Back pain in the lumbar region may indicate various diseases of the spine, disorders of the connection of nerve structures, injuries of internal organs, soft tissues and oncological tumors. Pain syndrome can have different intensity and character of manifestation. Depending on the type of pain, it is possible to identify the pathology, but to get an accurate diagnosis, an examination is carried out, including instrumental diagnostics. This allows you to find out why the pain occurs. Based on the results of the examination, the doctor chooses the treatment.
Types of pain
Back pain in the lumbar region may indicate the development of serious pathologies. But in most cases, the discomfort is benign and related to the influence of various external factors:
- hypothermia;
- staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time;
- constriction of blood vessels;
- Soft tissue damage due to trauma.
When diagnosing back pain, the doctor pays attention to the nature and duration of its manifestations. If the pain occurred due to a cold or simple hypothermia, it will completely disappear after 2 weeks of using ointments containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory components. They will not help to cure the disease, but it does not hurt to move after them.
If the pain in the spine does not disappear, despite the use of local medicines and sometimes worsens, a complete examination is required. In some cases, such a symptom is an alarming sign that indicates the development of dangerous diseases. With diseases of the spinal column, during an attack, the pain can spread to different parts of the body: leg, arm, groin. Often such an attack is accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the body: numbness, tingling, goosebumps, burning.
In most cases, pain in the lower back appears suddenly, is acute and resembles lumbago (lumbago). Patients themselves describe the pain as shooting, sharp, sometimes squeezing and less intense. At the moment of the attack, the person's movement is limited and the lower back can be straightened only with pain. Movements do not bring relief and sometimes cause increased pain. An acute condition can last only a few minutes, but sometimes it lasts for a day or more.
Men and women over the age of 50, as well as people who have sustained serious injuries, experience chronic lower back pain. In this case, it is permanent, but tolerant; Patients report only mild discomfort, stiffness of mobility in the morning and pain at night. Chronic pain attacks can be triggered by stress, heavy lifting or hypothermia. The rest of the time there is no pain, there is stiffness and discomfort.
Back pain in pregnant women
During pregnancy, women often experience lower back pain. Its emergence is related to natural changes. As the fetus grows, in the second trimester of pregnancy, the center of gravity changes, which causes posture deformation with a deviation in the lumbar region. This change is not dangerous, it appears suddenly in more than 70% of women, but it needs to be monitored because it can cause serious health problems in the future.
No special treatment is performed during pregnancy. To reduce the intensity of painful attacks, the doctor may recommend that a woman take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs locally. In some cases, it is recommended to wear support structures to ensure proper distribution of the load on the spine.
Also, expectant mothers should not ignore the general rules, they should rest regularly and avoid wearing high-heeled shoes. Be careful when bending over to pick something up. Straighten your back and straighten up, then you should stand up as slowly as possible. You should also pay attention to the bed at home, it should be comfortable.
Pain at night and in the morning
If a person suffers from severe discomfort mainly at night and appears immediately after waking up in the morning, the problem should be found in the quality of night sleep. Manifestation of sharp painful sensations is related to the incorrect position of the body at night during rest. The first thing you should do at home is to change the mattress, bed and pillow. It would be good if the bed was orthopedic.
If the pain is observed only in the morning, the possibility of making sudden movements after waking up should be considered. It is better to wake up early and do a light warm-up of muscles and joints while lying in bed. When you regularly perform such exercises, you can forget about the appearance of pain. It will be much easier for you to lean and the feeling of back strain will disappear. It will be easier to get up after warming up.
It should also be taken into account that the spine and back suffer from excess weight. The problem of back pain occurs more often in obese people, as well as in patients who lead a sedentary lifestyle. After normalizing the behavior and improving the quality of night rest, periodic pain disappears if it is not related to any disease.
