Periodic or persistent back pain affects approximately 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. You experience a pressure of 50 kg (in the supine position) to 220 kg if the person is sitting hunched over. The problem indicates a lifestyle bias or serious illness. With age, it worsens and can lead to disability of the patient.
Physiological causes of pain.
Discomfort in the form of pain is the body's defensive reaction. It then reacts to various internal "abnormal" processes, which doctors call pathologies. The body hurts in an uncomfortable position and after physical exertion, telling the brain that it is difficult for it to complete tasks.
An awkward position
Low back pain accompanies prolonged discomfort. 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 due to fatigue. If you do something for a long time in a bent position.
The back hurts after sleeping if the sleeping place is poorly equipped. For example, the surface of the bed is too hard or soft to provide adequate spinal support and quality muscle relaxation.
Increased loads
Muscles and ligaments can hurt your back. They support the spine in a stable position and are subjected to stress with intense physical exertion. Conditions for the appearance of pain arise with sudden movements, accompanied by muscle tension in the lumbar region. This happens if a person carries weights, pulls heavy objects, lifts them and lowers them (bends "in half").
Muscles can also tense during sports. If a person exercises a lot, their ligaments need time to recover. If there is not a good rest, they wear out or become inflamed, which the nervous system indicates with pain.
Back pain in women
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 lower back and sacral discomfort. This is not associated with increased stress, but rather a consequence of the production of prostaglandins (pain mediators). Before and during menstruation, the synthesis of mediators triggers hormonal changes.
in the female body.
Girls have lower back pain when they have a child (in 95% of pregnant women). The spine doesn't just experience great stress outside of pregnancy. Pressure in the lower back increases many times as a woman's weight increases. The pregnant belly creates additional loads. Pulls the body of the expectant mother forward, changing the distribution of axial load. As a result, the woman's gait changes, low back pain occurs, the intensity of which increases according to the duration of pregnancy. Loads increase in any position of the expectant mother, therefore a good rest lying on a quality mattress is extremely important in alleviating the condition of the woman.
Hypodynamics
Discomfort often occurs in people who do not play sports or do not lift heavy objects at all. 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. If this does not happen, the bone and cartilage tissue wears down faster, which is accompanied by pain.
Structural abnormalities
The spine is made up of a skeleton of bone tissue: the vertebrae. Between them are soft "layers" of cartilage tissue: vertebral discs. The 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 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, the lumbar discs are damaged very often. The most common causes of severe low back pain are protrusion (sagging) and hernias (damage and protrusion of the contents) of the discs, in which the nerve roots in 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 sudden falls and movements, the vertebrae in this section are more frequently injured. Most of the fractures and bruises of the spine are located precisely in the lumbar area.
Vascular damage
The vessels provide nutrition to all the tissues of the spine. If its lumen narrows or overlaps, the trophic processes in the spine are radically worse. As a result, inflammation occurs, which always manifests itself in the form of pain.
Nerve entrapment
Nerve fibers can be damaged due to any damage to the cartilage and vertebrae, in case of infectious diseases. Any pathology of the nerves is accompanied by sharp and sometimes excruciating back pain.
Bone disorders
Osteoporosis leads to calcium leaching and brittle bones. If spinal tissue is depleted, there is an increased risk of serious back injury. Also, osteoporosis can change the shape of the bones in the spine and increase pressure on the 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 pathologies of the spine. Painful sensations associated with pathologies of internal organs or some systemic diseases can be transmitted to the lumbar region.
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. Most often it is felt just below the ribs in the back of the body.
Lumbar discomfort often occurs against the background of intestinal diseases, with 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, violations in the structure of connective tissue (cartilage) occur. It loses its elasticity and is therefore often inflamed. Over time, significant disturbances in joint function occur and nerve endings are subjected to persistent (impaired) compression. In ankylosing spondylitis, the intervertebral spaces "harden. "
Low back pain can cause shingles. Rashes with this disease appear on the shoulder blades, ribs, but most often - on the lateral surfaces of the trunk in the lumbar region. The first pains appear before important changes in the skin. When a blistering rash appears, the discomfort intensifies, supplemented by itching. Even after the spots are completely gone, the person still has 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 in the structure of the organs and tissues, changes occur in which the nerves are affected. This is manifested by severe pain. Discomfort in the lower back is felt not only with injuries of the lumbar spine, but also if the tumor grows in the internal organs, which are innervated by the nerve ganglia of this 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, prolonged psycho-emotional stress. Discomfort can arise if a person instills the disease, suffers from overwork. These signs appear for the first time after a depression or a nervous breakdown and can 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 fully rest, reduce the intensity of the load. As a general rule, after a good rest, the discomfort subsides or disappears completely. This is a typical symptom of pain caused by an improper lifestyle, poor quality 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 specialists listed. At the first consultation, the doctor will interview the patient, examine him, perform various 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. To assess the state of bone tissue, an X-ray is prescribed. The structure of the cartilage, the nerves, the condition of the blood vessels and the spinal cord can be evaluated using MRI. If the doctor suspects a systemic disease, the patient is prescribed laboratory diagnostics (general and biochemical blood and urine tests). Only after making the correct diagnosis, the specialist will prescribe the treatment.
Drug therapy
The drug list is completely dependent on the diagnosis. In order to quickly eliminate the symptoms, the patient will be prescribed a short course of painkillers (usually from the group of NSAIDs). With strong inflammatory and autoimmune changes, glucocorticoid drugs are prescribed. For diseases of cartilage tissue, chondroprotectors in injections or tablets are recommended. If the problem is in the muscles, muscle relaxants are recommended. To restore the work of nerve endings, B vitamins are prescribed.
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 disorders in the functioning of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and genitalia. The symptoms will disappear as the underlying disease is eliminated. With excruciating pain, a nerve block is performed (painkillers are injected directly into the nerve root areas).
To enhance the action of injections or tablets, external painkillers (patches, ointments, gels) may be prescribed. Such drugs can be used independently, with recurrent low back pain against the background of tension or increased stress. To alleviate the condition, you can use pepper or menthol plaster. Its use is also allowed without a prescription.
Procedures
For low back pain, a specialist may recommend special treatments. These include acupuncture, physiotherapy with electrical currents, ultrasound, therapeutic ultraviolet rays. In some cases, physical therapy exercises and massages are indicated. If the vertebrae are displaced, the help of a chiropractor may be required to put the bone back in place. Any procedure should be selected in conjunction with a doctor. It is forbidden to undergo treatments in which they act directly on the spine, without diagnosing the disease. In this case, the procedures can not only be useless, but can 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 correctly exert loads on your back (squatting and not 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 medications reasonably and as prescribed by a doctor.