There is probably no one who has never experienced lower back pain.In addition, discomfort can manifest itself at any age, regardless of gender, work activity and other factors.
Back pain in the lower back, of varying nature and causes, makes life significantly more difficult.Neglecting the obvious symptoms of the pathology can make the situation worse.
Types of pain syndrome
The main classification of pain syndrome is as follows:
- Primary.
- Secondary.
The first option is characterized by pathology of the spine and the entire musculoskeletal system.Muscles, ligaments and tendons undergo a series of changes, resulting in back pain.
Discomfort of a secondary nature is not directly related to the lower back.Normally its development is influenced by indirect pathologies.
Depending on the cause of occurrence, low back pain varies in different ways.Discomfort can be sharp and sharp, or vice versa, painful and uncomfortable.It is necessary to understand the nature of each of the options in more detail.
Sharp, stabbing pain
It cannot be considered an independent pathology.Typically, acute lower back pain is a sign of some illness.Most often, people encounter them after the age of 30.
Severe low back pain can occur for a variety of reasons.One of them is hypothermia of the specified area.Muscles weaken and are easily susceptible to negative effects.Pain in the lower back makes movement difficult, depriving the patient of mobility.It is hardly possible to do anything alone if your back hurts a lot.The right thing to do would be to call a specialist.
The abruptness can be caused by several reasons:
- Intervertebral hernia.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Excessive loads.
- Wound.
What to do if there is a sharp pain in the lower back?The best option is to consult a doctor.If this cannot be done immediately, you will need to relieve the symptoms of inflammation with medication.
Dull, aching pain
The causes of pain in the lower back are varied.To establish them, a complete examination of the body will be required.The accuracy of the diagnosis depends on many signs.Here are the main ones:
- Place where discomfort is concentrated.
- Patient age category.
- The patient's diet.
- The presence of bad habits (smoking, alcohol dependence, etc.).
- Patient's body weight.
Throbbing pain in the lower back often occurs in women of reproductive age.There is a pulling in the lower back due to the following reasons:
- Fatigue.Reducing physical activity will help alleviate discomfort.Warming the problem area with a heating pad or ointments has a positive effect.
- Pregnancy.A special bandage will help the woman by reducing the load.
- Menstruation.Medications will help alleviate the situation and relieve the dull pain.
- Incorrect posture, osteochondrosis, osteoporosis.
- Intervertebral hernia, osteoarthritis.
- Pathologies of the genitourinary system.
- Radiculitis.
- Any injuries.
To understand why your lower back hurts, you should conduct a small experiment.The patient needs to stand with their back straight and leaning against the wall.Then slowly lower your chin, pressing it to your chest.The resulting pain or throbbing on any side (top, bottom, side) will help determine the root cause of the pain.
Causes of diseases in women
In addition to the general ones, there are a number of reasons that apply only to the fairer sex.
This may include:
- Pregnancy.
- Problems in gynecology.
- Menstruation.
- Mechanical abortion.
Women often don't know what to do if they experience back pain due to severe shocks or unnecessary worries.The situation can only be improved through psychological therapy.
Problems in gynecology
The presence of gynecological diseases in women often becomes the starting point for the development of pain.
Problems may be the following:
- Inflammation of the external genitalia (vulvitis).
- Tumor of any nodes of the genitourinary system.
- Adnexitis (in other words, inflammation of the appendages).
- Myoma.
Symptoms of the pathology are as follows:
- The presence of abundant secretion.
- An infection whose foci are concentrated in the vagina.
- Problems conceiving a child.
Often a woman complains of pain in the lower abdomen.Sometimes the pain radiates to the lower back.
Pregnancy
The gestation period of the female body does not go unnoticed.In the last trimester of pregnancy, the load on the bones of the spine increases significantly, which is explained by the increase in the size and weight of the fetus.
Due to its physiological structure, the lumbar spine suffers the most.Pain in the lower back is natural and quite noticeable.Typically, lower back pain goes away after the baby is born.