Back pain radiates down the leg
Pain that occurs in the back can spread throughout the body. Most often it radiates to the leg and can involve part of the foot and reach the heel. The cause of the pain is sciatica, lumbago or sciatica, i. e. pathologies related to nerve tissue damage. Due to changes in the structure of the cartilage tissue, which leads to the deformation of the vertebrae and the formation of osteophytes, the nerve endings are stretched, against the background of which there are attacks of acute pain that radiates to the leg.
acute pain
The duration of acute pain attacks is different. They can last from a few minutes to several weeks. Chronic pain can appear imperceptibly and sharply, the patient gets used to it and may not feel it during an attack.
Acute, unbearable attacks of pain in the lower back are characteristic of various diseases:
- scoliosis;
- myositis;
- Arthritis
- arthrosis;
- neurological injuries;
- tumor processes;
- osteomyelitis;
- spondylitis
If the pain has a shooting character, it means that the roots of the spinal cord are involved in the pathological inflammatory process. If the pain is monotonous, dull and extends to the abdominal cavity, inflammation of the liver should be suspected. Severe attacks that disrupt consciousness and lead to its loss may indicate urolithiasis or pyelonephritis.
Causes of back pain
Pain in the lower back can have different causes. Many of them lead to the development of pathologies, which significantly reduce the quality of life, in which pain becomes a constant companion. Trying to deal with the problem on your own is practically pointless and difficult; Accurate diagnosis and selection of competent treatment is possible only based on the results of instrumental diagnostics.
The most common causes of back pain are:
- intervertebral hernia rash;
- osteochondrosis;
- Dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract;
- curvature of the spine;
- tumors;
- damage to muscles and ligaments;
- Soft tissue infections.
Often the cause of pain is simple hypothermia, which affects the largest nerve in the human body, the sciatic nerve. Also, against the background of hypothermia, there may be convulsions, which cause acute pain. Other factors can cause attacks:
- physical inactivity;
- excessive nervous tension;
- hard physical work;
- injury and damage.
Lower back pain can occur with urolithiasis; They accompany the attack. They are also characteristic of many sexually transmitted diseases. Pain in the lower back in women is not always pathological. This is a physiological norm if it occurs before menstruation or at the beginning of menopause. In this case, the conditions are not dangerous and can be controlled using painkillers. With all the listed pathologies, it is problematic to move at home, bend or do any work.
Diseases of the spine
The main cause of back pain is various diseases, deformations and injuries of the spine. Pain can be of a completely different nature. The intensity of their manifestations depends on many factors and varies significantly depending on the affected part of the spine. The most common types of pain are:
- periodical
- local or native;
- Stretching or shrinking;
- burning and cutting;
- shooting.
The intensity of symptomatic manifestations may depend on stress, sitting in an uncomfortable chair position, sports and physical activity. The discomfort increases when you stand or sit awkwardly. During muscle fiber spasm, lumbago is noted and the whole area hurts. In such pain, stiffness of movement appears, the symptom spreads to the back of the thigh and can even reach the calves and feet. Much depends on the type of disease and its nature. Treatment of pathology should be carried out by a specialist.
Intervertebral hernia
Intervertebral hernia in the lumbar region is often formed with osteochondrosis in the late stages of development. They usually cover mainly the lumbar region, the lower back and occur between the 4th and 5th vertebrae, as well as in the sacral region. The pain syndrome in this case is unpleasant, intrusive, associated with nerve root damage and poor blood circulation. The pain is similar to sciatica and gets worse when standing or sitting on an uncomfortable chair. If the hernia is large, it compresses the spinal cord, the person experiences a loss of sensation, and in complicated cases, paralysis is possible due to the herniation between the intervertebral discs.
You can find out what you are suffering from intervertebral hernia by the following episodes:
- It is impossible to stand on a chair or other surface without support, this is due to the increased load on the intervertebral discs;
- Lying on the stomach is extremely uncomfortable;
- feeling of stiffness in the back;
- It is difficult to bend forward;
- Arched back movement is impossible due to pain that hinders movement.
Hernia is treated conservatively and operatively. The appropriate method is determined depending on the patient's condition. In advanced cases, conservative treatment of the disease is ineffective.
