Weight Loss and Lower Back Pain

bjkoziara

Not really sure where to post this and not really sure what the point is of this post, I guess just to vent.

For at least 6 weeks I have had low back pain. I just woke up with it one day and brushed it off as period pain. My period stopped and the pain continued and got worse. It was at a point where I had to call out of work because even standing to go to the bathroom made me feel like my back was going to snap like a twig. I'm 26 and have had no injury to the area, so that level of pain seemed ridiculous.

I made an appointment to see my doctor and she kind of ruled out a few things. She doubts it's a herniated disc (no injuries), she doubts it's my sciatic nerve (no leg issues), and she doubts it's arthritic, even given my weight.

She ended up chalking it up to Period Problems™️. Told me to wait until after my next period came to see if the pain went away. It got slowly better over time, but I still have trouble standing in one spot for longer than 3 minutes or so, and can only walk for 15ish minutes at a time before my back gives. This morning I walked a little further than normal and it took me 5 minutes, not exaggerating, to get up the stairs back to my apartment.

I'm still losing weight, because of course I know all that counts for that is that you're eating at a deficit. I'd really like to work in exercise, just walking, and I feel like I can't even do a basic task. My doctor said PT is the next step, which I would certainly do if I had the money for a $45 copay twice a week. She could do imaging, but I'd have to hit my $2,000 deductible first and that's even more money.

I'm really hoping it gets better as I lose weight.

ETA: The pain started before I tried to start losing weight. The doctor did no actual testing (imaging, bloodwork, etc.) to "rule out" anything (hence the "kind of").

Teabythesea_

Are you exercising at all? Even just walking? If you've made an effort to walk more throughout the day you could just be doing something your body isnt used to. It's strange that weight loss alone would cause it, theres likely another factor somewhere in the mix.

susanhallberg

Do you do any stretching in the morning? Before I get out of bed, I lay on my back and pull my knees up to my chest and hold it for 10 secs. Then roll one leg (knee bent) to the opposite side, hold and repeat on the other. It helps loosen up my lower back and I do have siatic. Also consider visiting a chiropractor, there are still md's that don't like them, but the good ones are worth their weight in gold.

NovusDies

Isn't there a blood test for arthritis for her to rule it out completely instead of guessing?

AnnPT77

One way that weight loss can potentially trigger some back problems is via weight redistribution as we lose. We don't lose fat evenly all over, so the loss can affect posture, gait, and that sort of thing, and create different stresses on the body. (I've been seeing a university health center osteopath, also a faculty member there, for many years now for osteo manipulation for recurrent back issues; this was something we discussed as I was losing weight, and I did seem to have some minor issues from it.)

I don't know whether being less active/fit going into the weight loss could be an additional risk factor, and don't know in any case whether that applies to you, but it seems plausible that if it does, it might be a factor, too. (I'm speculating about this part, in case that isn't obvious: I was quite active, strong, and reasonably fit even while obese, so this wasn't something I discussed with my osteopathic doctor while losing weight. ).

I know this is of no help at all, in any practical sense. Apologies!

emmamcgarity

Did you go low carb? I’ve heard of kidney stones which can present as back pain. Not sure if the doc considered this.

If related to general muscle weakness I probably would start with very gentle exercises focused on increasing core strength.

I feel like there’s info missing here but I’m not sure what up ask.

NovusDies

Well since @AnnPT77 is being unhelpful:

I had a numb right upper leg for a really long time while I was gaining weight and then it was finally gone. When I started losing weight it returned about 4 months in and lasted for about 25 pounds. I am fairly sure it was weight distribution. Weight loss can really suck at times for reasons completely unrelated to eating.

No help here either I am afraid.

bjkoziara

Thanks for all the responses.

@Teabythesea_ only in the last week or so. It began before I started losing weight, which I didn't make clear in my post. I'm sure there are other factors at play!

@NovusDies She did no imaging or testing of any kind, which is frustrating. I appreciate that she doesn't want to put me out any money before trying PT, but it did seem a bit odd to not do anything at all. She prescribed me some muscle relaxers and a burst of prednisone.

@AnnPT77 Haha it was helpful! To be clear, the pain started before my weight loss did. It has both gotten worse and improved during my weight loss so far - so who the hell knows? I don't need a referral for a specialist with my insurance, so I'm considering making an appointment with someone more specialized.

@emmamcgarity No low carb here. I love bread far too much. She did "rule out" kidney stones (although no tests were done) but to her point, there are no urinary issues present and the pain radiates to my pelvis so it *probably* isn't kidney related but I'm not a doctor. My MIL works in urology - maybe I'll give her some pee to analyze 😂

bjkoziara

susanhallberg wrote: »

Do you do any stretching in the morning? Before I get out of bed, I lay on my back and pull my knees up to my chest and hold it for 10 secs. Then roll one leg (knee bent) to the opposite side, hold and repeat on the other. It helps loosen up my lower back and I do have siatic. Also consider visiting a chiropractor, there are still md's that don't like them, but the good ones are worth their weight in gold.

