Recurrent or persistent back pain affects about 80% of the world's population. The problem occurs more often in women. The symptom is called lumbodynia. It is so common due to the constant high stress on the lumbar spine. He experiences a pressure of 50 kg (in the supine position) to 220 kg if the person is sitting stooped. The problem indicates a lifestyle bias or serious illness. With age, it worsens and can lead to the patient's disability.
Physiological Causes of Pain
Discomfort in the form of pain is the body's defensive reaction. Thus, it responds to various internal "abnormal" processes that doctors call pathologies. The body aches in an uncomfortable position and after physical exertion, telling the brain that it is difficult for it to complete tasks.
an uncomfortable position
Low back pain accompanies prolonged disorders. The problem worries drivers and office workers, as they spend a lot of time sitting when the lower back is exposed to maximum stress. A person has back pain because of fatigue. If he does something for a long time in a stooped position.
The back hurts after sleeping if the sleeping place is poorly equipped. For example, the bed surface is too hard or soft to provide adequate spinal support and quality muscle relaxation.
increased loads
Muscles and ligaments can ache in the back. They support the spine in a stable position and are subjected to stress with intense physical exertion. The conditions for the occurrence of pain arise with sudden movements, accompanied by muscle tension in the lower back. This happens if a person carries weights, pulls heavy objects, raises and lowers them (bending "in half").
Muscles can also strain during sports. If a person exercises a lot, their ligaments need time to recover. If there is not enough rest, they wear out or become inflamed, which is signaled by the nervous system with pain.
woman's back pain
The problem of low back pain is very common among women, as the beautiful half of humanity regularly experiences them under certain conditions. Menstrual abdominal pain is often accompanied by discomfort in the lower back and sacral region. This is not associated with increased stress, but is a consequence of the production of prostaglandins (pain mediators). Before and during menstruation, the synthesis of mediators triggers hormonal changes<2_img_rightxx>in the female body.
Girls' lower back hurts when carrying a child (in 95% of pregnant women). Not only the spine is under great stress outside of pregnancy. Pressure on the lower back often increases as the woman's weight increases. Additional loads are created by the pregnant belly. It pulls the pregnant woman's body forward, changing the axial load distribution. As a result, the woman's gait changes, low back pain occurs, the intensity of which increases with the duration of the pregnancy. The loads increase in any position of the pregnant woman, therefore, a good rest, lying on a quality mattress is extremely important to alleviate the woman's condition.
hypodynamic
Discomfort usually occurs in people who do not play sports or even lift heavy objects. The reason for this is the weakening of the muscular apparatus. The back muscles must be strong to properly support the spine and relieve stress in the spine. If this does not happen, the bone and cartilaginous tissue wears out more quickly, which is accompanied by pain.
structural abnormalities
The spine is formed by a skeleton of bone tissue - the vertebrae. Among them are soft "layers" of cartilaginous tissue - vertebral discs. Vertebrae provide strength and stability, cartilage - flexibility and elasticity of the spine. The main structural elements are hollow in the center. The canal is filled with the spinal cord. All components are surrounded by blood vessels, nerve fibers. Pathologies in any element of the lumbar spine cause lumbodynia.
osteochondrosis
The disease develops when the intervertebral cartilage discs wear out. Due to heavy loads, lumbar discs are often damaged. The most common causes of severe low back pain are protrusion (sags) and hernias (damage and protrusion of contents) of the discs, in which the nerve roots of the spine are pinched. Osteochondrosis affects people over 35 years of age. The disease is especially common in the elderly.
Trauma
The lumbar spine is considered the strongest because it forms the main "axis" of the entire human body. However, with falls and sudden movements, the vertebrae in this section are more often injured. Most spine fractures and bruises are located precisely in the lower back.
vascular damage
Vessels provide nutrition to all tissues in the spine. If your lumen narrows or overlaps, the trophic processes in the spine radically worsen. As a result, inflammation occurs, which always manifests itself in pain.
focus of nerves
Nerve fibers can be damaged due to any damage to cartilage and vertebrae in the case of infectious diseases. Any pathology of the nerves is accompanied by severe stabbing and sometimes unbearable back pain.
<3_img_rightxx>bone disorders
Osteoporosis leads to calcium leaching and bone fragility. If vertebral tissue is depleted, there is an increased risk of serious back injury. In addition, osteoporosis can change the shape of bones in the spine and increase pressure on nerve roots.
Another cause of pain is tumors in the vertebrae. The most common type is hemangiomas. These benign neoplasms develop asymptomatically for a long time, but when the tumor becomes too large and extends beyond the vertebra, the patient experiences severe pain.
Inflammatory processes
Arthritis can affect any joint in the body. Inflammation causes joint pain and damage. It can be caused by advanced and chronic infectious diseases. Another cause of arthritis is autoimmune damage to connective tissue.
internal problems
The lower back can hurt not only due to spinal pathologies. Painful sensations associated with internal organ pathologies or some systemic diseases can be transmitted to the lower back.
