Why back pain and how to treat it

There is no such person who would not experience back pain at least once in his life, restricting and restricting a person's movements for a while. According to medical practice, complaints of back pain or back pain are considered the most common and can be caught at the most inopportune moment. It is worth remembering that with persistent symptoms of pain in the back area, it is recommended that you consult a specialist who can accurately determine the causes of immobilization and prescribe effective treatment. If you do not see a doctor in a timely manner, serious complications can occur.

back pain with sedentary work

Causes of pain

In fact, the reasons that cause pain in the lower back and spine can be very different, namely, both an independent problem and a signal of the initial diseases of the spine. The main underlying causes of painful sensations are:

  • Excessive muscle load. About 85% of back pain can occur due to excessive physical exercise in the lower back. The so-called "back fatigue" appears not only during sports, but is experienced when you constantly sit at the computer, as a result of which there is aggravation and muscle overload.
  • Intervertebral hernia. A fairly common disease occurs mainly in people over 40 years of age and occurs due to flattening of the intervertebral discs. This process contributes to the compression of the nerve roots, which leads to severe back pain.
  • Fractures. Such root causes for back pain are diagnosed in 4% of patients. According to medical statistics, compression fractures are quite common in older people suffering from osteochondrosis. The disease is characterized by depletion of bones, i. e. loss of their mass and density, due to which there is a high risk of fracture of the spine.
  • Congenital spinal defects. Pathologies of this type appear from birth and can accompany a person throughout his life. Deviations appear in the form of extra or missing vertebrae and more often in the lumbar spine.
  • Spondylolisthesis. With a spinal disease, the vertebrae are displaced, which causes sharp painful sensations that are felt in the upper back.
  • Gynecological diseases. Inflammation of the female genitals is accompanied by severe back pain.
  • Pregnancy. Pain attacks can occur both in the early stages of pregnancy and in the latter. This is due to the fact that there is a change in the center of gravity, softening or relaxation of the ligaments, an increase in body weight and an increase in body weight.
  • back pain during pregnancy
  • Infectious diseases. With inflammatory processes in the skeletal muscles of the back, severe aching pains can occur, which radiate to the shoulders, neck and even the forehead. Painful sensations are intensified by various movements, which makes it quite difficult to turn your head and bend.
  • Intercostal neuralgia. With this disease, the pain appears exactly in the intercostal space or can be localized in the lower back, under the shoulder and in other places where the nerve endings grip.
  • Spinal tumors. Most often, with this disease, the pain occurs exactly in the lower or middle part of the back, which intensifies in the morning after waking up, and sometimes even at night.
  • Pathology of internal organs. Due to the location of the pain in a particular area of the back, their intensity and duration, you can predict diseases of a particular organ.

alarms

When is it worth contacting a specialist? What pains are serious signals of impaired proper spinal function? Medical assistance is needed when victims feel:

  1. sudden sharp pain in the back, which is not caused by any specific reason;
  2. severe pain during stretching or at night;
  3. painful sensations felt after injury or bruising;
  4. back pain accompanied by high fever, tingling sensation in the chest area, dizziness, numbness and other symptoms;
  5. acute pain attacks that do not go away within 2-3 days;
  6. mild chronic pain that does not go away in 2-2. 5 weeks;
  7. painful sensations that are simultaneously given to the limbs, while significantly restricting a person's movement.
acupuncture for back pain

It is recommended that you consult a specialist immediately if your back hurts for the first time in people who have been diagnosed with cancer or osteoporosis, if the pain is felt after excessive alcohol consumption, after taking narcotic drugs or after using steroid medications.

It is worth remembering that the pain that appears in the back does not mean that there is any serious illness. It is not recommended to independently diagnose diseases and pathologies of the spine, and even more so to prescribe treatment or do physiotherapy exercises without specialists.

diagnostic

To accurately determine the cause of back pain, specialists perform an oral study as well as a patient examination, which includes a visual examination of the back and an assessment of the victim’s ability to walk, sit, or lie down. If necessary, a reflex test is performed using a neurological hammer. The data obtained will help to accurately determine the source of the onset of pain. If doctors have doubts about the diagnosis or a progressive tumor is suspected, examinations such as:

