Back pain in the lumbar region can indicate various diseases of the spine, alterations in the connections of nervous structures, injuries to internal organs, soft tissues and oncological tumors. Pain syndrome can have different intensities and nature of manifestation. Depending on the type of pain that occurs, pathology can be identified, but to obtain an accurate diagnosis, an examination is performed, including instrumental diagnosis. This allows you to find out why the pain occurs. Based on the results of the examination, the doctor selects 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 is associated with the influence of various external factors:
- hypothermia;
- staying in an uncomfortable position for a long time;
- compression of blood vessels;
- Soft tissue damage due to trauma.
When diagnosing back pain, the doctor pays attention to the nature of its manifestation and duration. If the pain is caused by a cold or simple hypothermia, it will completely disappear 2 weeks after using ointments containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory components. They will not help cure the disease, but after them it does not hurt to move.
If the pain in the spine does not go away despite the use of local medications and sometimes intensifies, a comprehensive examination is necessary. In some cases, this symptom is an alarming sign indicating the development of dangerous diseases. In diseases of the spine, at the time of an attack, pain can radiate to several areas of the body: leg, arm, groin. Often such an attack is accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the body: numbness, tingling, goosebumps and burning.
In most cases, pain in the lumbar region appears suddenly, is sharp and resembles lumbago (lumbago). Patients themselves describe the pain as stabbing, sharp, sometimes oppressive and less intense. At the time of an attack, a person's movements are limited and it is possible to straighten the lower back only through pain. Movements do not provide relief and sometimes cause increased pain. The acute condition may last only a few minutes, but sometimes persists for a day or more.
Women and men over 50, as well as people who have suffered serious injuries, experience chronic pain in the lower back. In this case, it is constant, but tolerable, patients only notice slight discomfort, stiffness of mobility in the morning and pain at night. Chronic pain attacks can be triggered by stress, lifting heavy objects, or hypothermia. The rest of the time there is no pain, there is stiffness and discomfort.
Low back pain in pregnant women.
Women often experience lower back pain during pregnancy. Its appearance is associated with natural changes. As the fetus grows, around the second trimester of pregnancy, a change in the center of gravity occurs, causing a deformation of the posture with a deviation in the lumbar region. This change is not dangerous, it occurs suddenly in more than 70% of women, but it is necessary to monitor it as it can lead to serious health problems in the future.
No special treatment is performed during pregnancy. To relieve the intensity of painful attacks, the doctor may recommend that the woman take NSAIDs topically. In some cases, it is recommended to use support structures to ensure adequate load distribution on the column.
Also, pregnant women should not neglect general rules: they should rest regularly and avoid wearing high-heeled shoes. Be careful when bending down to pick up something. Stretch your back and straighten, then you should get up as slowly as possible. You should also pay attention to the choice of a bed at home, it should be comfortable.
Pain at night and in the morning.
If severe discomfort bothers a person mainly at night and occurs in the morning immediately after waking up, the problem should be looked for in the quality of night sleep. The manifestation of very painful sensations is associated with an incorrect position of the body at night during the rest period. The first thing you should do at home is replace the mattress, bed, and pillow. It would be nice if the bed was orthopedic.
If the pain is observed only in the morning, it is worth considering making sudden movements after waking up. It is better to wake up earlier and do a light warm-up of muscles and joints while lying in bed. When you do these exercises regularly, you can forget about the manifestation of pain. It will be much easier to bend over and the feeling of having a stiff back will disappear. It will be easier to get up after warming up.
It is also worth considering that the spine and lumbar area suffer from excess body weight. The problem of back pain occurs most often in obese people, as well as in patients who lead a sedentary lifestyle. After normalizing behavior and improving the quality of night's rest, periodic pain disappears if it is not associated with any disease.
Low back pain radiates to the leg.
Pain that occurs in the back can radiate throughout the body. Most of the time it radiates to the leg and can affect part of the foot and reach the heel. The cause of pain is sciatica, lumbago or radiculitis, that is, pathologies associated with damage to nervous tissue. Due to changes in the structure of cartilaginous tissue, leading to deformation of the vertebrae and the formation of osteophytes, pinching of the nerve endings occurs, against the background of which attacks of acute pain appear, radiating to the leg.
Acute pain
The duration of acute pain attacks varies. They can last from a few minutes to many weeks. Chronic pain can manifest itself imperceptibly and acutely for a person, the patient gets used to it and may not feel it when the attack passes.
Attacks of acute, unbearable pain in the lumbar region are characteristic of various diseases:
- scoliosis;
- myositis;
- arthritis;
- osteoarthritis;
- neurological injuries;
- tumor processes;
- osteomyelitis;
- spondylitis
If the pain is stabbing, it means that the roots of the spinal cord are involved in the pathological inflammatory process. If the pain seems monotonous, dull and extends to the abdominal cavity, liver inflammation should be suspected. Severe attacks that alter consciousness and cause loss of consciousness may indicate urolithiasis or pyelonephritis.
Causes of low back pain.
