Many patients, having barely crossed the threshold of the doctor's office, holding their lower back, ask: "Why does the lower back hurt and what medicines will help with this pain? "
Unfortunately, everything is not so simple and you can choose the right treatment method only after identifying the causes that caused the pain.
Many people go through life with mild to moderate lower back pain and accept it as normal. But even if you suffer from non-stop mild or severe tingling sensations in the lower back for a considerable time, you should visit a therapist to diagnose the problem. After all, if you do not take measures in time, the situation will worsen.
Although back pain is not the most serious disease, over time it will cause a lot of pain and cause great discomfort.
Primary and secondary pain syndrome
The causes of back pain can be very different, and only after you fully understand where they came from, you can start dealing with this disease.
According to the medical classification of diseases, there are primary and secondary pain syndromes, which appear in the lumbar region.
The main pain syndrome is formed against the background of degenerative-dystrophic pathologies of the spine. These include osteochondrosis, in which cartilage and bone tissue are damaged, as well as spondylarthrosis, which affects the intervertebral or synovial joints.
Secondary pain syndrome can occur for a number of reasons. First of all, the lower back constantly hurts with curvature of the spine (scoliosis). Also, this condition can be observed due to metabolic disorders of bone tissue (osteoporosis or osteomalacia).
Very often, the cause of pain in the lumbar region is inflammation of a non-infectious nature (ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. ).
A very dangerous cause of back pain is a fracture of the vertebrae.
The pain syndrome can be the result of various infectious diseases that lead to damage to the vertebrae and intervertebral discs (brucellosis, tuberculosis, epidural abscess).
The lower back hurts with acute spinal circulation disorders (stroke conditions), as well as diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (obstruction, acute atypical appendicitis).
Back pain is reflected in some pathologies. This happens when the organs located in the pelvic area are affected (gynecological pathologies, STD, renal colic).
Often the pain is noticed when the lumbar muscles are stretched. The lower back hurts a lot when the intervertebral discs of the lumbar region are displaced. At the same time, due to severe pain, the patient takes a forced position of the body, and his mobility while walking is also very limited.
Coxarthrosis (arthrosis of the hip joint) is also often the cause of secondary pain.
Other causes of back pain
Often, acute lower back pain occurs due to an unsuccessful movement, prolonged work in an uncomfortable position, improper lifting or holding of weights, falling or hitting, sharp driving with a simultaneous turn, as well as prolonged hypothermiaor exposure to a current. All these "accidents" can cause spasm and inflammation of the deep back muscles.
Many patients notice that the lower back often hurts after sleeping. There are also reasons for this. The simplest of them is the uncomfortable position of the body in a dream. For those who like to sleep on their stomachs, the lower back muscles are in constant tension, which provokes the appearance of pain. Sometimes such a painful condition is due to the fact that the bed or pillow itself does not fit the person. This is why experts recommend sleeping on an orthopedic mattress to fully relax your back.
Also, mid-morning pain can be a symptom of diseases of the internal organs. So, pathologies of the circulatory, digestive and genitourinary systems are associated with back pain.
Back pain as a cause of negative emotions
Few of the patients understand that the lower back is one of the most psychosomatic parts of the body, and therefore, it reacts very strongly to stress and severe excitement.
Anger, anger, nervousness or strong fear contribute to the release of significant doses of adrenaline in the blood. As a result - an increase in the tone of the back muscles. And in the event that there is no adequate discharge, the muscles that are in increased tone begin to tighten gradually. And then - spasms and pain syndrome. It should be noted that spinal disorders very often develop in people with an unstable psyche, and for such patients psychotherapy is the best method of treatment.
Lower back pain during pregnancy
Many pregnant women worry about the causes of back pain. In early pregnancy, this may be due to kidney or urinary tract disease. Also during this period the production of progesterone increases, due to which there is an insignificant softening of the ligaments, which can cause lumbar pain.
In the second trimester of pregnancy, when the belly grows significantly, the load on the spine increases greatly and therefore there is pulling pain in the lower back.
Severe back pain during pregnancy can sometimes be the cause of a neurological disease (herniated disc or sciatica).
What to do if your back hurts
First of all, if the back pain does not go away within three days, a consultation with a neurologist is required. Only a specialist can develop an accurate treatment strategy, which will depend on the severity of the patient's condition.
As a rule, most back pain requires conservative treatment, however, sometimes there are cases when it is impossible to do without surgical intervention.
When conservative treatment is prescribed, three main goals are pursued:
- Relieve the patient from pain.
- Development of a program of therapeutic and preventive measures to slow down the degenerative-dystrophic processes in the spine.
- Quick return of the patient to normal life.
First of all, we all need to learn how to relax properly after physical exercise. To do this, you need to take a horizontal position on a hard surface, and for better relaxation, put a pillow under the knees.
Patients with impaired motor activity are advised not to stay in bed for more than 2-3 days, even if they have pain (certainly not very strong), as this significantly weakens the paravertebral muscles. With persistent pain syndrome with a return of leg pain, an orthopedic consultation is necessary.
In the case when osteochondrosis is diagnosed, complex drug treatment is prescribed with the help of drugs that reduce pain, improve blood circulation and restore nerve tissue.
To eliminate back pain, paravertebral blocks are well proven. Such injections help relieve inflammation and muscle spasm, thus relieving pain.
When a disc herniation is detected, the question of surgery arises. This technique involves removing a hernia that compresses the root and creating conditions for its recovery.