  • Radiography. Images can be used to determine the exact location of bones, allowing you to see arthritic conditions, cracks and fractures. Such a study is not appropriate for those cases in which the patient is suspected of such diseases being associated with muscle tissue, spinal cord or nerve endings.
  • MRI and CT. Magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography allows you to determine if a patient has a disease such as: hernia, bone and cartilage tissue disease, problems with blood vessels, nerves and tendons.
  • Osteoscintigraphy. Such a study is rarely described. Thanks to osteocyntigraphy, it is possible to identify a bone tissue tumor, compression fractures.
  • Nerve examination. This analysis measures the electrical impulses triggered by nerves.
X-rays to diagnose back pain

Treatment methods

Regardless of the intensity of the back pain, it is advisable to consult a doctor who can accurately diagnose the cause of their occurrence and accurately determine the methods of alleviating the victim's condition. Of course, it is initially worthwhile to weaken the pain attack, which can be sharp and sudden, and recurring periodically. Too often, pain attacks are felt when the joints are deformed or the back muscles are stretched. When a sharp sharp pain is felt, doctors advise the victim to lie down, which will greatly alleviate the victim’s condition and reduce the load on the back. After that, it is recommended to limit physical activity for a day or two.

An outbreak of acute pain can be extinguished with a cold ice pack. This method can significantly reduce bloating, if it occurs. In rare cases, ice massage is used, ie massaging an injured area with ice cubes for 7-8 minutes. Such therapy is carried out no more than 1-2 days, after which doctors advise the use of heat compresses, which are performed at the expense of a heat block or a towel soaked in hot water in advance. You can relieve spasms in the muscles of the back by stretching the spine, which is also performed in the supine position. To do this, you need to press your knees to your chest, put a little pressure on them and then lie down and relax. This exercise should be repeated several times. An analgesic will help you get rid of back pain, which can reduce inflammation around the area where it hurts.

physical therapy for back pain

Non-traditional methods of alleviating the victim's condition are rarely used in traditional medicine, but they are still considered effective and efficient. Attacks It is possible to cure pain attacks in the back area using methods such as acupuncture, vacuum therapy, manual therapy, osteopathy and other folk remedies. It is recommended to take into account that such methods of improving the condition of the victim are used only for those pains caused by diseases of the musculoskeletal system. In any case, before using one or another method of alternative medicine, it is recommended to seek the advice of your doctor. To permanently get rid of back pain, it is recommended to eliminate the original cause or disease, and only then continue to treat pathologies of the muscles, bones and joints of the back.

Prevention of back pain

To avoid different types of back pain, regardless of the original cause of their appearance, doctors recommend following very simple but effective advice, namely:

  • Do not lift weights. When a person lifts a load, the mass of which is several times higher than the norm, there is a sharp squeezing of the intervertebral discs and blood vessels. Doctors are not recommended to simultaneously lift a load weighing 15 kilograms, and even more so to turn the body along with this weight to the right or left.
  • Not in a sitting position for a long time. If there are pathological changes in the structure of the spine, it is necessary to limit the seating to a chair or stool. With this body position, a person begins to weaken, quite often placing one foot on the other, which contributes to an uneven distribution of load on the discs and intervertebral joints. If the main occupation is associated with a long time at the computer, then it is advisable to get up every hour, walk and lean to the right and left.
  • Hypothermia should be avoided. Painful sensations arise from spasm of the back muscles, which most often occurs due to hypothermia of the body. It is advisable to dress warmly, avoid drafts, cold winds and strong air conditioning.
  • You need to move more. The wrong choice for many people is to significantly limit physical activity in order to maintain spinal health. In the absence of movement, the back muscles atrophy over time, as a result of which the entire load is transferred from the muscle corset to the spine. In such a situation, the tissues of the intervertebral discs and articular cartilage are destroyed. An excellent option to restore back health, strengthen muscles and stretch the intervertebral space will be the systematic exercise of stretching, swimming, walking at a moderate pace.
  • Timely treatment of diseases. It is not necessary to start the course of spinal diseases, such as osteochondrosis or spondyloarthritis, which leads to serious and quite often irreparable complications. When you diagnose a disease, it is worth starting treatment immediately, which can alleviate the condition.
  • Therapeutic procedures. To prevent spinal diseases, rehabilitation therapists and therapists are advised to participate in various therapeutic therapeutic procedures, namely: massage, spa procedures, healing gymnastics, yoga.
exercises for back pain

Back pain attacks can occur in people of different ages and in a variety of circumstances, significantly restricting a person’s movement. To prevent the onset of cooling pains, it is recommended to move more, take care of your health and do not forget about sports.