The human race pays for the ability to walk on two legs with pain in the back area.If your back hurts periodically in the lumbar region, it may be a sign of extreme fatigue or the result of staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time while working or sleeping.But the reasons can be more serious.
Causes of pain
The lower back is one of the most painful areas.There are reasons for this:
- Osteochondrosis;
- Scoliosis;
- Disc herniation;
- Tumors;
- Infectious tissue lesions.
The nature and intensity of the pain depends on the disease.And it bothers you in different ways: after sleep, exercise, overwork.For example, renal colic pain is often accompanied by pain in the lower back.And the type of activity of the patient does not matter here.
- Most often it hurts in the lumbar region due to osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine.The pain is of moderate intensity during sleep and intensifies with physical stress.You feel tired all the time.The feeling of heaviness makes you want to lie down.But relief doesn't always come after that.
- If there is a herniated disc, severe pain occurs after sudden movements, lifting heavy objects or falling.
- If the hernia is compressed, acute pain appears, characterized as lumbodynia.Movement in the lumbar region is significantly limited.Damage to the nerve root also causes leg pain.
- In old age, stenosis of the intervertebral canal occurs quite often.A sign of it is limping, numbness in the legs, especially after a long walk.
- Stiffness in the spine that appears in the morning indicates the beginning of the development of ankylosing spondylitis.Initially, sharp pain sensations appear in the sacral region, then spread to the lumbar region.The feeling after sleep is not rest, but fatigue, which goes away with the start of physical activity.Young people are more susceptible to the disease.The disease is hereditary.Mainly the lower back hurts when you are lying down.
- Acute pain in the lumbar region also occurs with pyelonephritis (inflammatory process in the kidneys).They are accompanied by increased body temperature and swelling in the morning after sleep.
- Often, elderly men develop a disease such as abdominal aortic aneurysm.Painful pain and throbbing in the abdomen are the result of pressure from the aorta on nearby organs.
- Pain in the lower back, fever, burning along the nerve are signs of herpes zoster.This viral disease affects the cells of the spinal cord.A pink rash appears on the body and later blisters appear.
- Another common ailment that many consider harmless is flat feet.A deformed leg increases the load on the spine when walking.During sleep, the pain subsides.
- If there are congenital changes in the vertebrae: irregular shape or changes in the cracks, then sooner or later they will be felt.
- Autoimmune pathologies, in particular multiple sclerosis, are provocateurs of pain in various locations.Including back pain.
There are other reasons why there is severe pain in the lumbar region.This can be osteoporosis, infections of the genitourinary system, hemorrhoids, tumor diseases, complications after viral or bacterial infections.Even the physiological changes that affect women and occur during pregnancy and childbirth.
Pain caused by diseases of internal organs
When you wonder why your back hurts in the lumbar region, it is sometimes hard to believe that the reasons may also lie within the organs.The fact is that in some cases, pain from the internal organs is "referred" to the lumbar region.
- Right-sided pleurisy, pneumonia are the causes of pain in the lumbar region on the right.Accompanying symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, fever.Left-sided pleurisy sends pain signals to the left side of the lower back, which intensifies when you bend over or lie down while sleeping.
- Gallstone disease also localizes sharp pains on the right, just above the lower back, which are accompanied by shortness of breath and vomiting.They have a piercing character.
- Herpes pain in the lower back occurs due to pancreatitis.Its companions are nausea and vomiting.
- Severe pain under the left shoulder is often the result of a myocardial infarction.
- For men, the pathology of the prostate gland causes pain in the area below the lower back, with the transition to the sacrum.In women - cystitis.
- Diseases of the distal alimentary canal cause lower back pain.
Pain triggers
Factors such as:
- Hypothermia of the body.
- Intense physical activity.
- Some sports (bodybuilding, bodybuilding, weightlifting, weightlifting).
- Muscle strain.
- Fracture.
- Menstrual cycle in women.
- Poor nutrition.
- Stress.
- Uncomfortable posture during sleep.
Back pain in the lumbar region in children
New technologies have brought not only benefits to our world, but also harm.Why?Because the love for the computer from an early age deprives children of full motor activity and creates incorrect posture.
Important: if you choose the right chair and desk for your child to study, curvature of the spine can be avoided!
