach and back pain.

Get rid of belly fat and relieve yourself of back pain today. Here are some at-home exercises to get you started.

QUICK BYTES

1. How do I get rid of belly and back fat?

Both exercise and a healthy diet are extremely important when it comes to losing belly and back fat, which are quaintly referred to as ‘muffin top’ but are anything but cute.

Eat vegetables, avoid gluten, prepare meals at home, and take up a cardio activity such as Zumba, walking, crunches, etc.

2. Can you lose belly fat by doing pushups?

Does doing push-ups reduce stomach fat?  Indirectly, it does! While exercising regularly helps you lose fat by burning calories, it doesn’t specifically target the stomach, even push-ups.

To make sure that push-ups impact your belly fat as well, focus on burning as many calories as you can with your exercise regime. As the body fat in your body decreases, your belly will shrink gradually.

3. Can belly fat make your back hurt?

Yes, in many ways. It shifts one’s centre of gravity, makes the muscles bear the weight of an inactive body, put literal pressure on the back muscles, induce digestive and inflammatory issues, and even restrict one’s torso movement.