Periodic or persistent back pain affects about 80% of the world’s population. The problem is more common in women. The symptom is called lumbodinia. This is so common due to the constant high stress on the lumbar spine. It experiences a pressure of 50 kg (lying down) to 220 kg if the person is sitting closed. The problem indicates a lifestyle bias or a serious illness. With age, this worsens and can lead to the patient becoming disabled.
Physiological causes of pain
Discomfort in the form of pain is a protective reaction of the body. So it responds to various "pathological" processes, which doctors call pathologies. The body aches in an uncomfortable position and after physical exertion, the brain is told that it is having difficulty performing tasks.
Uncomfortable position
Low back pain is accompanied by prolonged discomfort. The problem bothers drivers and office workers as they spend a lot of time in the session when the lumbar spine is exposed to maximum stress. A person has a back from fatigue. If he is doing something for a long time in a bent position.
The back hurts after sleep if the sleeping area is poorly equipped. For example, the surface of the bed is too hard or too soft to provide proper support for the spine and quality muscle relaxation.
Increased loads
Muscles and ligaments can hurt the back. They support the spine in a stable position and experience stress through intense physical exertion. The conditions for the onset of pain are caused by sudden movements accompanied by muscle tension in the lumbar region. This happens when a person carries weights, pulls heavy objects, lifts them up and down (bending "half").
Muscles can be tense even during sports. If a person trains a lot, his ligaments need time to heal. If there is no good rest, they wear out or become inflamed, causing the nervous system to show pain.
Women's back pain
The problem of low back pain is very common in women since the beautiful half of humanity suffers from them regularly under certain conditions. Menstrual pain in the abdomen is often accompanied by discomfort in the back and sacral region. It is not associated with increased stress, but is the result of the production of prostaglandins (pain mediators). Before and during menstruation, the synthesis of mediators causes hormonal changes
In a woman's body.
Girls' lower back hurts while carrying a baby (in 95% of pregnant women). The spine not only experiences great stress outside of pregnancy. Waist pressure increases many times as a woman gains weight. Additional loads are created by the pregnant abdomen. It moves the body of the future mother forward, changing the distribution of axial load. As a result, a woman's gait changes, resulting in low back pain, the intensity of which increases with the duration of pregnancy. The load increases in any position of the future mother, so a good rest, lying on a quality mattress is very important to alleviate the condition of the woman.
Hypodynamics
Discomfort is often found in people who do not play sports or lift heavy objects at all. The reason for this is the weakening of the musculoskeletal system. The spinal muscles need to be strong to properly support the spine and relieve stress from it. If this does not happen, the bone and cartilage tissue will break down faster, accompanied by pain.
Structural anomalies
The spine forms the skeleton of bone tissue - the vertebrae. Among them are soft "layers" of cartilage tissue - the vertebral discs. The back of the spine provides strength and stability, cartilage - the flexibility and elasticity of the spine. The main structural elements are hollow in the center. The canal is filled with spinal cord. All components are surrounded by blood vessels, nerve fibers. Pathologies in any element of the lumbar spine cause lumbodinia.
Osteochondrosis
The disease develops when the intervertebral discs wear out. Due to the large load, the lumbar discs are very often damaged. The most common causes of acute low back pain are disc rash (lowering) and hernias (damage to the contents and rash) in which the roots of the spinal nerve are cut. Osteochondrosis affects people over 35 years of age. The disease is especially common in the elderly.
Trauma
The lumbar spine is considered to be the most powerful because it forms the main "axis" of the human body for the whole body. However, with falls and sudden movements, the vertebrae of this section are most often injured. Most spinal fractures and bruises are localized exactly in the spinal area.
Damage to blood vessels
The vessel provides nourishment to all tissues of the spine. If their lumen is narrowed or covered, the trophic processes in the spine will radically deteriorate. As a result, inflammation occurs, which is always manifested in pain.
Catch the nerves
Damage to nerve fibers is possible due to any damage to the cartilage and spine in the case of infectious diseases. Any pathology of the nerves is accompanied by a sharp shot and sometimes unbearable pain in the back.
Bone disorders
Osteoporosis causes calcium leakage and bone weakness. If the spinal tissue is depleted, the risk of serious spinal cord injury increases. In addition, osteoporosis can change the shape of the vertebral bones and increase the pressure on the nerve roots.
Another cause of pain is spinal tumors. The most common type is hemangiomas. These benign neoplasms develop asymptomatically for a long time, but when the tumor becomes very large and extends beyond the spine, the patient experiences severe pain.
Inflammatory processes
Arthritis can affect any joints in the body. Inflammation causes joint damage and pain. It can be provoked by advanced and chronic infectious diseases. Another cause of arthritis is autoimmune damage to connective tissue.