She did recommend some stretches that I know I am doing correctly but caused me great pain and seemed to make things worse, so she had me stop. To be honest, I'm too fat to get my knees close to my chest! But someone was recently telling me about a particular stretch called "the cat and the cow" and that feels great on my back so I've been doing that. Any others you'd recommend?

bjkoziara

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Did you go low carb? I’ve heard of kidney stones which can present as back pain. Not sure if the doc considered this.

If related to general muscle weakness I probably would start with very gentle exercises focused on increasing core strength.

I feel like there’s info missing here but I’m not sure what up ask.

Also, I was just thinking that this morning on my walk when my back felt like it was going to cave in, "Maybe I need to strengthen my core." Good call.

rheddmobile

Pain radiating through to your lower back can be a lot of things, and if it’s preventing you from living your daily life you need a better doctor who will listen to you and take you seriously. Kidney stones as mentioned above are a possibility, it can also be an atypical presentation of appendicitis, but what I’m wondering is ovary issues. I had more than one gyn tell me I had “a cyst” which was actually quite a large serous (benign) tumor. Which led to an ovarian torsion and me almost dying before someone finally took the whole thing out. Hopefully your problem is nothing that serious, but I do suggest seeing a gyn for an ultrasound because pain radiating to your back which feels like period pain could easily be something to do with your ovaries, most commonly a cyst. Certainly if it were me I would want that ruled out.

bjkoziara

@rheddmobile I actually have an appointment with my gyno that I set up independently of my doctor. I do think she could be right about it being period related because I have various period problems, and the pain at its worst felt like someone was trying to pry my hips apart from the inside in addition to the back pain. I don't have children but I've been told that many pregnant women experience that type of pain.

SeptemberFeyre

Where in the low back does it hurt? Sacroiliac joint pain is a common thing, and I have had it for many years.

ms_maruska

I've had problems with my lower back for years. Later on, I was diagnosed with vitamin b deficiency (b6&b12). The diagnosis was unrelated to my back but when I started taking vitamin b complex, the pain went away. I read somewhere it's connected with nerve endings or something like that and vit b help in some way (sorry for being vague, I can't remember).

Of course, this doesn't mean anything for you but just mentioning this as it seemed so unrelated. It still hurts during period for a few days but not when sitting or standing.

skippygolunks

Do you have any other symptoms like fatigue or just feeling like you have the flu? How about joint pain that manifests on both sides of your body like both wrists, as an example? These are typical symptoms of an autoimmune disease. If this doesn’t describe you and this pain continues you may need x-rays or maybe an MRI. I know money is a concern but you may want to think about it. If it’s just run of the mill back pain, it should go away on its own. I hope you figure this out.

LyndaBSS

It could also be a foot issue. If you go barefoot a lot or wear shoes with bad arch support, it can give you back issues.

Hope you're doing better.

EmBeatie

You've probably been suggested these sort of stretches already, but they really helped me when I put my back out. They were sort of miraculous at the time, as I could barely walk before I did them. That was acute back pain though, not chronic like yours. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/lower-back-pain-exercises/

concordancia

Even with imaging, the best answer is usually PT. I have two degenerative discs and PT is still the answer.

bjkoziara

EmBeatie wrote: »

You've probably been suggested these sort of stretches already, but they really helped me when I put my back out. They were sort of miraculous at the time, as I could barely walk before I did them. That was acute back pain though, not chronic like yours. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/lower-back-pain-exercises/

I haven't actually, I'll give those a try

Katmary71

I've had back surgeries for a severe herniated disk and spinal stenosis. My recommendation is to at least go to physical therapy once to get a stretching and strengthening routine geared for you.

My pain was always worse during periods, I don't know if that's the case for you but I could barely walk. I had real bad periods from endometriosis so that could've been part of it, they're not as bad now. Try icing your back, it can calm the inflammation.

staticsplit

I have intermittent lower back pain this year caused by:

1. getting used to doing more weights (deadlifts and kettlebells probably in particular)
2. Being more active in terms of walking/running more than I used to.
3. Which made my hamstrings and SOAS muscles get really tight which pulled on my lower back. The NHS linked exercises are good but I also did hamstring stretches.

However, none of it was actually physical in any great way. I went to a PT and a masseuse and neither could find any injury. For me it turned out to be stress. I was carrying it all in my back and clenching up without realising it and it was hard to make them relax again. I took long baths and started doing other things to help me destress--gentle yoga, meditation, actually taking some time off. It went away in early May and (with luck) won't flare up again.

LyndaBSS

A good chiropractic session could do wonders, too. ☺