Internal organs
Back pain is associated with kidney damage. Renal colic is accompanied by sharp, sharp pain on one or both sides of the back. More often, it is felt just below the ribs in the back of the body.
Lumbar discomfort often occurs in the context of intestinal diseases, with inflammation of Organs pelvic organs (bladder, prostate - in men, ovaries and uterus - in women).
systemic pathologies
Psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis cause low back pain. With these diseases, violations of the structure of the connective tissue (cartilage) occur. It loses its elasticity and therefore often becomes inflamed. Over time, there are significant disturbances in the functioning of the joints and the nerve endings are under persistent compression (impaired). In ankylosing spondylitis, the intervertebral spaces "harden".
Low back pain can cause herpes zoster. Rashes with this disease appear on the shoulder blades, ribs, but more often - on the lateral surfaces of the trunk in the lumbar region. The first pains appear before significant changes in the skin. When a blistering rash appears, the discomfort intensifies, complemented by itching. Even after the blemishes have completely disappeared, the person still feels severe pain along the inflamed nerves. They can bother the patient for several months.
tumors
Malignant lesions of the spinal cord and bones do not initially change the patient's condition. As the tumor grows and the atypical cells spread through the structure of organs and tissues, changes occur in which the nerves are affected. This manifests itself as intense pain. Discomfort in the lower back is felt not only with injuries to the lumbar spine, but also if the tumor grows in Organs internal organs, which are innervated by the nerve ganglia in that department.
nervous disorders
Low back pain can be phantom (in other words, invented by the patient himself). This happens with psychoneurotic disorders. The psyche does not function properly in the context of shocks, tensions, and prolonged psycho-emotional stress. Discomfort can arise if a person instills illness in themselves, suffers from overwork. These signs first appear after depression or a nervous breakdown and can be bothersome for many years.
How to get rid of lower back pain
If unpleasant sensations occur in the lower back, the patient should rest completely, reduce the intensity of the load. As a rule, after a good rest, the discomfort diminishes or disappears completely. This is a typical symptom of pain caused by an improper lifestyle, poor quality rest. If the pain persists, you need to think about a visit to the doctor.
The nature of back pain is diagnosed by traumatologists, vertebrologists, orthopedists. You can contact any of the experts listed. In the first appointment, the doctor will interview the patient, examine him, perform several tests (check the sensitivity of the nerves, the condition of the muscles). If it is not possible to make a diagnosis based on the information received, an additional examination will be scheduled. To assess the condition of the bone tissue, an x-ray is prescribed. The structure of cartilage, nerves, the condition of blood vessels and spinal cord can all be evaluated by MRI. If the physician suspects a systemic disease, the patient is prescribed laboratory diagnoses (general and biochemical blood and urine tests). Only after making the correct diagnosis, the specialist will prescribe the treatment.
drug therapy
The list of medications depends entirely on the diagnosis. To quickly eliminate the symptoms, the patient will be prescribed a short-term treatment with analgesics (usually from the NSAID group). With strong inflammatory and autoimmune changes, glucocorticoid drugs are prescribed. For cartilage tissue diseases, chondroprotective drugs are recommended in injections or pills. If the problem is muscle, muscle relaxants are recommended. To restore functioning of the nerve endings, B vitamins are prescribed.
The main treatment is aimed at the cause of pain. If it is caused by diseases of Organs internal organs, drug therapy will correct disorders in the functioning of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and genitals. Symptoms will disappear as the underlying disease clears. With unbearable pain, a nerve block is performed (analgesics are injected directly into the areas of the nerve roots).
To increase the action of injections or pills, external pain relievers (stickers, ointments, gels) may be prescribed. These medications can be used independently, with recurrent low back pain in a context of tension or increased stress. To alleviate the condition, you can use pepper or menthol plaster. They can also be used without a prescription.
Procedures
For lower back pain, a specialist can recommend special treatments. This includes acupuncture, physical therapy with electrical currents, ultrasound and therapeutic ultraviolet rays. In some cases, physiotherapy exercises and massages are indicated. If the vertebrae are dislocated, help from a chiropractor may be needed to get the bone back in place. All procedures must be selected in conjunction with a physician. It is forbidden to carry out treatments that act directly on the spine, without diagnosing the disease. In this case, the procedures may not only be useless, but also harm the patient.
To prevent back pain, you need to monitor your spine health early on. It is important to carry loads correctly on your back (to lift squatting objects without bending over, pushing heavy objects and not pulling them towards you). You should engage in moderate physical activity and select exercises with a trainer. It is also important to treat infectious diseases in a timely manner, avoid stress, take any medication reasonably and as prescribed by the doctor.