Very often people of any age complain of back pain. A similar symptom indicates that a pathological process is taking place inside the body, requiring diagnostics and therapeutic measures. In order for the treatment to be chosen correctly, it is necessary to find out the cause of the pain syndrome in the back, and after that, select a set of measures aimed at eliminating it.
Reasons
There are several main causes of back pain that cause patients to seek qualified help:
- Herniated disc.
- Rupture of the fibrous ring.
- Stenosis of the spinal canal.
- Myogenic pain.
- Facet arthropathy.
For a herniated disc, the following symptoms are typical:
- History of trauma or permanent microtrauma affecting people involved in sports, running, jumping.
- Back pain can be aggravated by coughing, sneezing, straightening the legs, leaning forward and sitting for long periods.
- You may experience sensory disturbances such as numbness or goosebumps.
- Muscle strength declines in the late stage.
- Lasegue's symptom is positive.
- MRI dataand CT scans indicate that there have been changes in the spinal disc in the form of a herniation and involvement of nerve endings.
By these signs, you can determine the rupture of the fibrous ring:
- injury described in anamnesis;
- sharp pain in the back, less pronounced in the leg;
- pain syndrome can be both bilateral and unilateral;
- symptoms point to Lasegue syndrome, but MRI and CT data do not confirm this fact;
- discomfort worsens while sitting, leaning forward, sneezing and coughing.
Myogenic pain is a pain syndrome of muscular origin. It is characterized by such signs:
- there are records in the anamnesis indicating constantly repetitive overstrain of muscle fibers;
- pain relapses are associated with muscle strain;
- discomfort in the back increases with tension of the paravertebral muscles of the lower back;
- if you tighten the gluteal muscle, the pain appears in the thigh and buttock;
- pain in the lower back is localized on one or both sides;
- muscle soreness increases in the morning or after rest, as well as when cooling;
- if you work for a long time, using muscles, then the pain syndrome increases, and the most discomfort is felt after the end of the load;
- no abnormalities are detected on CT or MRI.
Lumbar stenosis is most often manifested as a result of age-related changes affecting the spine. It is characterized by the following features:
- discomfort in the back or leg appears after a long walk;
- symptoms get worse if you keep walking;
- weakness and numbness in lower limbs;
- bending relieves;
- MRI and CT show reduced disc height, facet joint hypertrophy, degenerative spondylolisthesis.
When facet arthropathy is characterized by the following symptoms:
- the patient has a history of injury;
- tension on one side over the joint;
- back pain appears immediately when the spine is extended;
- discomfort increases when bending to the affected side;
- pain syndrome recedes if an anesthetic or corticosteroids are injected into the joint.
Causes of chronic pain
Constant discomfort, crunching in the joints or back gradually leads to serious consequences: local or complete restriction of movements up to disability. Chronic severe back pain should definitely alert the patient. They are almost always present with short intervals of remission. The causes of this condition can be such diseases:
- Osteochondrosis, manifested as a result of degenerative changes in the tissues of the spinal disc.
- Scoliosis, or in simple terms, curvature, leads to disc displacement and injury to nerve endings.
- Spondylolisthesis is a sliding of the upper vertebra to the lower, occurs due to the deformation of the pedicles of the vertebra, resulting inthe spine strongly resembles a ladder with protruding steps.
- Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory process in the joints and ligaments, which leads to their low mobility. The male half suffers mainly. The danger of this disease is that it is constantly developing, gradually capturing each section of the spine, and subsequently passes to the internal organs: the heart, kidneys, lungs and others.
- Oncopathology - a neoplasm in the spine can be primary, but in most cases it manifests itself in the form of metastases from nearby organs.
Who is more at risk?
Severe back pain is most likely to occur:
- in patients over 40;
- for the male half of humanity;
- if there is a family history;
- if there are old injuries;
- during pregnancy;
- after back surgery;
- for congenital malformations of the spine;
- if there is no physical activity at all;
- for people whose work requires prolonged sitting or heavy lifting;
- smokers;
- overweight;
- in people with poor posture;
- in patients under constant stress;
- in people taking long-term steroids that weaken bone tissue;
- in patients with lung pathologies that lead to chronic cough.
How does pain manifest itself?
Symptomatics
Many people experience pain in their upper back orlower throughout life. There are many reasons for discomfort, many of them a person creates for himself. Others arise due to accidents, sprains, sports injuries, various pathologies. There are many reasons, but the symptoms are the same:
- Persistent pain or stiffness in any part of the spine, from the neck to the coccyx.
- Sharp pain in the upper back, lower back, or neck, especially during heavy lifting or strenuous activity (discomfort in the upper back can be a sign of a heart attack or other life-threatening situations).
