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Lose Weight, Heal Your Herniated Disc
Lumbar discs herniate with excessive flexion, rotation, and compression. Increased weight clearly increases the compression forces through the lumbar discs.
If you have a herniated lumbar disc and are overweight, it’s more difficult for your body to heal the disc. Simply because of the increased forces through your disc from excessive weight. Losing weight has been shown to decrease disc related lower back pain and promote healing of the lumbar disc.
This paper describes a herniated disc that healed after a person lost 55 pounds in 10 months. Being overweight has been shown to result in recurrent disc herniations even after lower back surgery.
If you’re overweight and have lower back pain due to a herniated disc losing weight will decrease pain
There are countless diets and approaches to weight loss. Truth be told, the best approach is one that is simple and easy to stick to. You don’t need an elaborate plan that involves changing your entire life. You won’t stay with anything like this. You may last a week or even a couple months. But eventually you’ll go back to what you’re used to.
Chose one or two simple changes
Start walking thirty minutes every day. Cut sugars out of your diet. Quit drinking soda. These are just some simple ideas. The point is, pick healthy habits that lead to weight loss but that don’t require complete lifestyle changes. This way you’ll stick to what you start and lose weight over the long haul. Then the weight will stay off.
Healthy weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Make it a goal to lose whatever weight you need to over the next six months to one year. As you lose weight your back pain will gradually decrease. And your herniated disc will heal.
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