Lower back pain

Back pain in the lumbar region - the need to consult a doctor

Discomfort in this area is familiar to almost everyone. People suffer from it at a young age, and between the ages of 30 and 40, lower back pain becomes common.

However, only a specialist can determine why the lower back may be so painful that it is impossible to straighten up even while lying down, and the pain surges into the lower back after each movement.

Many reasons can cause severe lower back pain

Causes

People want to know why and why the lower back hurts so much when you sit or stand, with every movement the spine behind the back causes pain, so it cannot straighten after sittingon a chair, and what to do with these pains. symptoms, how and what to treat, what led her to feel unwell. It is impossible to answer these questions unambiguously and without in-depth research, because the root causes can be numerous.

Spinal diseases

When a person complains "I can't sit and it hurts to walk", their lower back hurts when standing or sitting in a chair, they often can't walk or stand for along period it is impossible to relax in a sitting position for per month, the cause is diseases of the spine.

In addition, pathologies can be either congenital or acquired due to an incorrect lifestyle, predisposition or injury.

Common causes of pain in spinal diseases:

  • Congenital anomalies.
  • Poor blood circulation in the spinal cord.
  • Degenerative changes.
  • Secondary nerve damage that develops against the background of changes in the position of the spinal bones.

Deformation

Before deciding how to quickly and effectively treat lower back pain, you need to understand why, when you get up from a sitting position, your back hurts so much that it is difficult to straighten up. Acquired or congenital malformations of the bones of the spine are often to blame.

Lower back pain due to a spinal deformity such as scoliosis

Curvature occurs throughout life. Often a person himself causes changes in himself, not monitoring his posture or preferring to sleep in a soft bed. As a result, the load on bones, muscles and ligaments is not distributed physiologically, leading to pain.

People with an established diagnosis will have to undergo regular attacks:

  1. Kyphosis.
  2. Scoliosis.
  3. Lordosis.
  4. Flat back syndrome.

Strict adherence to the doctor's recommendations can help in this case. Even if a person is born with such pathologies, today it is possible to stop their development and live fully.

Osteoporosis

Pulling, aching pain radiating into the chest may be the only sign of developed osteoporosis. At the same time, unpleasant sensations are weak and appear irregularly. Most often, discomfort is felt after intense physical exertion or when the weather changes.

Osteoporosis is one of the causes of lower back pain

Even if the disease is not congenital, it can develop during life as a secondary illness after a number of negative influences, including intoxication and inappropriate use of medications.

A pathological fracture is considered dangerous. It is accompanied by more intense pain than usual. At the same time, since there was no injury as such and it does not interfere with movement, it often remains undiagnosed. Which, after a while, can lead to additional complications.

The question of how to quickly cure lower back pain is relevant for people with osteoporosis, because in their case unpleasant attacks can be easily and quickly stopped.

Injuries

When you think about why, when I sit or stand for a long time, my lower back at the spine, often below the lower back, constantly hurts, try to remember ifyou hit this spot.

Even a minor blow or fall can cause serious injuries that may not be easily detected at first glance.The most common causes of traumatic back pain:

  • Spinal contusion. You can easily get it by falling unsuccessfully or hitting your back. It manifests itself as slight pain, sometimes with the formation of swelling or bruising at the site of impact. Most often does not require special treatment. However, in severe cases, it can cause neurological symptoms.
  • Compression fracture.Most often this happens with a sharp forced flexion of the torso. Later, this manifests itself as severe pain when moving. Sharp processes of the vertebrae can be felt locally.
  • Vertebral subluxationmanifests itself not only in pain and swelling, but also in frequent numbness at the site of injury. The lower limbs also gradually begin to become numb.
Various back injuries lead to pain in the lumbar region

It is extremely important to be extremely careful with impacts and falls to the spine. Due to mild pain, it is easy to miss serious damage, which will subsequently lead to greater restrictions in life.



Infections

The cause of chronic intense burning pain that constantly aches, stabs, grabs and does not go away in the lumbar region and lower back may be an infection.