Internal problems
The lower back can be injured not only because of spinal pathologies. Painful sensations associated with pathology of internal organs or some systemic diseases may be given to the lumbar region.
Internal organs
Back pain is associated with kidney damage. Renal colic is accompanied by sharp and sharp pain on one or both sides of the spine. More often it is felt under the ribs behind the body.
Lumbar discomfort often occurs against the background of intestinal diseases, inflammation of the pelvic organs (bladder, prostate - in men, ovaries and uterus - in women).
Systemic pathologies
Psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis cause low back pain. With these diseases, disorders occur in the structure of connective tissue (cartilage). It loses its elasticity, so inflammation often occurs. Over time, significant dysfunction of the joints occurs and the nerve endings are under constant compression (impaired). With ankylosing spondylitis, the interstitial spaces "tighten. "
Low back pain can cause herpes zoster. With this disease the rash appears on the shoulders, ribs, but most often - the trunk lateral surfaces around the waist. The first pain appears before a significant change in the skin. Discomfort intensifies when a blistering rash appears, which is complemented by itching. Even after the spots disappear completely, the person still has severe pain along the inflamed nerves. They can bother the patient for several months.
Tumors
Malignant lesions of the spine and bones do not initially change the patient's condition. The growth of the tumor and the proliferation of atypical cells in the structure of organs and tissues occurs affecting the nerves. This is manifested by severe pain. Discomfort in the lower part of the spine is felt not only in the lumbar spine, but also if the tumor grows in the internal organs that are irritated by the nerve ganglia of this section.
Nervous disorders
Low back pain can be illusory (in other words, invented by the patient himself). It occurs during psychoneurotic disorders. The psyche does not work properly in the face of shock, stress, prolonged psycho-emotional stress. Discomfort can arise if a person inflicts illness on himself, experiencing congestion. Such signs first appear after depression or nervous breakdown and bother the patient for many years.
How to get rid of low back pain
If unpleasant sensations occur in the lower back, the patient should rest completely, reducing the intensity of the load. Usually after a good rest, the discomfort slows down or disappears altogether. This is a typical symptom of pain caused by the wrong lifestyle, poor rest. If the pain persists, you should consider a visit to the doctor.
The nature of back pain is diagnosed by traumatologists, vertebrologists, orthopedists. You can contact any of the listed specialists. During the first consultation, the doctor examines the patient, examines him, conducts several tests (check the sensitivity of the nerves, the condition of the muscles). If a diagnosis cannot be made based on the information received, an additional examination will be scheduled. An x-ray is prescribed to assess the condition of the bone tissue. Cartilage structure, nerves, blood vessels, and spinal cord condition can be assessed by MRI. If the doctor suspects a systemic disease, the patient is prescribed a laboratory diagnosis (general and biochemical blood and urine tests). Only after making a correct diagnosis will a specialist prescribe treatment.
Drug therapy
The list of medications depends entirely on the diagnosis. To quickly eliminate the symptoms the patient will be prescribed a short course of analgesics (usually from the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory group). With strong inflammatory and autoimmune changes, glucocorticoid drugs are prescribed. In cartilage diseases, chondroprotectors are recommended in injections or tablets. If the problem is in the muscles, muscle relaxants are recommended. B group vitamins are prescribed to restore the work of the nerve endings.
The main treatment is directed at the cause of the pain. If it is caused by diseases of the internal organs, drug therapy will correct the dysfunction of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and genitals. The symptoms will disappear as soon as the underlying disease is eliminated. Unbearable pain is accompanied by nerve blockade (analgesics are injected into the nerve root zones).
External pain relievers (patches, ointments, gels) may be prescribed to enhance the action of injections or tablets. Such medications can be used independently, with recurrent lumbar pain in the face of tension or increased stress. You can use pepper or menthol plaster to relieve the condition. Their use is allowed even without a doctor's prescription.
Procedures
In case of low back pain, a specialist may recommend special treatment. These include acupuncture, physiotherapy with electric currents, ultrasound, therapeutic ultraviolet rays. In some cases, physiotherapy exercises and massage are shown. If the spine is displaced, it may be necessary to have the help of a chiropractor to get the bone back in place. Any procedure should be selected in consultation with your doctor. It is forbidden to conduct treatment in which they act directly on the spine, without a diagnosis of the disease. In this case, the procedures can not only be useless, but also harm the patient.
To prevent back pain, you need to monitor the health of your spine from an early age. It is important to place the loads correctly on your back (lifting and not bending objects, lifting and lifting heavy objects). You need to engage in moderate physical activity and select exercises with a trainer. It is also important to treat infectious diseases in a timely manner, to avoid stress, to take any medication wisely and in accordance with the doctor's prescription.