There is probably no person who has never had back pain.Furthermore, discomfort can occur at any age, regardless of gender, work activity and other factors.
Back pain in the lumbar region, of various nature and cause, makes life much more difficult.Neglecting obvious symptoms of pathology can make the situation worse.
Types of pain syndrome
The main classification of pain syndrome is as follows:
- Primary.
- Secondary.
The first option is characterized by the pathology of the spine and the entire musculoskeletal system.Muscles, ligaments, and tendons undergo a number of changes, causing a person's back pain.
Discomfort of a secondary nature is not directly related to the lumbar region.Usually its development is influenced by indirect pathologies.
Depending on the cause of the event, lower back pain varies in different ways.The discomfort can be sharp and sharp, or vice versa, painful and dull.You need to understand the nature of each option in more detail.
Sharp, sharp pain
It cannot be considered an independent pathology.Typically, acute back pain is a sign of some disease.Most often people encounter them after the age of 30.
Severe lower back pain can occur for a variety of reasons.One of them is hypothermia of the specified area.Muscles become weak and are easily susceptible to negative effects.Pain in the lower back hinders movement, depriving the patient of mobility.It is hardly possible to do something on your own if your back hurts a lot.The right thing to do would be to call a specialist.
The abruptness can be caused by a number of reasons:
- Intervertebral hernia.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Excessive loads.
- Injury.
What to do if there is severe pain in the lower back?The best option is to consult a doctor.If this cannot be done immediately, it will be necessary to relieve the symptoms of inflammation with medications.
Dull, aching pain
The causes of aching pain in the lower back are varied.To establish them will require a complete examination of the body.The accuracy of the diagnosis depends on many signs.Here are the main ones:
- Place where discomfort is concentrated.
- Patient age category.
- The patient's diet.
- The presence of bad habits (smoking, alcohol addiction, etc.).
- Patient body weight.
Throbbing pain in the lower back often occurs in women of reproductive age.There is a pull in the lower back due to the following reasons:
- Fatigue.Reducing physical activity will help relieve discomfort.Heating the problem area with a heating pad or ointments has a positive effect.
- Pregnancy.A special bandage will come to the aid of the woman, reducing the load.
- Menstruation.Medicines will help alleviate the situation and relieve dull pain.
- Poor posture, osteochondrosis, osteoporosis.
- Intervertebral hernia, arthrosis.
- Pathologies of the genitourinary system.
- Radiculitis.
- Any injuries.
To understand why your back pain, you should conduct a little experiment.The patient must stand with his back straight and lean against the wall.Next, slowly lower your chin, pressing it into your chest.The resulting pain or throbbing on any side (top, bottom, side) will help determine the root cause of the aching pain.
Causes of disease in women
In addition to the general ones, there are a number of reasons that apply only to representatives of the fair sex.
This can include:
- Pregnancy.
- Problems in gynecology.
- Menstruation.
- Mechanical abortion.
Women usually don't know what to do if they experience back pain due to severe shock or unnecessary worry.The situation can only be improved through psychological therapy.
Problems in gynecology
The presence of gynecological diseases in a woman often becomes the starting point for the development of pain.
The problems could be the following:
- Inflammation of the external genitalia (vulvitis).
- Tumor of any node of the genitourinary system.
- Adnexitis (in other words, inflammation of the appendages).
- Myoma.
The symptoms of the pathology are as follows:
- The presence of abundant secretions.
- An infection whose foci are concentrated in the vagina.
- Problems conceiving a child.
Often a woman complains of pain in the lower abdomen.Sometimes the pain radiates to the lumbar region.
Pregnancy
The gestation period of the female body does not pass without a trace.In the last trimester of pregnancy, the load on the bones of the spine increases significantly, which is explained by the increase in the size and weight of the fetus.
Due to its physiological structure, the lumbar spine suffers the most.Pain in the lower back is natural and quite noticeable.Typically, lower back pain goes away after the baby is born.
