Perhaps there is no person who has never had back pain.Furthermore, discomfort can manifest at any age, regardless of gender, work activity, and other factors.
Back pain in the lumbar region, of different nature and causes, makes life significantly more difficult.Ignoring obvious medical symptoms can make the situation worse.
Types of pain syndromes
The main classification of pain syndromes is as follows:
- Elementary.
- Middle school.
The first option is characterized by pathology of the spine and the entire musculoskeletal system.Muscles, ligaments and tendons undergo a number of changes that lead to back pain in humans.
Discomfort of a secondary nature not directly related to the lumbar region.Often its development is influenced by indirect pathologies.
Depending on the cause, lower back pain has different levels.The discomfort can be sharp and sharp, or conversely, aching and dull.It is necessary to understand in more detail the nature of each option.
Intense and sharp pain
It cannot be considered an independent pathology.Usually, acute back pain is a sign of some disease.Most people usually encounter them after the age of 30.
Severe lower back pain can occur for a number of reasons.One of them is hypothermia in the specified area.Muscles become weak and susceptible to negative effects.Low back pain hinders movement, causing the patient to lose mobility.It's difficult to do anything on your own if your back hurts severely.The right thing to do is to call a professional.
Sudden onset can be due to many reasons:
- Intervertebral hernia.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Excessive load.
- Injury.
What to do if there is sharp pain in the lower back?The best option is to see a doctor.If this cannot be done immediately, you will need to alleviate the symptoms of inflammation with medication.
The pain is dull and aching
The causes of pain in the lower back are very diverse.To establish them, it will be necessary to examine the entire body.The accuracy of diagnosis depends on many signs.Here are the main ones:
- Where discomfort is concentrated.
- Classify the patient's age.
- Patient's diet.
- The presence of bad habits (smoking, alcoholism, etc.).
- Body weight of the patient.
Sharp pain in the lower back often occurs in women of reproductive age.There is pull in the lower back for the following reasons:
- Tired.Reducing physical activity will help reduce discomfort.Warming the problem area with a heating pad or ointment has a positive effect.
- Pregnant.A special bandage will support the woman, reduce the load.
- Period.The medicine will help alleviate the condition and relieve dull pain.
- Improper posture, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis.
- Disc herniation, arthritis.
- Pathology of the genitourinary system.
- Radiation inflammation.
- Any wound.
To understand why you have back pain, you should conduct a little experiment.The patient needs to stand straight and lean against the wall.Next, slowly lower your chin, pressing into your chest.Pain or a pulse on any side (top, bottom, side) will help determine the root cause of the pain.
Causes of disease in women
In addition to general reasons, there are a number of reasons that apply only to representatives of the fairer sex.
This may include:
- Pregnant.
- Gynecological problems.
- Period.
- Mechanical abortion.
Women often don't know what to do if they have back pain due to severe shock or unnecessary worry.The situation can only be improved through psychotherapy.
Gynecological problems
The presence of gynecological diseases in women often becomes the starting point for the development of pain.
Possible problems are as follows:
- Inflammation of the external genitalia (vulvitis).
- Tumor of any node of the genitourinary system.
- Inflammation of the adnexa (or in other words, adnexitis).
- Myoma.
Symptoms of the disease are as follows:
- Presence of heavy discharge.
- An infection centered in the vagina.
- Problems conceiving a child.
Often a woman complains of pain in the lower abdomen.Sometimes the pain spreads to the lower back.
Pregnant
The period of pregnancy in the female body does not pass without a trace.During the last three months of pregnancy, the load on the bones of the spine increases significantly, which is due to the increased size and weight of the fetus.
Due to its physiological structure, the lumbar spine suffers the most damage.Pain in the lower back is natural and quite noticeable.Usually, lower back pain goes away after the baby is born.
Period
Such a familiar phenomenon for women can be accompanied by low back pain.
This is explained by the following factors:
- Releases follicles from the ovaries.
- Enlargement of the uterus.
- Pathology of the reproductive system.
Furthermore, pain can also appear during menopause.This is often due to hormonal changes and imbalances.With the onset of menopause, women's bones become more fragile and brittle, a characteristic of osteoporosis.
abortion
Mechanical termination of pregnancy also does not pass without leaving a trace, causing serious stress on the body.During contractions of the uterus, an inflammatory process begins.The latter focuses on the internal surface of the organ.
Please note: women are more susceptible to low back pain than men.
Causes of the disease in men
Men and women alike experience low back pain.
The most obvious reasons are:
- Prostatitis.At first the pain was only in the anus.As the toxicity progresses, the patient begins to feel discomfort in the lower back.
- In other words, epididymitis is an inflammatory process in the epididymis.Thus, the back does not hurt, but sometimes there is a feeling of discomfort.
- Cancer of the genitourinary system.It usually affects men of pre-retirement age (over 50 years old).
- Bodybuilding, bodybuilding.
- Injuries to the muscular system.Pain in the lumbar region is caused by tension in the latissimus muscle.
Professional practice plays an important role in determining the cause of lower back pain.
Causes of illness in children
Pathology in children develops due to the following factors:
- Spinal herniation.
- Incorrect posture.
Usually the latter cause is flat feet.Although choosing a comfortable bag and suitable shoes is also important.
Please note: in the early stages, the child's spinal curvature can be corrected.Physical therapy helps a lot with this.
Relationship with disease
The above classification method is not the only way.Pain can be periodic or continuous.
In the first case, the unpleasant condition is directly related to factors such as:
- Excessive physical activity.
- Exacerbation of existing diseases.
- Some physiological characteristics.
Periodic pain subsides as the symptoms of the underlying condition subside.
Severe damage to the deep vessels and damage to the musculoskeletal system can cause permanent discomfort.Treatment alleviates the condition somewhat but does not completely resolve it.