Scoliosis can develop from wearing a heavy backpack, flat feet or uncomfortable shoes.Be sure to treat it!Excessive physical activity and weight lifting are contraindicated for children.When participating in a sports section, you should be especially sensitive to your child's complaints of back discomfort after exercise.It could be a herniated disc.Timely treatment will allow the child to live a full life.
Types of pain
The nature of pain is divided into the following types:
- Spasms in the long muscles of the back cause severe pain.This happens due to stretching.The problem is known to athletes and people whose specific occupations involve stress on the back muscles.When you lie down, the pain subsides a little.The main location is the lower back.
- Injury to the spine, namely a fracture, is very dangerous.It can occur from an unsuccessful fall or become a consequence of osteoporosis, Paget's disease, hyperparathyroidism.
- Displacement of the intervertebral discs causes pain due to compression of the nerve roots.For this reason, the patient's mobility is limited, sensitivity is impaired and the knee reflex is reduced.The risk of this disease is also that healthy vertebrae begin to hurt, and this brings disturbances in the functioning of the internal organs and causes restless sleep.
- Facet joint syndrome causes back pain in 31% of cases.This degenerative process affects the capsule of the intervertebral joints and causes pain not only in the lower back, but also in the legs.The lower back hurts when you sit, when you bend sideways or when you bend backwards, or when you stand for a long time.
- An inflammatory process of an infectious nature in the epidural space is a very serious and dangerous disease.It can be fatal if treatment is not started immediately.
Treatment
Seeing a doctor right away when you have back pain is the key to successful treatment.Even if the pain only bothers you at night or after sleep, there is a reason to visit a specialist.
After analyzing the reasons, the doctor will give recommendations on how to treat and not get sick.The treatment will be comprehensive, using ointments, tablets, injections, massages and physical therapy.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are in first place in the treatment of low back pain:
- In the initial stage, literally in the first 3-5 days, treatment is carried out using injections to relieve pain and inflammation.They act quickly, effectively relieving acute pain by injecting the drug directly into the blood or muscles.
- Then anti-inflammatory and analgesic tablets, chondroprotectors and irritant drugs are used (in each case separately).
- In addition, ointment treatment is used.A properly chosen ointment helps relieve inflammation in the affected area and also warms (if necessary).
Reflex muscle tension is relieved with the help of muscle relaxants.With their help, pain is treated and mobility is restored.Apply from 3 to 7 days.
Preparations of group B vitamins are a necessary addition to the main therapy.
In some cases, a drug blockade is necessary.The anesthetic is administered epidurally or paravertebrally.It is used for degenerative changes in the spine.
Physiotherapy treatment:
- UHF;
- Electrophoresis;
- Magnetotherapy.
Massage relieves acute pain by improving blood circulation.Boiling the muscles has a beneficial effect on the elasticity and flexibility of the ligaments.To increase the general tone of the body, and only with the permission of the attending physician, the massage is combined with a bath or sauna.You can not warm up during an infectious process!
Pain during pregnancy can be eased by placing a special bandage.
For patients with flat feet, the placement of orthopedic insoles is mandatory.
Therapeutic exercises
Exercise is also a treat.They strengthen the back muscles, improving posture, increasing muscle tone and increasing blood circulation.They are used not only in the complex of therapeutic therapy, but also for the prevention of pain in the lumbar region.As in the case of drug therapy, therapeutic exercises are prescribed in each case individually, analyzing the main causes of the disease.But you can emphasize some general exercises, each of which is performed 5-10 times, preferably in the morning, avoiding excessive work.
- In a standing position, tilt the body alternately to the right, forward, backward, left.
- In a standing position, with your feet shoulder-width apart, turn your body to the sides.
- In a position on all fours, do a "cat": arching your back in the lower back.
- Lying on your back, bend your knees, arms along your body.Raise and lower the pelvis, gradually increasing the range of motion.
- Lying on your back, legs straight, arms along the body.Alternately bend your knees and then pull them towards your chest.
- Standing on all fours, move your legs alternately.
Whatever the reason, only a specialist can determine why the back hurts, identify the "culprit" of the disease and prescribe the appropriate and effective treatment.As with any other disease, you should not self-medicate!Any medicine can not only treat, but also harm if chosen incorrectly.