- Chronic pain syndrome, especially pronounced after long sitting or standing.
- Discomfort in the lower back with rebound in the buttock.
- Unable to stand upright.
There are symptoms that require urgent medical attention:
- if numbness, tingling or weakness is felt in the limbs, then this condition may indicate damage to the spinal cord;
- if the back hurts in the lower back and gives to the leg, which may indicate root compression;
- when the pain syndrome increases with coughing, leaning forward, this may indicate the presence of an intervertebral hernia;
- back discomfort accompanied by high fever, burning during urination, which may indicate a urinary tract infection;
- drastic weight loss;
- malfunctions in the work of the intestines and urinarybubble;
- long-term steroid use;
- pain while sleeping at night;
- no effect of therapy.
If at least one of the described symptoms is observed in a patient, then you need to urgently consult a doctor, because the consequences of inaction can be much more serious than it seems.
Danger of back and lower back pain
Often, patients do not seek to visit a specialist when they feel pain. If we talk about whether it is worthwhile to urgently consult a doctor if your back hurts in the lower back, then in most cases this symptom does not indicate serious consequences. Such discomfort may indicate excessive physical exertion, you just need to rest well, and everything will go away by itself. But if relief did not occur in the near future, and the pain syndrome began to only increase, then this may already be a sign of the development of a serious illness. But in this case, inaction can even lead to death.
Sound the alarm should cause the following symptoms:
- Constant, sharp back pain that only appears in one specific area.
- Pain that occurs at night and does not subside even when the patient is in the supine position.
- Pain in the back with high fever.
- Pain in the back, right side, accompanied by partial numbness of the limbs, impaired motor function, muscle spasm of the arms or legs, stiffness in the morning.
Diagnostic methods
Lower back painor in any other area - this is not just a symptom, but a sign on the part of the body that requires attention and consultation with a doctor. To make it more convenient for the doctor to draw up a general picture and find out how the disease proceeds, the patient will need to tell:
- What factors provoke the appearance of pain.
- At what time of the day or night do they occur.
- Seizure duration.
- How intense is the pain in your back, right side or left side.
- The time when the first discomfort appeared.
The patient himself can assume what exactly provoked the appearance of discomfort. For example, it can be menstruation, a stressful situation, lifting weights and more. In addition, it is carried out:
- general examination of the patient;
- palpation of the place where the pain syndrome is localized;
- taking blood and urine tests to exclude or, conversely, identify pathological processes;
- X-ray to detect abnormalities in the structure of the spine, lungs, chest;
- MRI and CT to detect the presence of diseases in the spine and internal organs;
- full examination of the bones, to detect pathologies in the body, it is necessary to introduce a contrast agent and in the place where it will accumulate more, there is an inflammatory process;
- consultation of specialists: neurologist, rheumatologist and orthopedist.
After all the results of the examination are received, it is possible to select a treatment that allows not only to remove the symptom, but alsocauses of unbearable back pain. Which doctor will choose the therapy depends on what exactly caused the manifestation of the pain syndrome. If these are problems with the joints, then the therapy will be carried out by a rheumatologist, if it is associated with stress, then a neurologist.
Methods for treating back pain
After it is established which disease causes back pain when moving, it is necessary to begin treatment aimed at eliminating the identified disease. In most cases, it is additionally recommended to choose medications that relieve pain. If the patient has chronic pain, then it can cause inconvenience, including after the cure of the underlying ailment, that is, it can become an independent pathology that requires special attention.
Medicines for back pain
To relieve inflammation, lower the temperature and anesthetize, it is recommended to take analgesics: "Paracetamol", "Analgin". Also doing this job perfectly: Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Naproxen. These drugs can be taken as tablets or used as injections. Some of them are presented in the form of ointments and gels, which are recommended to be applied to the area where pain is present. The strongest pain syndrome in some cases can be stopped by taking narcotic analgesics: Morphine, Promedol, Fentanyl. Most often, such drugs for back pain are prescribed if the patient has a malignant neoplasm.
But you have to rememberthat long-term use of analgesics can be addictive, which means that a strong and lasting effect can not be expected. In addition, they can cause inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines. Usually the course of admission is no more than 10 days.
It is also recommended to take B vitamins, which are taken for back pain after lifting weights, as moderate painkillers, because they are neurotropic, have a positive effect on nerve cells and relieve inflammation.
In addition to painkillers, it is also recommended to take muscle relaxants - these are medicines to relax muscles. The causes of back pain in the chest area can be muscle diseases, for example, the formation of trigger nodes. Constant muscle tension leads to a deterioration in the mobility of the spine. It is the intake of muscle relaxants that will help relieve tension, these can be Mydocalm, Sirdalud, Seduxen.
