Weight Loss and Exercise for Patients

 Weight Loss and Exercise for Patients

Once a doctor determines that weight loss is necessary, the patient then prepares to embark on a lifestyle-altering program of physical activity and diet to achieve the target weight. Another goal may be the general feeling of well-being that arises from a new lifestyle of healthy eating and regular exercise.

Practical guidelines that comprise a sustainable exercise program are outlined below.

Beginning a Safe Weight Loss Program

Before starting any weight loss program, it is important to ensure that the program is safe by meeting with a health care professional. A safe weight loss program takes into account any existing back conditions and symptoms.

Beginning the weight loss program with gentle, low-impact exercises, such as walking or water therapy, help ease back into regular physical activity, without overstressing or straining muscles or joints.

Initial pain and discomfort can be expected as the body adjusts to the exercise component of the program. Any severe pain, discomfort, or major change in symptoms during the program needs to be reported to the medical professional monitoring the patient’s condition.

The Best Exercise Programs to Lose Weight and Relieve Back Pain

Back Exercise Video Library

Back Exercise Videos

Research suggests that some exercise programs are more effective than others in assisting with weight loss, reducing chronic low back pain, and improving the quality of life and functional ability.1

The most beneficial types of exercise include:

Resistance exercise. Two types of resistance exercises include total body resistance exercise, which strengthens the body’s major muscle groups, and lumbar extension exercise, which focuses on the lower back. Total body resistance exercise more effectively improves perceived disability (how disabled the individual views himself or herself to be) than lumbar extension exercise.2 Examples of resistance exercises that do not require weights or resistance bands include squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and prone press-ups.

Aquatic exercise. Exercises that would normally be too painful to do on land are often tolerable to do in water. The buoyancy of water counteracts gravity, supports the extra body weight, allows free movement, and provides friction against movement. Strengthening and conditioning exercises can easily be performed in water with a reduced risk of losing balance and causing further injury.1

Pilates also improves low back pain related to excess weight,3 but individuals who are overweight and obese tend to commit more easily to resistance and aquatic exercises.