There are pathologies that affect the spine. Without treatment, these illnesses will quickly turn a person into a disabled person.Spread of infection:

  1. Osteomyelitiscan be introduced into the body through injury, during surgery, or through contact with another infected person. The infection causes sharp, intense pain that occurs with every sudden movement. In this case, the chronic course of infection is characterized by attenuated pain manifestations. Additionally, the person suffers from intoxication, chills and fever.
  2. Epidural abscesscauses intense pain, associated with chills and strong muscle tension.
  3. Tuberculosis of the spinedevelops slowly but inevitably. At first, it only manifests itself as periodic pain after physical exertion and stiffness of gait. As bones deteriorate, pain increases and the ability to fully move decreases.

Local inflammation

Low back pain caused by local inflammation

In addition to constantly spreading unpleasant sensations, people sometimes experience shooting pain in the lower back, in the lower back, when sitting, what it could be and what it is called is determined by a specialist on thebasis of examination and test results. The cause is local inflammation.

Boils, carbuncles and paranephritis are easy to recognize. The first two phenomena are bumps on the skin that react painfully to touch. In the case of paranephritis, fever appears first and severe pain, which prevents full movements and walking, develops on 2-3 days. The illness is considered serious and requires hospitalization.

Infectious diseases

Sometimes the explanation of why the lower back can hurt, it constantly penetrates there, clings when you stand for a long time, and sometimes the back begins to hurt as if it will soon fall, and thedecision about what to do and what to treat can be an infectious disease.

Doctors note infectious diseases as the cause of lower back pain

Increased temperature, intoxication, the need to look for a more comfortable position, muscle and joint pain - these are the signs of an infected person. Often occurs in severe cases of ARVI or influenza.

Similar symptoms may also indicate an infection:

  • Ebola fever.
  • Human-type foot-and-mouth disease.
  • Severe evolution of the coronavirus.
  • Generalized forms of viral or fungal infections.

If such signs appear, you should immediately consult a doctor, as the condition may worsen within a few hours.

Muscle damage

To understand why the lower back hurts and pulls, why it grabs the back at the spine, why when you sneeze it radiates to the back, which began to hurt much more often, you need to establish thecause before deciding what to do.

In addition to problems directly related to the spine, muscle injuries can also bother a person. This problem is often encountered by professional athletes, people who do a lot of strength training or perform physical work. After excessive tension for several days, painful sensations appear in the muscles of the lower back, which disappear under the influence of medications, warming ointments and massage.Lower back pain due to tight back muscles


However, there are also chronic changes in muscle tissue, which often occur against the background of serious illnesses and are the consequence of them. If they are detected, complex therapy is carried out, sometimes even surgical intervention is required.


Types of pain

To understand what helps relieve lower back pain and how to get rid of it, you need to pay attention to the features of the symptom.

If the unpleasant sensations appeared suddenly and recently, the phase is called acute, and if you suffer for more than 3 months, it is called chronic.

Depending on the intensity and variety of sensations, we distinguish:

  • Mechanical.Occurs after intense physical activity, often in the afternoon, accompanied by a feeling of fatigue. Easily cured by rest. Most often, this is the result of a breakdown of the bony structures of the spine or its severe curvature.
  • Inflammatory.Intensifies after rest, period of immobility. After a while, it weakens due to constant movement or taking anti-inflammatory painkillers.
  • Local.The result of direct damage to muscles, joints or ligaments. Focuses directly on the point of damage.
  • Koreshkovaya.Occurs when nerves are pinched due to injury, tumor or hernia. Simultaneously with the onset of pain, the sensitivity of the injury site decreases.
  • Reflex.The most dangerous guy because he deceives people. The patient thinks that he has pain in the lower back, but in fact these are reflexive sensations that arise due to a disease of the internal organs.
  • Myofascial.A protective mechanism, as it appears due to muscle spasms when bones are damaged.

Depending on the description of the sensations, the doctor will be able to understand in the first minutes what kind of illness the person contacting him suffers from.