Menstruation
Such a familiar phenomenon for a woman can be accompanied by back pain.
This is explained by the following factors:
- Release of the follicle from the ovary.
- Enlargement of the uterus.
- Pathologies of the reproductive system.
Furthermore, pain can also appear during menopause.This is usually due to hormonal changes and imbalances.With the onset of menopause, a woman's bones become more brittle and brittle, which is characteristic of osteoporosis.
Abortion
Mechanical termination of pregnancy also does not pass without a trace, being a serious stress for the body.During the contraction of the uterus an inflammatory process begins.The latter focuses on the internal surface of the organ.
Note: Women are more sensitive to lower back pain than men.
Causes of disease in men
Men, like women, suffer from lower back pain.
The most obvious reasons are:
- Prostatitis.At first it only hurts the anus.As the intoxication progresses, the patient begins to experience discomfort in the lower back.
- Epididymitis, in other words, is an inflammatory process in the epididymis.As such, the back does not hurt, but sometimes unpleasant sensations appear.
- Oncology of the genitourinary system.It often affects men of pre-retirement age (over 50).
- Bodybuilding, bodybuilding.
- Injuries to the muscular system.Pain in the lumbar region is caused by a strain of the latissimus muscle.
Professional activity plays an important role in identifying the cause of low back pain.
Causes of illness in children
Pathology in children develops due to the following factors:
- Spinal hernia.
- Incorrect posture.
Usually the cause of the latter is flat feet.Although it is important to choose a comfortable bag and the right shoes.
Note: In the early stages the curvature of the baby's spine can be corrected.Physiotherapy helps a lot with this.
Connection with diseases
The above classification is not the only one.The pain can be periodic or constant.
In the first case, the discomfort is directly related to factors such as:
- Excessive physical activity.
- Exacerbation of existing diseases.
- Some features of physiology.
Periodic pain disappears when the symptoms of the underlying pathology are relieved.
Severe injuries to the deep vessels and injuries to the musculoskeletal system can cause permanent discomfort.Treatment alleviates the situation a little, but does not resolve it completely.
Spinal diseases
The causes of constant pain in the lumbar region are as follows:
- Curvature of the spine.The disease is characterized by skeletal deformation, poor posture and the appearance of a hump in the rib region.Sometimes scoliosis is asymptomatic for quite a long time.
- Intervertebral osteochondrosis of the lumbar region.The disease destroys bones and cartilage and affects nerve fibers.Sometimes the disease becomes a catalyst for the development of protrusion, sciatica, radiculitis of the lumbar region and herniation of intervertebral discs.
- Destructive changes in the vertebrae.They cause low back pain (low back pain).Typically, acute pain occurs in men who overexercise.The lack of adequate treatment leads to irreversible consequences.
- Spondylosis.The joint system of the lumbar region ages, becomes thinner and loses mobility.This process is completely natural.
- Inflammation of all nodes of bone tissue (osteomyelitis).The nature of the process is contagious.
- Osteoporosis (increased bone fragility).Usually diagnosed in children and women during menopause.
- Thrombophlebitis, phlebothrombosis.In deep veins, blood flow stops completely or partially.This leads to pain after walking for a long time.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.Chronic inflammation begins in the joints of the lower back, affecting muscles, cartilage and ligaments.This systemic disease is often observed in women.The cause of the pathology is problems with the immune system.
- Atherosclerosis in the last stage.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 the internal organs
The development of the disease is affected not only by spinal problems.
Pain syndrome occurs in the following diseases:
- Inflammation of the appendix.A person is bothered by discomfort in the lower abdomen on the right, sometimes the pain radiates to the back.
- Cholecystitis (inflammation of the walls of the gallbladder).
- Pathologies of the small intestine.The lower back hurts because the disease affects the nerve fibers of this area.
- Peaks.Usually the result of surgery.
