Does Extra Body Weight Increase Pain?

There is a popular myth I'd like to dispel.  The myth is: extra body weight increases pain and physical dysfunction and the extra weight should be reduced or eliminated in order for the pain to go away.  

In our current "Age of Motion Starvation", most people have misaligned joints and dysfunctional muscles.  The excess body weight and the posture joint misalignments are separate issues which must be dealt with separately.  

Let's use this example:  Take a car with BADLY misaligned wheels, fill it with people then strap enough extra weight on it so that the total weight exceeds the recommended weight or load tolerance for the vehicle.   Did the misaligned wheels become worse?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Now, remove the excess weight hop in behind the wheel and take the vehicle for a spin.  Is the car still badly misaligned? Yes.  Did the misalignment get better without the excess weight?  No.

We need to think logically.  Did the extra weight stress the already dysfunctional, ill-positioned wheels? Maybe yes.  Did the problem of wheel alignment get solved by eliminating the excess weight?  No.  

If you are slightly overweight and in pain chances are not very great there is extra strain on your body.  If you are 40, 50, 60 pounds overweight there will be increased stress on joints and muscles that are already misaligned and dysfunctional.  The same 40, 50, 60 pounds of extra weight is not healthy overall for the organ systems or the musculoskeletal system.  The excess body weight will not produce pain and dysfunction unless the pain and dysfunction already existed.  

A colleague of mine Deidra Loesch says it succinctly:
"When a person is overweight, like has a “beer belly,” the extra weight could actually be pulling the pelvis anterior (tipping it down in the front).  I’ve also heard female clients who are bigger in the bust say they think that is part of the reason they have forward shoulders (because of the extra weight they are carrying in the chest).

I have to say I would lean on the side of disagreeing with the above comments because I’ve seen overweight people who don’t have excessive anterior pelvis and I’ve seen women with bigger busts who don’t have forward shoulders. So I think more often than not, the actual deviations probably don’t have to do with weight in that sense. However, I would think that extra weight could create an increase in joint pain if they already have joint pain due to their posture. So as far as symptoms go, extra weight probably makes things worse, but even if they lose weight, the problem will still be there if the posture is not corrected. There may be less stress (weight) on the misaligned joints, which could help the symptom, but it does not take away the problem."

Let us help you see the root cause of your pain and help you correct the misalignments.  Call The POSTURE Clinic for an appointment 772-559-1532.


Catee Ingwersen is a Posture Alignment Specialist trained, certified by the Egoscue University in The Egoscue® Method.  She empowers people every day to overcome pain and physical limitations unlike any other healing or medical intervention.  Call 772-559-1532 or stop by our Clinic in Vero Beach, Florida to discuss this common sense approach and your individual needs.  

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