Which doctor should I contact?

If you suffer from lower back pain, you should consult a general practitioner or neurologist.

As soon as there is an unpleasant shooting in the lower back, constant pain or discomfort, the question arises of consulting a doctor.

Since this part of the body is specific in that it contains not only the spine and muscles, but also a large number of internal organs, which can also cause discomfort if the disease develops, it is strongly not recommended to self-medicateat home. Due to the inability to determine the source of the pain, the situation may worsen.

Initially, it is best to consult a general practitioner with such symptoms. Depending on the symptoms that appear, the characteristics of the pain and the location of the lesion, he will be able to determine which specialist should deal with the problem.You may be referred to:

  1. Neurologist.
  2. To the surgeon.
  3. Urologist or gynecologist.
  4. Nephrologist.

After the examination, they will order the necessary tests to determine the exact cause of the discomfort.

By deciding to consult a specialist yourself without first consulting a therapist, you risk making an inaccurate diagnosis and wasting valuable time.

Diagnostic

A CT scan or MRI will help doctors determine the cause of lower back pain

Very often, patients turn to the doctor when an infernal pain appears in the back, so intense that it hurts to get up and walk, without even straightening up, why does it hurt in the center or lower back, what can bother you in the spine , what are the causes of the disease and what to do, what treatment for lower back pain.

Diagnostic:

  • Interview with patientscollection of data on the signs and timing of disease development. It is also important to know your medical history and identify chronic illnesses that may influence the development of attacks.
  • Neurological examination.The doctor checks whether reflexes are preserved, to what extent muscle strength and reaction speed are affected and to what extent movements are limited. Additionally, the degree of superficial and deep sensitivity is examined.
  • X-ray of the affected area of the back.The image will show the injuries sustained, a pathological decrease in the intervertebral space, curvature and the appearance of degenerative processes. New growths are also detected.
  • CT or MRIused to clarify the data obtained. They help to determine the location of even small hernias or processes on the spine, help to understand where the pinched nerves are located and why this happened.
  • Functional studiesare aimed at determining the condition of the muscles and the degree of damage to the nervous tissue, the speed of passage of the nerve impulse.
  • Laboratory tests. A blood sample is necessary to determine if the inflammation is infectious in nature.

Additionally, depending on the indications, an x-ray of the internal organs located near the painful area may be prescribed. This is done to prevent exacerbations of chronic diseases of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract or genitourinary system.

Treatment

It is extremely important to correctly provide first aid to the patient and transport him to a medical facility without additional injuries. If an attack occurs, place the person on something hard or lighten the load on the back, then take them to the hospital.

How and with what to treat the back and what to do when the back in the middle of the spine is very severe and constantly hurts in the lumbar region, lower back, the doctor decides only after finding out the reasons why thishas occurred, treatment in this case is prescribed both conservative and in the form of surgical intervention.

Before the examination, it is not recommended to use medications to suppress symptomatic pain, only one dose of pain relievers is allowed.

After examination and diagnostic measures, the doctor will prescribe appropriate, complex treatment for back diseases.Therapy includes:

  1. To take pills.
  2. Physiotherapy.
  3. Use of external medications.
  4. Lifestyle changes.

In difficult cases, surgical intervention is also performed.

Several types of medications are used to treat back pain:

  • NSAIDs are pain relievers and anti-inflammatories.During the first visit, it is possible to administer it by injection; in the future, doctors will recommend a combination of tablets and ointments with a similar effect.
  • Local anestheticsused to create a blockade in cases where the pain becomes unbearable.
  • B vitaminsenhance the effect of other medications, stimulate better blood supply to the affected area of the back.
  • Physiotherapyperformed after relief of acute pain. As soon as the attack ends, special therapy is selected, which has a positive effect on the condition of the spine. Additionally, a set of physiotherapy exercises is prescribed.
Intervertebral hernia of the lumbar spine is a reason to undergo surgery

Surgical intervention is an undesirable option to develop the situation. Since the spine is one of the most complex organs in the human body. There are many points nearby that affect the functioning of the body, so doctors try to carry out surgery as little as possible. However, there are desperate situations when it is impossible to restore health without a surgeon's scalpel.