Fixation belt or collar
You can relieve back pain at waist level with a special belt. It keeps the spine in an even state, especially important for those who have had a back injury or surgery.
For patients with neck injuries, bed rest and the wearing of a special support collar are generally recommended.
Reflex and physiotherapy
A patient with muscular back pain may be given:
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.
- Acupuncture.
- Electroacupuncture.
- Medicinalelectrophoresis.
- Phonophoresis.
- Laser and magnetic therapy.
Surgery
In some cases, the patient may be recommended as a treatment for surgery. Most often these are patients with intervertebral hernia. It is carried out for any hernia, as well as in the event that the disc squeezes the brain or spinal root with its back, the disease is complicated by paresis, and the disease cannot be eliminated by conservative methods.
Injections for back pain
If the patient cannot stand the pain, it is so strong that it does not let go even for a moment, then he may be advised to conduct a blockade. Therapeutic blockade is the introduction of drugs into the pathological focus. It is much more effective than medication and has a longer duration of action.
Novocaine and lidocaine injections are injected into trigger points, which lead to the fact that the back muscles relax, their tone is restored.
All types of blockade are carried out only within the walls of the hospital.
Massage and exercise therapy
These two methods are very effective for back pain, because they help strengthen muscle tissue and stabilize the spine. In some cases, the discomfort subsides or completely disappears. But you need to start massage and physiotherapy exercises after the pain syndrome is completely relieved. Otherwise, the patient will only be harmed by such procedures, the disease will worsen, and the pain will become even stronger. Physiotherapy exercises should be started with minimal loads. At the first lesson withby a specialist, the patient almost does not make any movements, but simply rests on a flat and hard surface.
In the future, at each lesson, the load will increase. Lying on his back, the patient will begin to lift his legs up, and then proceed to classes on special gymnastic devices and only under the supervision of a specialist who can correct the movements so that the patient does not harm himself. If the pain intensifies during classes, then they urgently need to be stopped.
Additional techniques
Acupuncture has long been proven effective in the treatment of many diseases, back pain is no exception. Today this method has become more modern. Together with the mechanical impact of needles on certain points on the body, the doctor uses drugs and biologically active substances, they are irradiated with a laser, they are affected by a magnetic field.
During manual therapy, manual exposure to certain points is carried out by the hands of a doctor - a chiropractor. At this time, the doctor can eliminate the displacement of the vertebrae, release all pinched nerve endings, after which the pain will disappear. Osteopathy is another method in which the specialist works with his hands. The techniques are more specific, they have almost no contraindications, and they can be used even during exacerbation of pain.
Vacuum therapy is a well-known banks that our ancestors loved to use to eliminate inflammatory processes. Only today they are presented in a more modern form. Undereach jar creates a rarefied pressure, due to which the blood rushes to the problem areas and all metabolic processes are enhanced in them. Banks can be easily interchanged by making canned - vacuum massage.
Traditional medicine for back pain
For a long time, traditional medicine recipes have proven their effectiveness in the treatment of many diseases. Back pain in women or men is no exception. There are a lot of recipes, but there are a few that have helped many patients cope with unbearable pain:
- Treatment with oil and pepper tincture. This method involves rubbing fir oil and tincture of hot red pepper into the place of pain localization. Tinctures can be purchased at any pharmacy. First, you need to rub red pepper tincture into the place of pain localization, and then fir oil. The procedure is carried out daily without exception for a month.
- Clay is another great and inexpensive remedy. It must be taken in 1 tbsp. l. every morning on an empty stomach. The course of treatment is at least 2 months. You can buy clay at a pharmacy, the main thing is to buy one that does not contain any impurities.
- Kuznetsov's applicator is an excellent tool that every third person knows about today. With it, you can very quickly get rid of the pain that is localized in any part of the back. It can be purchased at any pharmacy, and if you can’t find it, you can easily make it yourself. You will need beer bottle caps. They are laid out on the floor with the sharp side up and lie down on them. The effect is the same as from the pharmacyapplicator.
- Sheep wool will help get rid of pain. It needs to be tied on the back. You can wear at least all day under clothes.
- Wax helps draw out all the pain. To do this, you need to take an ordinary candle, which is sold in any store. Warm it up and put it on the place where the pain is localized, wrap it tightly with a warm scarf on top. This method was used a hundred years ago, when there was no choice in medicines, but there was a need to relieve pain. It is heat that helps to draw out the pain. Therefore, it is better to wrap yourself in a woolen scarf, then the back will warm up better.
All folk methods give good results, but not in all cases, so before using them, it is better to consult a doctor so as not to harm your he alth. Indeed, in some cases, especially when there is an inflammatory process in the body, warming up is strictly prohibited.
