What to do if the lower back hurts is an urgent issue for many modern people. Most of them have serious problems with the health of the spine. Currently, osteochondrosis is no longer a natural disease of old age. Today, degenerative dystrophic changes in the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs develop at a fairly young age. They are also found in patients aged 20-25 years. Lumbosacral osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. But not only him.
It is imperative to see an experienced doctor. Choose the right specialist. The first thing to remember in this case: the local therapist does not treat low back pain. According to medical and economic standards, it eliminates symptoms only in the specified number of days. His task is to return the patient to work as soon as possible. He does not pay attention to the fact that the disease will continue to develop intensively. Therefore, many patients lose time during which they could restore the health of the spine without surgery.
We advise you to apply for a full treatment at the manual therapy clinic. They use completely different methods and approaches. They do not use symptomatic treatments. Doctors working in chiropractic clinics aim to restore the patient's full health and not mask existing symptoms.
To understand what to do if the lower back hurts a lot, you need to know how this part of the body works and what can cause an unpleasant symptom. We offer you to familiarize yourself with some aspects of the anatomy and physiology of the lumbar region.
At the heart of this part of the body is the lumbosacral spine. The sacrum in an adult is a single triangular bone, consisting of five fused vertebral bodies. Between the first sacral and the fifth lumbar vertebra is the conditional center of gravity of the human body. This constitutes the main mechanical and damping load from the lower extremities.
This is due to the fact that the iliaco-sacral joints are located on the lateral surfaces of the sacrum. With their help, the pelvic ring is attached to the spine. In the lower lateral part of the pelvic ring are the hip joints. Thus, all the load from the lower extremities through the hips and iliaco-sacral joints is transferred to the L5-S1 intervertebral disc.
Due to these anatomical features in a modern person, due to their sedentary lifestyle, at a fairly early age, the L5-S1 intervertebral disc and the iliaco-sacral joints are destroyed. And this is a serious reason for the appearance of acute pain in the lumbar region.
The lumbar spine consists of individual vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs. They are quite massive. Within the lumbar and sacral parts of the spine are the spinal cord segments of the same name. Paired radicular nerves depart from them, which form the lumbosacral nerve plexus and large nerves. At the end of the sacrum, the final fibers of the spinal cord emerge, which form another large nerve plexus - the "horse's tail".
The long anterior and posterior ligaments run along the spine. They begin in the region of the coccyx and end in the region of the occipital bone. There are also short transverse and interspinous ligaments. They are located between adjacent vertebral bodies. The paravertebral muscles located along the spine provide widespread nutrition for the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs. If they work incorrectly, then osteochondrosis and its complications develop.
It is difficult to independently determine which tissues are being destroyed. The help of an experienced doctor is needed. An experienced doctor will conduct an examination and make a preliminary diagnosis. Develop a personalized treatment plan.
Reasons why the lower back hurts
The first thing you should do if your lower back hurts is to find out the causes of this pathological condition. It is necessary to exclude the possibility of kidney pathology. Very often, urolithiasis, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis and polycystic kidney disease are manifested by a characteristic pain syndrome in the upper part of the lower back. Other urological symptoms may also be present. It is about cramps during urination, change in the color and transparency of urine, increase in body temperature, general ill-treatment, intoxication and edematous nephrotic syndrome, increase in blood pressure, etc.
If you have these symptoms, we recommend that you visit a nephrologist or therapist as soon as possible. You will receive professional medical care.
If on the verge of pain syndrome you fell, injured yourself, had an accident, then you should contact a traumatologist for an appointment. The cause of the pain may be a crack or fracture of the vertebral body or its process, the lower costal arch. Also, with a traumatic effect, kidney tissue damage is possible.