Surgical intervention is necessary:

  • In case of tumor formation.They are removed regardless of their benignity or malignancy, because a gradual increase leads to severe pain and can cause the appearance of paralysis.
  • Intervertebral hernias,gradually destroying the space around them. They are responsible for constant and never-ending pain.
  • Narrowing of the intervertebral canal.
  • Instability of the spinal elements,serious injuries requiring additional fixation of bones in their place.

After treatment or surgery, the patient should be prepared for the fact that there is still a lot to do to finally say goodbye to pain.

Rehabilitation

Therapeutic exercise is one of the components of lower back pain rehabilitation

Depending on the reasons why the spine hurts in the lumbar region and the intensity of the pain, treatment is prescribed. However, taking medication and possible surgery are not enough to return to a full and healthy life.

Most often, additional rehabilitation includes physiotherapeutic procedures.Frequent appointments:

  1. Massage.In addition, it is not recommended to choose this procedure yourself.
  2. Physiotherapy courses,which is carried out under the supervision of an experienced trainer who knows at what speed and intensity the exercises should be performed. It is also possible to use specialized simulators.
  3. Manual therapy.
  4. Acupuncture.
  5. Physiotherapy,aimed at the complementary use of analgesics: electrophoresis, magnetotherapy, laser treatment.

When deciding how to treat severe, acute or painful back pain in the lumbar region, the doctor determines what to do if the spine constantly hurts, the muscles are seized and stiff, depending on the reasons, additional treatment is prescribed. In which a series of restorative procedures are additionally prescribed in detail, which will help to improve well-being and return to a healthy state. Patients should be prepared that the rehabilitation period may last more than a month if the nerve endings or vertebrae are severely damaged.

Consequences

The consequence of ignoring lower back pain can be a herniated disc.

If, turning to friends with a complaint: "If the lower back suddenly hurts for no reason, the back falls, then what to do in such a situation? in response you only hear a suggestion to take a painkiller, do not hesitate to follow this advice.

The main consequences of untreated spinal diseases:

  • Greater spread of painintensification of attacks due to the fact that healthier tissues will suffer from a gradually expanding problem area.
  • A sharp deterioration in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.And problems in this area can lead to the development of chronic diseases of any organ, including deterioration of brain function.
  • In the worst case, it is possibletemporary or permanent paralysis of the limbs.

In addition, self-medication without prior diagnosis or medical prescription can lead to a deterioration in well-being. And subsequently, treatment and recovery will become long and complex.

Prevention

Physical activity can help prevent lower back pain

The main medical direction that helps maintain health and avoid unpleasant days in which you will be deprived of the opportunity to live fully is prevention. This will help prevent inflammation or the onset of many lower back diseases.

You must respect several rules and advice:

  1. Choose a medium-firm mattress for the bedroom.
  2. If you move little throughout the day, but often sit at the computer, take a break for a few minutes every hour to do a brief warm-up of the lumbar spine.
  3. Give up bad habits.
  4. Try not to make sudden, rash movements.
  5. Regular exercise. Even a small 15-minute exercise in the morning already has a positive effect on the condition of the spine. After age 30, it's best to find a hobby that will allow you to get the physical activity you need, with a low risk of injury. Consider doing yoga or swimming in the pool to stay in shape.
  6. Control your posture.
  7. Avoid severe hypothermia in the lower back.
  8. Treat detected diseases in a timely manner.
  9. Get regular preventive exams.
  10. If you experience back pain, contact the clinic immediately for a consultation.

Painful sensations in the spine are among the most unpleasant. In addition to direct pain, they also cause stiffness in movement, which prevents them from living a normal and full life.

The sooner professional treatment for back problems is started, the sooner a person can return to a full life. And neglecting your health in this case can lead to disability.