Approximately 80% of the world’s population is affected by periodic or persistent back pain. This problem occurs more often in women. This symptom is called low back pain. This condition is very common due to continuous high pressure on the lumbar spine. If a person sits listlessly, he will bear pressure from 50 kg (supine position) to 220 kg. The problem indicates lifestyle prejudice or serious illness. As we age, it will aggravate and cause disability in patients.
Physiological causes of pain
Discomfort in the form of pain is the body's defensive response. So he responds to various internal "abnormal" processes, which doctors call pathology. The body is in pain after uncomfortable posture and physical exertion, telling the brain that it is difficult to complete tasks.
Uncomfortable posture
Low back pain is accompanied by long-term inconvenience. This problem worries drivers and office workers because they sit for a long time, and the pressure on their waists is the most at this time. A person has a backache from fatigue. If he does something in a bent posture for a long time.
If the equipment in the sleeping place is not good, the back will be painful after sleeping. For example, the surface of the bed is too hard or too soft to provide sufficient support for the spine and excellent muscle relaxation.
Increased load
Muscles and ligaments may be injured in the back. They support the spine in a stable position and endure stress through vigorous physical activity. The condition for pain is sudden movement, accompanied by tight waist muscles. This can happen if a person carries a weight, pulls a heavy object, or lifts a heavy object up and down (bent in half).
During exercise, muscles will also become tense. If a person exercises a lot, his ligaments need time to recover. Without a good rest, they will wear out or become inflamed, which is a pain signal from the nervous system.
Women with back pain
The problem of low back pain is very common among women, because the beautiful half of human beings often experience these problems under certain conditions. Abdominal pain during menstruation is often accompanied by discomfort in the lower back and sacrum area. This has nothing to do with the increase in pressure, but the result of prostaglandins (pain mediators). Before and during menstruation, the synthesis of media triggers hormonal changes
In the female body.
Girls have waist pain when holding a baby (95% of pregnant women). Not only is the spine under tremendous pressure outside of pregnancy. As women gain weight, the pressure on the lower back will increase many times. The pregnant abdomen will generate extra load. It pulls the mother-to-be's body forward and changes the distribution of axial load. As a result, women's gait changes, low back pain occurs, and the intensity of low back pain increases with the prolongation of pregnancy. The load of expectant mothers in any position will increase. Therefore, a good rest and lying on a high-quality mattress are extremely important for alleviating the condition of pregnant women.
Lack of motivation
People who do not exercise or lift heavy objects usually feel discomfort. The reason is the weakening of muscle organs. The back muscles must be strong to properly support the spine and reduce its pressure. If you don't do this, the bone and cartilage tissue will wear out faster and will be painful.
Structural abnormality
The spine is composed of vertebrae, the skeleton of bone tissue. Between them is the soft "layer" of cartilage tissue-the intervertebral disc. Vertebrae provide strength and stability, cartilage-flexibility and elasticity of the spine. The main structural element is hollow in the center. The canal is full of spinal cord. All components are surrounded by blood vessels and nerve fibers. Lesions in any part of the lumbar spine can cause low back pain.
Osteochondrosis
When the intervertebral cartilage disc wears out, the disease develops. Due to overload, lumbar intervertebral discs are often damaged. The most common causes of severe low back pain are herniated discs (sinking) and hernias (damaged and herniated contents), in which spinal nerve roots are compressed. 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 constitutes the main "axis" of the entire human body. However, due to falls and sudden movements, this part of the vertebrae is most often injured. Most spinal fractures and bruises are precisely located in the lower back.
Vascular injury
The blood vessels provide nutrition for all the tissues of the spine. If their lumen narrows or overlaps, the nutritional process in the spine will fundamentally deteriorate. As a result, inflammation occurs, which always manifests as pain.
Nerve block
In the case of infectious diseases, nerve fibers may be damaged due to any damage to cartilage and vertebrae. Any neuropathy is accompanied by violent shooting and sometimes intolerable back pain.
Bone disease
Osteoporosis can cause calcium loss and weak bones. If the vertebral tissue is depleted, the risk of serious back injury increases. In addition, osteoporosis can change the shape of the bones of the spine and increase the pressure on the nerve roots.
Another cause of pain is tumors in the vertebrae. The most common type is hemangioma. These benign tumors develop asymptomatic for a long time, but when the tumor becomes too large and extends beyond the vertebrae, the patient will feel severe pain.
Inflammatory process
Arthritis affects any joints in the body. Inflammation leads to joint damage and pain. It can be caused by advanced and chronic infectious diseases. Another cause of arthritis is autoimmune damage to connective tissue.