Back pain in the lumbar region can have different causes. Many of them lead to the development of pathologies that significantly reduce the quality of life, in which pain becomes a constant companion. Trying to solve the problem yourself is practically useless and difficult, an accurate diagnosis and competent selection of treatment can only be made based on the results of instrumental diagnostics.
The most common causes of back pain:
- intervertebral hernia protrusions;
- osteochondrosis;
- disturbances in the functioning 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. In addition, against the background of hypothermia, it can become compressed, which causes acute pain. Other factors can trigger attacks:
- physical inactivity;
- excessive nervous tension;
- hard physical work;
- damage and injuries.
Low back pain may occur with urolithiasis; accompany an attack. They are also characteristic of many sexually transmitted diseases. Pain in the lumbar region in women is not always pathological. It is a physiological norm if it occurs before menstrual bleeding or at the beginning of menopause. In these cases, the conditions are not dangerous and can be controlled through the use of pain relievers. With all the listed pathologies, it is problematic to move, bend over or do any work at home.
Spinal diseases
The main cause of low back pain is various diseases, deformities and injuries of the spine. The pain can be of a completely different nature. The intensity of its manifestation depends on many factors and varies greatly depending on the affected part of the spine. The most common types of pain observed are:
- newspaper;
- local or premises;
- pulling or squeezing;
- burn and cut;
- shooting.
The intensity of symptomatic manifestations may depend on stress, sitting in an uncomfortable position in a chair, sports and physical activity. Discomfort increases when you stand or sit awkwardly. When muscle fibers spasm, lumbago is observed and the entire area hurts. With such pain, stiffness in movements occurs, the symptom spreads to the back of the thigh and can reach the calves and even the feet. Much depends on the type of disease and its nature. The pathology must be treated by a specialist.
intervertebral hernia
Intervertebral hernias of the lumbar region are often formed with osteochondrosis in the later stages of development. They tend to predominantly cover the lumbar region, the lumbar area and are formed between the fourth and fifth vertebra, as well as in the sacral area. The pain syndrome in this case is unpleasant, intrusive, is associated with damage to the nerve roots and weak blood circulation occurs. The pain is similar to that which occurs with radiculitis and is intensified by standing or sitting on an uncomfortable stool. If the hernia formation is large, it compresses the spinal cord, the person experiences loss of sensation and, in complicated cases, paralysis is possible because the hernia inserts itself between the intervertebral discs.
You can understand what bothers you about intervertebral hernia by the appearance of the following episodes:
- it is impossible to stand without support on a chair or other surface, this is due to increased loads on the intervertebral discs;
- lying on your stomach is extremely uncomfortable;
- feeling of stiffness in the back;
- it is difficult to lean forward;
- Arching your back is impossible due to pain that prevents movement.
Treatment of hernias is carried out conservatively and operatively. The appropriate method is determined based on the patient's condition. Conservative treatment of the disease in advanced cases is ineffective.
rachiocampsis
With minor curvatures, the pain does not appear. A feeling of fatigue may appear, a person wants to spend more time lying down, because the pain intensifies when standing or sitting. Several neurological disorders occur with second degree deformities. At this stage, pain occurs, which can manifest itself in moderate and moderate intensity, present on the left and right sides. As the disease progresses, the discomfort intensifies during the day, in advanced forms it becomes unbearable and is not relieved by local and systemic analgesics. It is difficult to completely get rid of the manifestation; The curvature can be healed quickly.
Osteoporosis
This disease usually occurs in men and women over 50 years of age. The pathology is characterized by rapid loss of bone tissue. Due to such loss, fragility occurs, the vertebrae become less strong, and damage is possible even with minor injuries, physical exertion, or heavy lifting. Patients bend only because of discomfort and return from a bowed position with severe pain. In order for a person to pick up something from the floor, it is better to sit down and straighten your back, and then straighten up. Sitting first will reduce the health risks of osteoporosis.
Pain in osteoporosis is not only due to fractures. The disease is dangerous, it can be used to register a disability group.
spinal injuries
The most common injury is a hematoma. If it is mild, there is moderate discomfort. It tends to intensify during the day with movement, causing local swelling with bruising and bleeding. The symptom always increases with movement and exercise. In severe cases, the problem not only hurts, but 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 injuries, even surgically.
Soft tissue and kidney injuries.
With bruises of soft tissues, mild pain appears, which subsides after local use of anti-inflammatory compounds. The pain is always local, the bruised area is swollen and bleeding is possible.
If, in combination with the described symptoms, pain in the left lumbar area is accompanied by the appearance of blood in the urine, it means that there is kidney damage. The discomfort will be more intense, with serious injuries to the organs of the excretory system, urination is impaired or becomes impossible. Bruises may appear in the lumbar area. The development of shock and life-threatening conditions is not excluded.
spinal infections
Infectious lesions of the spine are more dangerous. Osteomyelitis can be:
- postoperative;
- post-traumatic;
- contact;
- hematogenous.
In acute cases, the disease progresses at lightning speed. It is characterized by increasing pain manifestations that intensify during the day, accompanied by elevated body temperature and a very strong deterioration in general condition. The nature of the discomfort can be different: spasms, pressure, bursting. The attacks are severe, making movement difficult and forcing you to stay still in one position because it hurts to move. In chronic pathologies, fistulas with the formation of purulent secretion may appear.
