Doctors warn rapid weight loss from popular medications can cause back pain

Back pain from rapid weight loss

A surgeon at the Spine Institute of Arizona explains how losing fat and muscle too quickly on GLP-1 drugs leads to lower back strain. FOX 10’s Taylor Wirtz reports.

PHOENIX – An unexpected trend from a popular medication is emerging.

More than 30 million Americans are using some form of weight loss drug, often with significant results. But some doctors say the rapid weight loss can have a side effect.

What they’re saying:

“GLP-1s, the semaglutide, you know, Wegovy, Ozempic. These are medications that have become very popular,” said Dr. Edward Dohring, surgeon and founder of the Spine Institute of Arizona.

They are medications that help individuals rapidly lose weight just by taking them.

But Dohring says he and other surgeons are noticing an unexpected side effect from the weight loss with patients new to the medication.

“These patients are experiencing, maybe for the first time in their life, back pain,” Dohring said. “And they’re worried about it. They feel like, ‘If I’m losing weight, I should have less back pain.'”

Dohring says it is not the drugs themselves causing the back pain, but it is the fact that they are losing muscle along with fat, and too quickly for the body to keep up.

“About 70% of the weight loss is fatty cells and about 30% is muscle cells. So those muscles that are very important to supporting your low back especially,” Dohring said.

Dig deeper:

The good news is he says it is usually temporary.

It is “not something deep down structural that’s, you know, going to last,” Dohring said.

And once patients are on the drug for a while, he says they will probably experience less pain than the average person for several reasons.

“The most important one is just the weight loss and therefore less stress on the spine. But also a lesser known reason is that people are now no longer having the effective fatty cells releasing inflammatory agents,” Dohring said.

He says losing the weight is still better for the back in the long run.

What you can do:

For anyone dealing with back pain due to rapid weight loss, Dohring says proper nutrition and exercise to build muscle are key to helping the body adjust. Though a patient may not have as much of an appetite, getting enough calcium and other vitamins will help.

If the pain doesn’t improve in a few months, individuals should see a doctor.