Internal issues
The lower back will not only be injured by spinal diseases. Pain associated with internal organ diseases or some systemic diseases can be applied to the waist.
Internal organs
Back pain is related to kidney damage. Renal colic is accompanied by severe pain on one or both sides of the back. More commonly, it is only felt under the ribs at the back of the body.
Lumbar discomfort usually occurs in the context of bowel disease, inflammation of the pelvic organs (bladder, prostate-male, ovaries and uterus-female).
Systemic pathology
Psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis can cause low back pain. For these diseases, the structure of connective tissue (cartilage) is violated. It loses its elasticity, so it often becomes inflamed. Over time, joint function becomes severely disturbed, and nerve endings continue to be compressed (damaged). With ankylosing spondylitis, the intervertebral space "hardens".
Low back pain can cause shingles. The rash of this disease appears on the shoulder blades and ribs, but the most common is-on the side of the waist and trunk. The first pain occurs before the skin changes significantly. When a blistering rash appears, the discomfort will increase and it will be accompanied by itching. Even after the spots disappear completely, a person still feels severe pain along the inflamed nerve. They can disturb the patient for a few months.
Tumor
Malignant lesions of the spinal cord and bones do not change the patient's condition initially. With the growth of tumors and the spread of atypical cells in organs and tissue structures, changes that affect nerves will occur. This is manifested as severe pain. Lumbar discomfort not only occurs in lumbar spine lesions, but also tumors that grow in internal organs, which are innervated by the ganglia of the department.
Neurological disorders
Low back pain may be a hallucination (in other words, invented by the patient). This occurs in psychiatric disorders. Under the background of shock, pressure, and long-term psychological and emotional stress, the psychology cannot work normally. If a person instills disease into oneself, overwork, discomfort will appear. This sign appears for the first time after depression or neurasthenia, and may afflict the patient for many years.
How to get rid of low back pain
If there is an unpleasant feeling in the lower back, the patient should rest fully and reduce the intensity of the load. Usually, after adequate rest, the discomfort will subside or disappear completely. This is a typical pain symptom caused by improper lifestyle and poor quality of rest. If the pain persists, you need to consider seeing a doctor.
The nature of back pain is diagnosed by traumatologists, chiropractors, and orthopedists. You can contact any of the experts listed. In the first consultation, the doctor will interview the patient, examine him, and perform a number of tests (check the sensitivity of the nerves, the condition of the muscles). If a diagnosis cannot be made based on the information received, additional inspections will be arranged. In order to assess the condition of the bone tissue, an X-ray examination is required. The condition of cartilage, nerve structure, blood vessels and spinal cord can be assessed by MRI. If the doctor suspects a systemic disease, the patient will undergo laboratory diagnosis (general and biochemical blood and urine tests). Only after the correct diagnosis is made, the expert will prescribe a treatment plan.
medical treatement
The list of drugs depends entirely on the diagnosis. In order to quickly eliminate symptoms, patients will take short-term pain relievers (usually from the NSAID group). With intense inflammation and autoimmune changes, glucocorticoid drugs are prescribed. For cartilage tissue diseases, it is recommended to use chondroprotective agents in the form of injections or tablets. If the problem is in the muscles, it is recommended to use muscle relaxants. In order to restore the work of nerve endings, vitamin B is prescribed.
The main treatment is for the cause of the pain. If it is caused by visceral disease, medication will correct the dysfunction of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and genitals. The symptoms will disappear as the underlying disease is eliminated. For unbearable pain, nerve block (analgesic is injected directly into the nerve root area).
In order to enhance the effect of injections or tablets, external pain relievers (patches, ointments, gels) can be prescribed. These drugs can be used independently to recurrent low back pain in the context of increased tension or pressure. To alleviate this situation, you can use pepper or peppermint cream. They can also be used without a doctor's prescription.
program
For low back pain, experts may recommend special treatments. These include acupuncture, current therapy, ultrasound, and therapeutic ultraviolet rays. In some cases, physical therapy exercises and massage are required. If the vertebrae are displaced, the bones may need to be put back in place with the help of a chiropractor. Any procedure must be selected with the doctor. It is forbidden to perform treatments that directly affect the spine without a diagnosis of the disease. In this case, these procedures may not only be useless, but also harm the patient.
To prevent back pain, you need to monitor your spine health from an early age. It is important to apply the load to the back correctly (lift objects in a squat manner, rather than bending, pushing heavy objects, rather than pulling them towards you). You should engage in moderate physical activity and choose exercises with the coach. It is also important to treat infectious diseases in time, avoid stress, use drugs rationally, and follow doctor's advice.