Rachiocampsis
With a small curvature, pain is not visible. A feeling of fatigue may occur, the person wants to spend more time lying down, because the pain is worse when standing or sitting. Various neurological disorders occur with second-degree deformities. At this stage, pain appears, which can be moderate and moderately intense, present on the left and right. As the disease progresses, the discomfort increases during the day, in advanced forms it becomes unbearable and is not relieved by local and systemic painkillers. It is difficult to get rid of the manifestation completely, the curvature is quickly cured.
Osteoporosis
This disease often occurs in men and women over 50 years of age. Pathology is characterized by rapid loss of bone tissue. Due to such loss, weakness occurs, the vertebrae become less strong, and damage can occur with minor injuries, physical exertion, or even heavy lifting. Patients bend only because of discomfort and return from a bent position with severe pain. If a person picks up something from the floor, it is better to sit down and straighten his back and then straighten up. If you sit first, your health risk of osteoporosis will be reduced.
Osteoporosis pain is not just from fractures. The disease is dangerous, it can be used to register a disability group.
spinal injuries
The most common injury is bruising. If it is soft, there is moderate discomfort. During the day, it increases with movement, which causes local swelling with hematomas and bruises. The symptom always increases with movement and exercise. In severe cases, the problem is not only painful, it can be accompanied by neurological disorders, especially if nerve endings are involved in the process. It is impossible to completely get rid of the problem, it is not always possible to cure the consequences of trauma even surgically.
Soft tissue and kidney injuries
Soft tissue bruises cause mild pain, which disappears after local application of anti-inflammatory compounds. The pain is always local, the bruised area is swollen and bruises are possible.
If, along with the described symptoms, the pain in the left lower back is accompanied by the appearance of blood in the urine, it means that the kidneys are damaged. The discomfort will be more intense, with serious damage to the organs of the excretory system, urination is disturbed or becomes impossible. Hematomas can occur in the lower back. The development of shock and life-threatening conditions is not excluded.
Spinal infections
Infectious spinal injuries are more dangerous. Osteomyelitis can be:
- postoperative;
- post trauma;
- Contact;
- Hematogenous.
In acute cases, the disease progresses at lightning speed. It is characterized by manifestations of increasing pain, which intensify during the day, accompanied by high body temperature and a very strong deterioration of the general condition. The nature of the discomfort can be different: cramping, pressing, bursting. The attacks are severe, inhibiting movement and forcing the person to freeze in one position because movement hurts. In chronic pathologies, fistulas can appear with the formation of purulent discharge.
Spinal tuberculosis is a rare but dangerous disease of the spine. Already at the initial stage of development, it causes deep and very strong pains below, which reaches its peak after training. The gait of men and women becomes stiff. When the bone structures are destroyed, the nerve roots are compressed, the pain burns and spreads to the lower part of the body.
In the case of epidural abscess of the back, the pain is quite deep, very strong, accompanied by chills and muscle tension. Against the background of progress, the radicular syndrome intensifies, paresis appears and the functioning of the pelvic organs is disturbed.
muscle damage
Painful discomfort in the lower back can occur after physical exertion, heavy lifting or intense training. It is also manifested by the tension of the lower back and gluteal muscles during a long stay in a static position.
With such an injury, the discomfort is less intense during rest and after rest, after using a warming ointment. Muscle damage or myositis occurs not only against the background of infections. It can be provoked by body stress and hypothermia, severe poisoning and metabolic disorders. The condition is most often accompanied by excruciating pain.
Myofascial syndrome
Myofascial syndrome is classified as a painful condition in which discomfort in the lower back is associated with painful muscle tension. During an attack, trigger points appear on the affected side. The source of pain is muscles and fascia, connective tissues. For the treatment of this pathology, specialists prescribe painkillers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and sedatives.
In some cases, treatment of the disease using centrally acting muscle relaxants is indicated. Such remedies are designed to reduce tonic tension, reduce agitation, and induce relaxation of the muscles involved in the spasm so that the person can bend. In some cases, specialists apply point blockade by taking anesthetics.
Tumors of the spine, kidneys
Tumors of the spine and spinal cord are quite rare. The frequency of detection of such diseases does not exceed 0. 5% of the total number of diagnosed cancer pathologies. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant. Therefore, the prognosis varies significantly.
