Relationship between overweight and low back pain: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine the association between overweight and low back pain. Objectives: The objective of the study was to find out the association between overweight and low back pain participants. Socio-demographic characteristics of the low back pain patients with overweight and non-overweight participants. Overweight category and functional disability among low backpain participants. Methodology: This cross-sectional study included a total of 104 participants who had low back pain. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires, which captured sociodemographic information, LBP related information, life style related information, overweight in terms of BMI measurements and functional disability measure on Roland‐ Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). and the severity of musculoskeletal pain measured by the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS). Descriptive statistics were presented as mean, standard deviation for parametric data and frequency, percentage for non-parametric data. Result: In this study, among 104 participants, the overall age (mean ± SD) was 48.97 ± 5.77 years. 64% were aged 40-50 years, and 36% were aged 51-60 years. 64.4% of the participants were male, and 35.6% were female. In terms of BMI categories, 52% of the participants were overweight (BMI 25-29.9), and 48% were not overweight (BMI ≠ 25 29.9). According to BMI categories, 4% were underweight, 34% were within the normal range, 52% were overweight, and 10% were obese. There was a significant association found between the overweight category and functional disability and the severity of pain with functional disability (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study explored the link between being overweight and low back pain (LBP). Overweight participants experienced longer and more severe pain, commonly reporting dull aching and sharp pain radiating to the leg. The study found significant associations between being overweight and higher functional disability due to LBP. Keyword: BMI, Disability, Low Back Pain, Overweight Word count: 11,116 words.