Obesity and low back pain can affect the way women walk

4th October 2011

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Obesity and low back pain can affect the way women walk

Sep 27 2011

The combination of obesity and lower back pain may alter the way a woman walks, a discovery that may impact the way doctors approach rehab for lower back pain, new research says.

The spinal cord that connects the brain to the rest of the body is protected by the spinal column, which consists of the vertebrae, the facet joints and the intervertebral discs that cushion the spaces between the bones. For people who are obese, increased body fat composition can make movement of the skeleton more physically demanding, which may lead to lower back pain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lower back pain has put considerable stress on both the healthcare system and economy in terms of the costs of treatment and lost productivity.

Previous studies have shown that a person's gait, or the way they walk, can be affected by either obesity or lower back pain. However, there has been little research to assess how these two factors as a combination can change someone's gait.

Scientists in Italy wanted to see how obesity and lower back pain together can affect the way people walk, as reported Sept. 26 in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation.
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