Menstruation
Such a familiar phenomenon for a woman can be accompanied by lower back pain.
This is explained by the following factors:
- Release of the follicle from the ovary.
- Enlargement of the uterus.
- Pathologies of the reproductive system.
Furthermore, pain can also appear during menopause.This often occurs due to hormonal changes and imbalances.With the onset of menopause, a woman's bones become more fragile and brittle, which is characteristic of osteoporosis.
Abortion
Mechanical termination of pregnancy also does not go unnoticed, being a serious stress for the body.During the contraction of the uterus, an inflammatory process begins.The latter is concentrated on the inner surface of the organ.
Note: Women are more susceptible to lower back pain than men.
Causes of diseases in men
Men, like women, suffer from lower back pain.
The most obvious reasons are:
- Prostatitis.At first it only hurts in the anus.As the poisoning progresses, the patient begins to feel discomfort in the lower back.
- Epididymitis, in other words, is an inflammatory process in the epididymis.As such, the back does not hurt, but sometimes unpleasant sensations appear.
- Oncology of the genitourinary system.It often affects men of pre-retirement age (over 50).
- Bodybuilding, bodybuilding.
- Injuries to the muscular system.Pain in the lower back is caused by tension in the latissimus muscle.
Professional activity plays an important role in identifying the cause of low back pain.
Causes of illnesses in children
Pathology in children develops due to the following factors:
- Spinal hernia.
- Incorrect posture.
Typically, the cause of the latter is flat feet.Although choosing a comfortable briefcase and the right shoes is also important.
Note: In the early stages, the curvature of a child's spine can be corrected.Physiotherapy helps a lot with this.
Connection to diseases
The above classification is not the only one.The pain can be periodic or constant.
In the first case, discomfort is directly related to factors such as:
- Excessive physical activity.
- Exacerbation of existing diseases.
- Some characteristics of physiology.
Periodic pain subsides when symptoms of the underlying pathology are alleviated.
Severe injuries to deep vessels and injuries to the musculoskeletal system can cause permanent discomfort.Treatment alleviates the situation a little, but does not resolve it completely.
Spine diseases
The causes of constant pain in the lower back are the following:
- Curvature of the spine.The disease is characterized by skeletal deformation, poor posture and the appearance of a protuberance in the costal region.Sometimes scoliosis is asymptomatic for a long time.
- Intervertebral osteochondrosis of the lumbar region.The pathology destroys bones and cartilage and affects nerve fibers.Sometimes the disease becomes a catalyst for the development of protrusion, sciatica, radiculitis of the lumbar region and herniated intervertebral discs.
- Destructive changes in the vertebrae.They cause low back pain (lumbago).Typically, acute pain occurs in men with excessive exercise.Lack of adequate treatment leads to irreversible consequences.
- Spondylosis.The joint system in the lumbar region ages, becomes thinner and loses mobility.This process is quite natural.
- Inflammation of all nodes of bone tissue (osteomyelitis).The nature of the process is infectious.
- Osteoporosis (increased bone fragility).Usually diagnosed in children and women during menopause.
- Thrombophlebitis, phlebothrombosis.In deep veins, blood flow is completely or partially interrupted.This causes pain after long walks.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.Chronic inflammation begins in the joints of the lower back, affecting muscles, cartilage and ligaments.This systemic disease is often seen in women.The cause of the pathology is problems with the immune system.
- Atherosclerosis in the last stage.It is often diagnosed in older men.
Some people have lower limbs of different lengths.A wide range of values (more than 1-3 cm) is one of the causes of pain in the lower back.
Diseases of internal organs
The development of the disease is not only influenced by spinal problems.
Pain syndrome manifests itself in the following diseases:
- Inflammation of the appendix.A person is bothered by discomfort in the lower abdomen on the right, sometimes the pain radiates to the back.
- Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder walls).
- Pathologies of the small intestine.The lower back hurts because the disease affects the nerve fibers in that area.
- Peaks.Usually the result of surgery.