A rare but dangerous disease of the spine is spinal tuberculosis. Already in the initial phase of development it causes deep and very strong pain in the lower part, which reaches its maximum after exercise. The march of men and women becomes rigid. As the bone structures are destroyed, the nerve roots become compressed, the pain becomes burning and spreads to the lower part of the body.
With a spinal epidural abscess, the pain is quite deep, very strong, accompanied by chills and muscle tension. Against the background of progress, the radicular syndrome intensifies, paresis occurs, and the functioning of the pelvic organs is disturbed.
muscle damage
Painful discomfort in the lower lumbar area can occur after physical activity, lifting weights, or intense workouts. It also manifests itself during prolonged stay in a static position with tension in the lower back and gluteal muscles.
With such an injury, the discomfort manifests itself less intensely at rest and after rest, after applying a hot ointment. Muscle damage or myositis occurs not only against the background of infections. It can be provoked by stress and hypothermia of the body, severe poisoning and metabolic disorders. The condition is usually accompanied by severe 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 in the affected area. The sources of pain are the muscles and fascia, the connective tissues. To treat this pathology, specialists prescribe analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and sedatives.
In some cases, it is indicated to treat the disease using centrally acting muscle relaxants. Such remedies are designed to reduce tonic tension, reduce arousal, and cause relaxation of the muscles involved in the spasm, so that the person can bend. In some cases, specialists resort to punctual blockade of points by administering 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 oncological pathologies. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant. Depending on this, the prognosis varies significantly.
In this pathology, the distinctive symptom is pain in the lumbar region. With benign etiology, the discomfort is relieved by the use of medications. If the formation is malignant, the treatment must be complex, often reduced to surgery.
Additionally, pain in the left lower back can be attributed to kidney cancer. It will have a pronounced character, it can be painful, oppressive, bursting. The discomfort increases over time and urination disorders develop. Do not spray or apply heat to the affected area. Normalization of the condition is possible after eliminating the formation.
What to do after acute back pain
If acute back pain appears for a moment, the situation can be controlled by yourself. If possible, it is advisable to visit a specialist and undergo an examination to reduce the risk of a recurrent attack.
It is necessary to urgently contact a specialist if the following symptoms occur:
- low back pain of any nature persists for a week;
- against the background of pain, body temperature increases;
- discomfort manifested itself at the site of previous injuries and damage;
- the pain spreads to the entire body;
- The sensitivity of certain areas is lost.
In these cases, the pain cannot be ignored. It is important to see 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 neurologist. Specialists will conduct an examination, a physical examination and prescribe the necessary instrumental examination. If your back suddenly hurts, you can call an ambulance. You can use analgesic gels at home.
If you suspect that pain in the lower back is due to kidney damage, you should visit a urologist or nephrologist. You can also consult a therapist. Any of the specialists will tell you what to do with lower back pain that manifests itself against the background of kidney disease, and will also prescribe additional examination. Laboratory tests of the patient's blood and urine are required; They are necessary to confirm or refute the disease.
If low back pain occurs sporadically in women and is associated with menstruation or menopause, it is worth raising this problem with a gynecologist. A specialist will help you choose a treatment that will eliminate the discomfort. In cases where it is necessary to clarify the origin of the pain syndrome, you should go to a therapist, family doctor or general practitioner. The doctor will conduct an examination and determine the preliminary cause of the violation.
Diagnosis
There are many factors that can cause lower back pain, so even an experienced doctor cannot make an accurate diagnosis without an examination. The following methods are used as part of the diagnosis:
- X-ray examination of the painful area;
- magnetic resonance;
- Ultrasound of the pelvic and abdominal organs;
- general urine and blood analysis;
- electroneuromyography.
If the 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 intervention regimen necessary for the treatment of back pain is selected individually. The main rule is that therapy should be comprehensive and include 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;
- bend over and straighten your back when sitting;
- abandon strenuous sports;
- If you are obese, you should lose weight;
- change the sleeping place, make it comfortable;
- Perform regular minutes of physical education sitting directly in a chair or armchair;
- light sports;
- do not take a steam bath, do not visit the sauna, do not take a hot bath;
- wear a support bandage (as prescribed by a doctor).
For diagnosed spinal pathologies, the treatment complex also includes the following recommendations:
- Medicinal influence. The use of analgesics, anti-inflammatories and decongestants is indicated. Medications may be prescribed for oral administration and topical use in the form of a pain-relieving cream, gel, or ointment.
- Lumbar region block.
- Physiotherapy. Patients are prescribed physiotherapy, massage, magnetotherapy and electrophoresis.
- Acupuncture, manual therapy, osteopathy.
In severe cases, when conservative intervention for spinal 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.
Trying to figure out on your own how to get rid of lower back pain and why your back hurts is almost useless. It can have a different nature, depending on which effective method of influence is selected. Self-medication for many pathologies is ineffective and dangerous, as it leads to a worsening of the condition.