Pain management and injury prevention are two highly regarded practices that are in very high demand right now. Chronic back, shoulder, neck, hip, and knee pain are at the top of the list for reasons to start a pain management plan. Alongside that, is the practice of reducing risk of injury. The question being asked in this blog is; Does weight management affect pain management and injury prevention practices? If so, in what ways, and how much?
Weight management has many overall benefits such as preventing chronic diseases, reducing stress and anxiety levels, and reducing risk of mortality. In this blog the benefits of weight management linked to pain management and injury prevention will be discussed. Being overweight or obese can have the reverse effects of the benefits of weight management listed above. That means you can develop chronic diseases and have a shorter life expectancy than those who are not overweight or obese. Choosing to start a weight management plan is key to staying healthy and pain free.
Being overweight or obese is usually linked to a sedentary lifestyle. This lifestyle can cause you to become atrophied or weak over time. This is not only affecting muscular strength. It also affects tendon and ligament strength, joint stability, and bone density. These are very important for staying healthy and reducing your risk for serious injury. Once you start to become weak in certain areas other parts of your body like to compensate for that weakness. Oftentimes leading to pain or discomfort. Usually this is associated with poor posture linked to weak or atrophied muscle groups. By staying at a healthy weight it is more manageable to train for strength and resilience therefore reducing your risk for pain and or injury.
Injury prevention is a tricky term that can best be described as; “reducing the risk of injury”. There is no way to actually prevent injuries from happening. The best thing to do is be as prepared as possible to reduce the risk of getting injured, or reduce the seriousness of the injury. Again, being at a healthy weight is key to being able to train the body and human movement system how to react in situations where injury could occur. For example; it has been raining outside and I didn’t see the curb at the corner of the road. I slip and catch myself before I hit my head. If I weren’t in good enough shape to catch myself I could have seriously injured my head. Instead I’ll walk away with a cut and maybe a couple bruises. This can also prevent individuals from having major operations due to injuries that may be caused or negatively affected by being overweight (Salis, Z., Sainsbury, A., I. Keen, H. et al. Weight loss is associated with reduced risk of knee and hip replacement: a survival analysis using Osteoarthritis Initiative data.). Below is a link to a short article explaining the correlation between weight loss and risk of knee and hip replacement.
Use this blog to educate and inspire others on their Weight Management Journey! Here’s to a happy, healthy, and long pain free life!
Written by,
Josh Molli
References:
Salis, Z., Sainsbury, A., I. Keen, H. et al. Weight loss is associated with reduced risk of knee and hip replacement: a survival analysis using Osteoarthritis Initiative data. Int J Obes (2022)
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