Measuring the Relationship between Obesity and Low Back Pain: A Review Article

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is a common and elusive disorder. It cannot be comfortably diagnosed through clinical procedures, and little is understood about its etiology. From a public health perspective, it would be important to know if lifestyle factors, such as body weight, play an important role in its genesis. However, a look at the literature reveals some misperceptions. There are several hypotheses relating to a link between obesity and LBP. Increased mechanical demands resulting from obesity have been suspected of causing LBP through excessive wear and tear, and it has been suggested that metabolic factors associated with obesity may be detrimental. Thus, some consider it possible, but not particularly strong contributing factor of LBP, whereas others do not think that it is a risk factor of LBP. It has also been postulated that obesity may be a marker or an organizer for some other factors that are considered the causes of LBP. This study aims to measure the relationship between body weight and low back pain (LBP).