Spinal disease
The causes of constant pain in the lumbar region are as follows:
- Curvature of the spine.The disease is characterized by bone deformities, poor posture and humps in the flank area.Sometimes scoliosis has no symptoms for quite a long time.
- Lumbar intervertebral osteochondritis.The pathology destroys bones and cartilage, affecting nerve fibers.Sometimes this disease becomes a catalyst for the development of protrusion, sciatica, lumbar radiculitis and disc herniation.
- Destructive changes in the vertebrae.They cause low back pain (lumbago).Most often, acute pain occurs in men who exercise excessively.Improper treatment will cause irreparable consequences.
- Degenerative disease of the vertebrae.The joint apparatus of the lumbar region ages, becomes thinner and loses mobility.This process happens quite naturally.
- Inflammation of all bone tissue nodes (osteomyelitis).The nature of this process is infectious.
- Osteoporosis (increased bone brittleness).Usually diagnosed in children and women during menopause.
- Thrombophlebitis, venous thrombosis.In the deep veins, blood flow stops completely or partially.This leads to soreness after hiking.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.Chronic inflammation begins in the lumbar joints, affecting muscles, cartilage and ligaments.This systemic disease is most often observed in women.The cause of the disease is a problem with the immune system.
- End-stage atherosclerosis.It is often diagnosed in older men.
Some people have lower limbs of different lengths.A wide range of values (more than 1-3 cm) is one of the causes of pain in the lumbar region.
Diseases of internal organs
The development of illness is not only affected by spinal problems.
Pain syndrome manifests itself in the following diseases:
- Appendicitis.The patient feels discomfort in the right lower abdomen, sometimes the pain spreads to the back.
- Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder wall).
- Pathology of the small intestine.Lower back pain is due to the disease affecting the nerve fibers in this area.
- Thorn.Usually the result of surgery.
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).The pathology associated with the pain syndrome is of the nature of shingles.Signs of the disease are vomiting, intestinal problems (diarrhea or constipation), tongue membranes and nausea.Low back pain is not diagnosed by palpation.
- Kidney disease.
- Bone tuberculosis.
- Inflammatory processes in the muscular system.The nature of tissue damage is different (infectious, bacterial, viral).Sometimes inflammation develops due to hypothermia.This process is accompanied by an increase in body temperature and general malaise.
- A tumor in the lumbar region, growing along nerve fibers.
Excess body weight and obesity also cause discomfort.Pain occurs due to excessive stress in the lower back.
Additional symptoms
To determine the cause of lower back pain, you should take into account all possible signs of the disease.
Here they are:
- Sprains are accompanied by painful spasms and the damaged muscles have limited movement.The discomfort sometimes extends to the back of the lower limbs and buttocks.
- Numbness of the limbs occurs if the nerve roots in the lower back are damaged.
- Pupil dilation.
- Sweating too much.
- Increased heart rate.
- Fever.
If lower back pain is the result of a medical condition, symptoms will appear gradually.
Diagnose the problem
What to do if your lower back hurts?First, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination of the patient.
Diagnosis is based on procedures such as:
- Laboratory analysis of urine and blood.Biochemistry will also be required.
- Ultrasound examination of the heart and internal organs of the abdominal cavity.This is relevant if you suspect kidney or gastrointestinal pathology.
- X-ray of the lumbar region.
- CT AND MRI.With their help, you can determine the cause of the pain.
- Dopplerography (blood vessel examination).
Carrying out all these activities makes it possible to establish the catalyst for the development of the pathology and identify methods of its elimination.
Treatment
Elimination of pathology must be comprehensive and can be done in many different ways.
To avoid making your condition worse, you should not:
- Warm up the lumbar area.
- Take medication at your own discretion.
- Adjust the vertebrae yourself, contact a chiropractor.
Please note: without identifying the root cause of the discomfort, self-medication is very dangerous.
Physical therapy and massage
Lower back pain can be treated with physical therapy.
If the patient cannot move due to severe pain, he will be shown:
- Massage.Apply if the patient has pain in the lower back or finds it difficult to bend.
- Mud therapy.
- Paraffin application
- Exercise therapy.
Sometimes acupuncture and manual therapy are beneficial.They strengthen the skeletal apparatus and reduce muscle tension.
Medicine
If the patient has pain in the lumbar region after any physical activity, drug treatment will be prescribed.
The following groups of drugs will help alleviate the condition and relieve pain:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Muscle relaxants.
- Anesthetic pain relievers.
- Corticosteroids.
- Chondroprotectors.
Local use of ointment is allowed.If the effect is not achieved, injections are used.Only a specialist has the right to prescribe treatment for back pain.
Folk remedies
Along with medication, you can treat back pain with traditional methods.
The following recipes apply:
- Crush the head of garlic, add a little Vaseline and 1 tsp.lemonade.Apply the resulting ointment to inflamed areas.
- Bath with mustard (200 grams of powder).After that, wash your body with clean water, dry your body and dress warmly.
- If walking hurts, apply horseradish compresses.Grate finely (can be replaced with radish), add sour cream and place on a thin cloth.Apply to the painful area, fix and wrap.
Dosage for any folk remedy or medicine must be prescribed by a doctor.
You can treat lower back pain with eucalyptus tincture.You will need to thoroughly scrub the inflamed area.
preventive measures
Heaviness in the lower back can be prevented by prevention.
To do this you need:
- Exercise regularly.
- Control your posture.
- Strengthen the immune system, exercise, give up bad habits.
- Get an annual inspection.
- Drink at least 1.5 liters of water regularly.
Remember that even shocks and nervous experiences can provoke the development of diseases.It is important not to start self-medication, but to contact competent specialists.Time spent in unskilled treatment can sometimes be decisive.