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).The pathology is accompanied by a painful syndrome of a herpes zoster nature.Signs of the disease are vomiting, intestinal problems (diarrhea or constipation), coating on the tongue and nausea.Low back pain is not diagnosed by palpation.
- Kidney pathologies.
- Tuberculosis of the bones.
- Inflammatory processes in the muscular system.The nature of tissue damage is different (infectious, bacterial, viral).Sometimes inflammation occurs due to hypothermia.The process is accompanied by an increase in body temperature and general malaise.
- Tumor in the lower back, growing along nerve fibers.
Excess body weight and obesity also cause discomfort.Pain occurs due to excessive stress on the lower back.
Additional symptoms
To determine why your lower back hurts, you must take into account all possible signs of the disease.
Here they are:
- Sprains are accompanied by painful spasms, and damaged muscles have limited movement.Discomfort sometimes extends to the back of the lower limbs and the gluteal region.
- Numbness of the limbs occurs if the nerve roots in the lower back are injured.
- Pupil dilation.
- Excessive sweating.
- Increased heart rate.
- Fever.
If low back pain is the result of some pathology, symptoms will appear gradually.
Diagnosis of the problem
What to do if your lower back hurts?First, it is necessary to carry out a complete examination of the patient.
Diagnosis is based on procedures such as:
- Analysis of urine and blood in the laboratory.Biochemistry will also be required.
- Ultrasound examination of the heart, internal organs of the abdominal cavity.This is relevant if you suspect kidney or gastrointestinal pathologies.
- X-ray of the lumbar region.
- Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.With their help, you can determine the cause of the pain.
- Dopplerography (vascular examination).
Carrying out all these activities makes it possible to establish a catalyst for the development of pathology and determine methods for its elimination.
Treatment
Elimination of pathology must be comprehensive and can be carried out in different ways.
To avoid making the situation worse, you should not:
- Warm up your lower back.
- Take medications at your own discretion.
- Adjust the vertebrae yourself, contact a chiropractor.
Attention: without identifying the root cause of the discomfort, self-medication is dangerous.
Physiotherapy and massage
Treatment of low back pain is possible with physical therapy.
If the patient cannot move due to severe pain, he will see:
- Massage.Applicable if the patient is bothered by pain in the lower back or has difficulty bending over.
- Mud therapy.
- Paraffin applications.
- Therapeutic gymnastics.
Sometimes acupuncture and manual therapy are beneficial.They strengthen the bone apparatus, relieving muscle tension.
Medicines
If the patient feels pain in the lower back after any physical activity, drug therapy is indicated.
The following groups of medicines will help alleviate the condition and pain:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Muscle relaxants.
- Narcotic analgesic.
- Corticosteroids.
- Chondroprotectors.
Is it allowed to use ointments locally.If the effect is not achieved, injections are used.Only a specialist has the right to prescribe how to treat the lower back.
Folk remedies
Along with medications, you can treat lower back pain using traditional methods.
The following recipes are applicable:
- Grind the head of garlic, add a little petroleum jelly and 1 tsp.lemon juice.Apply the resulting ointment to inflamed areas.
- Take a bath with mustard (200 grams of powder).Then rinse your body with clean water, dry yourself and dress warmly.
- If it hurts to walk, make a horseradish compress.Grate it (you can replace it with radish), add the cream and place on a thin cloth.Apply to the painful area, secure and wrap.
The dosage for taking any medicine or folk medicine must be prescribed by your attending physician.
You can cure the lower back with eucalyptus alcohol tincture.You will need to rub the inflamed area well.
Preventive measures
Weight in the lower back can be avoided through prevention.
To do this you need:
- Exercise regularly.
- Control your posture.
- Strengthen your immune system, exercise, give up bad habits.
- Get annual exams.
- Drink at least 1.5 liters of water regularly.
Remember that even nervous shocks and experiences can provoke the development of diseases.It is important not to start self-medication, but rather turn to competent specialists.Time spent in unskilled therapy can sometimes be decisive.