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).The pathology is accompanied by a painful syndrome of shingles nature.Signs of the disease are vomiting, intestinal problems (diarrhea or constipation), coating on the tongue and nausea.Low back pain is not diagnosed by palpation.
- Renal disorders.
- Bone tuberculosis.
- Inflammatory processes in the muscular system.The nature of tissue damage is different (infectious, bacterial, viral).Sometimes inflammation develops due to hypothermia.The process is accompanied by an increase in body temperature and general malaise.
- A tumor in the lumbar region, which grows along nerve fibers.
Excess body weight and obesity also cause discomfort.The pain occurs due to excessive stress on the lower back.
Further symptoms
To determine why your lower back hurts, you should take into account all possible signs of the disease.
Here they are:
- Sprains are accompanied by painful spasms and the damaged muscles are limited in movement.The discomfort sometimes extends to the back of the lower limbs and the buttock region.
- Numbness in the limbs occurs if the nerve roots of the lower back have been injured.
- Pupil dilation.
- Excessive sweating.
- Increased heart rate.
- Fever.
If lower back pain is the result of some pathology, the symptoms will appear gradually.
Diagnosis of the problem
What to do if your lower back hurts?First, it is necessary to conduct a complete examination of the patient.
The diagnosis is based on procedures such as:
- Urine and blood analysis in the laboratory.Biochemistry will also be required.
- Ultrasound examination of the heart, internal organs of the abdominal cavity.This is relevant if you suspect kidney or gastrointestinal disease.
- X-ray of the lumbar region.
- CT AND MRI.With their help, you can determine the cause of the pain.
- Dopplerography (vascular examination).
Performing all these activities allows you to establish a catalyst for the development of pathology and determine methods for its elimination.
Treatment
The elimination of the pathology must be complete and can be carried out in several ways.
To avoid making the situation worse, you should not:
- Warms the lumbar region.
- Take medications at your discretion.
- Adjust the vertebrae yourself, contact a chiropractor.
Note: Without identifying the root cause of discomfort, self-medication is dangerous.
Physiotherapy and massages
Treatment of low back pain is possible using physical therapy.
If the patient cannot move due to severe pain, he is shown:
- Massage.Applicable if the patient is bothered by pain in the lower back or has difficulty bending.
- Mud therapy.
- Paraffin applications.
- Therapeutic gymnastics.
Sometimes acupuncture and manual therapy are helpful.They strengthen the bone system, relieving muscle tension.
Medicines
If a patient experiences pain in the lumbar region after any physical activity, drug therapy is indicated.
The following groups of drugs will help alleviate the condition and relieve pain:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Muscle relaxants.
- Narcotic painkiller.
- Corticosteroids.
- Chondroprotectors.
Local use of ointments is allowed.If the effect is not achieved, injections are used.Only a specialist has the right to prescribe how to treat the lower back.
Folk remedies
Along with medications, you can treat back pain using traditional methods.
The following recipes are applicable:
- Grind the head of garlic, add a little petroleum jelly and 1 tsp.lemon juice.Apply the resulting ointment to the inflamed areas.
- Take a bath with mustard (200 grams of powder).Then rinse your body with clean water, dry yourself and dress appropriately.
- If it hurts to walk, make a horseradish compress.Grate it (can be replaced with radish), add sour cream and lay it on a thin cloth.Apply to the painful area, fix and wrap.
The dosage for taking any folk remedy or drug should be prescribed by the attending physician.
You can cure the lower back with alcoholic tincture of eucalyptus.You will need to carefully rub the inflamed area.
Preventive measures
Heaviness in the lower back can be prevented through prevention.
To do this you need:
- Exercise regularly.
- Check your posture.
- Strengthen your immune system, exercise, quit bad habits.
- Get annual checkups.
- Drink at least 1.5 liters of water regularly.
Remember that shocks and nervous experiences can also provoke the development of the disease.It is important not to start self-medication, but to turn to competent specialists.The time spent on unskilled therapy can sometimes be decisive.