The following diseases and conditions can be possible causes of pain in the lumbar region:
- traumatic violation of the integrity of the ligamentous, tendon and muscular apparatus (stretching, microscopic tears, defibrillation, cicatricial deformations, etc. );
- degenerative dystrophic process in the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs, leading to the development of osteochondrosis and dorsopathy;
- elongation (reduction in height and increase in occupied area) of intervertebral discs;
- pulling out (rupture) of the fibrous ring and the exit of the intervertebral hernia;
- the unstable position of the vertebral bodies and their periodic displacement relative to each other according to the type of laterolisthesis, antilisthesis and retrolisthesis;
- destruction and inflammation of well-targeted intervertebral joints;
- curvature of the spine and distortion of the pelvic bones;
- deforming osteoarthritis of the iliaco-sacral joints;
- spinal canal stenosis;
- compression of the radicular nerves and their branches (sciatica, sciatica, radiculopathy);
- cauda equina syndrome, piriformis muscle;
- plexitis of the lumbosacral nerve plexus and many others.
It is very difficult to independently determine the real reason why the lower back hurts. To do this, you need to have extensive practical experience and specific knowledge. Therefore, you should not engage in self-diagnosis and treatment. It is better to consult an experienced doctor at the right time and undergo a complete treatment.
A lot of pain in the lower back - what to do at home
If the lower back hurts a lot, the first thing you should do is to ensure complete physical rest. It is necessary to lie on your back on a hard and flat surface and try to relax your back muscles. If within 30 - 40 minutes the pain syndrome does not begin to subside, then it is necessary to call an ambulance. This may be a condition that requires immediate surgical attention.
The next thing you should do at home if your lower back hurts is to rule out all possible risk factors. They include the following aspects:
- overweight - each extra kilogram constantly increases the pressure on the cartilage intervertebral discs and provokes their premature destruction;
- violation of posture (round or bent back, drying, etc. ) - there is a violation of the processes of distribution of the damping load, displacement of the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs is possible;
- heavy physical work associated with lifting and carrying heavy loads;
- domestic, sports and industrial injuries to the lower back;
- improper organization of the place of sleep and work;
- sedentary work accompanied by prolonged static tension of the muscular frame of the body;
- selection of low-quality clothes and shoes;
- incorrect foot positioning during walking and running (flat feet or flat feet);
- smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages (causes a decrease in the intensity of the process of microcirculation of lymphatic fluid and blood, which is fraught with the development of ischemia and dystrophy of spinal tissues);
- malnutrition and insufficient intake of clean water.
If your lower back hurts a lot and you don't know what to do, then consult a doctor immediately. Only a specialist will be able to find a possible cause, eliminate it and develop an individual course of treatment.
Pain in the lower back - how to treat it with manual therapy methods
So what to do if the lower back hurts - currently there are several options for how to treat it. The first is to apply for an appointment with a local therapist at a city clinic. In this case, symptomatic treatment will be carried out. All unpleasant symptoms will be eliminated, but the process of destruction of spinal tissue will continue. And it can even increase, because by using symptomatic drugs for the treatment of pain, the doctor completely deactivates the natural defense mechanisms of the human body.
For example, with the elongation of the intervertebral discs, the pain syndrome in most cases is associated with the fact that the paravertebral muscles compensate for the damping load, take it over. This is accompanied by a strong tension of the muscle fiber and pain. But, if muscle relaxants are used, then the muscles are paralyzed and all the damping and mechanical load begins to be fully applied to the already damaged intervertebral discs. In some cases, this provokes a rupture of the fibrous ring and the appearance of an intervertebral hernia.
You can also visit a manual therapist. This specialist practices a completely different approach to treatment. He will try to find out all the risk factors and give the patient individual recommendations for their elimination. Then he will develop an individual course of treatment. It will be based on the principle of complete restoration of the disturbed process of diffuse nutrition of the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs.
To restore the normal shape of the intervertebral disc, several sessions of manual traction of the spine are performed. During this procedure, the doctor increases the degree of elasticity of the soft tissues that surround the spine. Then he spreads the neighboring vertebral bodies at a normal distance. The drives have room to fully expand. After 2-3 procedures, the acute pain syndrome disappears completely.
In the future, a full course of treatment is carried out. It can include osteopathy, therapeutic exercises, kinesiotherapy, laser exposure, physiotherapy and much more.