Overweight people are susceptible to spinal degeneration.

Obesity is the cause of increased dangerous chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, endocrine, respiratory... and the skeletal system is one of the diseases that suffer serious damage.

Prevent spinal degeneration by losing weight

The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided standard indicators for the human body. Accordingly, the body mass index (BMI) is equal to body weight (kg) divided by height squared (m), and divided into levels: If BMI is below 18.5kg/m2, it is underweight, thin, BMI from 18.5-24kg/m2 is normal and this index is from 25-30kg/m2 is overweight, BMI above 30kg/m2 is obese. These indicators are slightly lower when applied to Asians.

Overweight and obesity are risks leading to diseases of many organs and parts of the human body such as: cardiovascular system, respiratory system, endocrine system, motor system, psychological impact. Weight that is too large compared to the endurance of the musculoskeletal system also causes secondary degeneration.

In young children, there is a lot of undeveloped cartilage and long bones, too much body weight will greatly affect the development of the musculoskeletal system, specifically manifested as children walking slowly, being lazy to move, and secondary degenerative spine disease may appear.

As body weight increases, the pressure on the joints increases, especially the back, hip, knee, and ankle joints, causing these joints to become damaged and age quickly.

The consequences are pain and difficulty in human movement and daily activities. On the other hand, obese people are often reluctant to exercise, have little outdoor activities, so they are exposed to little sunlight... This prolonged condition will reduce calcium metabolism, leading to reduced bone quality.

In particular, if diabetes is accompanied by symptoms of musculoskeletal pain, it becomes more severe due to osteoarthritis and peripheral nerve damage.

Spinal degeneration is one of the most common diseases today. The rate between men and women suffering from this disease is not too different, women suffering from spinal degeneration account for about 62%, while the rate of men is slightly lower, accounting for 55%.

It is worth mentioning that this is not an inflammatory disease but the cause of the disease is due to the aging process and the prolonged overload of the articular cartilage, leading to damage to the articular cartilage and intervertebral discs in the spine, leading to long-term changes in the subchondral bone and synovial membrane, causing pain and deformity of the spinal joints. That shows that obesity is one of the causes of spinal degeneration. Therefore, you should lose weight to prevent this unpleasant disease.

Prevent degenerative spine disease with proper nutrition, calcium, vitamin D and other appropriate nutrients. Combined with walking therapy and weight loss is the advice of experts for preventing this disease.

Treatment of spinal degeneration

Currently, the combination of Western medicine and traditional medicine is proving to be very effective for people with degenerative spine disease. With specific exercises of movement and self-massage, acupressure or thread implantation (new acupuncture method) brings unexpected results for people with degenerative spine disease. The main treatment methods applied are:

Physical therapy

This is a method that uses exercises to help stretch the spine and strengthen the muscles near the spine with the aim of increasing the durability and flexibility of the spine.

Spinal decompression helps relieve pressure on the spine by increasing the space for nerves near the spine. Physical therapy also helps patients improve their posture, sitting, and pain-relief skills.

Steroid injections

This method is also known as epidural injection. Its function is only to temporarily help reduce spinal degeneration.

This method requires doctors with many years of experience and strict adherence to injection dosage.

Use anti-inflammatory and pain relievers

Common medications used to treat degenerative spine disease include pain relievers, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories, oral steroids, and acetaminophen. However, over-the-counter medications often have side effects.

The choice of treatment for spinal degeneration depends on the level and condition of spinal degeneration. Therefore, patients should have their bone density measured as well as the level of degeneration to help in the treatment of the disease.

According to Vietnamnet