With this pathology, a distinctive symptom is pain in the lower back. With a benign etiology, the discomfort is relieved by the use of medication. If the formation is malignant, the treatment should be complex, often before surgery.
Also, left lower back pain can be a symptom of kidney cancer. It will have a pronounced character, it can be painful, pressed, swollen. Over time, discomfort increases and urination disorders develop. Do not steam or apply heat to the affected area. The condition can be normalized after the formation is removed.
What to do after acute back pain
If acute back pain appears momentarily, you can control the situation on your own. If possible, you should visit a specialist and undergo an examination to reduce the risk of repeated attacks.
It is necessary to immediately consult a specialist in case of the following symptoms:
- Back pain of any nature lasts for a week;
- body temperature increases against the background of pain;
- Discomfort was detected at the site of previous injuries and damage;
- The pain spreads throughout the body;
- The sensitivity of certain areas is lost.
In this case, the pain cannot be ignored. It is important to consult a doctor as soon as possible and start treatment, otherwise the disease will progress.
Which doctor should I contact?
If you suspect the development of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, you should consult a traumatologist or a neurologist. Specialists will conduct a survey, physical examination and prescribe the necessary instrumental examination. If your back suddenly hurts, you can call an ambulance. You can use pain reliever gels at home.
If you suspect that the pain in the lower back is caused by kidney damage, you should consult a urologist or nephrologist. You can also consult a therapist. Any specialist will tell you what to do in the case of lower back pain, which appears against the background of kidney disease, and will also prescribe an additional examination. Laboratory tests of the patient's blood and urine are required to confirm or rule out the disease.
If back pain occurs sporadically in women and it is associated with menstruation or menopause, it is worth raising this issue with a gynecologist. A specialist will help you choose a treatment that will relieve your discomfort. In cases where it is necessary to find out the origin of the pain syndrome, you should consult a therapist, family doctor or general practitioner. The doctor will conduct an examination and determine the preliminary cause of the disorder.
diagnosis
There are many factors that can cause pain in the lower back, so even an experienced doctor cannot make an accurate diagnosis without an examination. The following methods are used within the scope of diagnostics:
- X-ray examination of the painful area;
- MRI;
- Ultrasound of pelvic and abdominal organs;
- general analysis of urine and blood;
- Electromyography.
If pain occurs against the background of pathologies of the genitourinary system or gastrointestinal tract, an endoscopic examination of the intestine may be necessary. If the development of neoplasms in the body is suspected, a biochemical blood test is performed.
treatment
The mode of intervention necessary for the treatment of back pain is selected individually. The main rule is that therapy should be comprehensive, including symptomatic treatment and lifestyle changes. Treatment is selected after the doctor determines the cause of the pain.
Regardless of the causes of back pain, all patients should follow these rules:
- Do not lift heavy objects;
- When sitting, bend over and straighten your back;
- refuse strenuous sports;
- If you are obese, you need to lose weight;
- Changing the sleeping place, comfortable;
- Conducting regular minutes of physical education while sitting directly on a chair or chair;
- light sports;
- Do not take a steam bath, do not visit a sauna, do not take a hot bath;
- Wearing an auxiliary bandage (as prescribed by the doctor).
The treatment complex for diagnosed spine pathologies also includes the following recommendations:
- healing effect. The use of analgesics, anti-inflammatory and decongestants is indicated. Medicines can be prescribed for oral administration and topical application in the form of a cream, gel or ointment that relieves pain.
- Blockage in the lumbar region.
- Physiotherapy. Patients are prescribed physiotherapy, massage, magnetotherapy and electrophoresis.
- Acupuncture, manual therapy, osteopathy.
In severe cases, when conservative intervention of spine pathologies does not give results, surgical intervention is performed.
The information contained in the article should not become the basis for self-diagnosis and treatment, it is provided for informational purposes only. You should not take any medication without consulting a specialist.
Finding out how to get rid of lower back pain and why your back hurts is almost a no-brainer. It can have a different character, depending on which effective method of impact is chosen. Self-treatment of many pathologies is ineffective and dangerous, as it leads to worsening of the condition.