When a person has pain in the spine, symptoms suggest irritation of the nerve endings. Degenerative-dystrophic lesions often develop between the vertebrae that compress muscles, blood vessels, and fibers of the NS. If a patient has lower back pain, a neuropathologist, vertebrologist, and chiropractor will help determine the cause and treat it.
There are several main factors that influence the occurrence of discomfort in the lumbar zone. These include:
- Any kind of curvature of the spine;
- hypothermia of the back, legs;
- Overuse of muscle tissue (lifting weights, working in the same position);
- Insufficient physical fitness of the musculoskeletal system;
- lack of vitamins, malnutrition;
- overweight;
- Smoking, alcohol abuse and other bad habits.
Pain in the lumbar region is the most common complaint among patients who see a doctor. According to statistics, around 70% of all people who have reached the age of 30 are already confronted with such problems. Since the lumbar spine is below the chest and above the sacral region, the central zone of the spine takes the maximum load.
Pain can be of a different nature. It depends on the reason for the occurrence. Pain sensations are described as painful, burning, cutting, sharp, blurry. Sometimes the pain spreads to other parts of the back and even the lower limbs. It arrives gradually or suddenly. The pain is unbearable, but often it also depends on the psycho-emotional state and age-related changes.
There are the following types of back pain:
- Lumbago- characterized as sharp lumbago (occurs as a result of hypothermia or physical overload);
- Lumbodynia- characterized by chronic pain (people often suffer from sedentary activity);
- Lumboischialgia- is determined by the spread of pain to the legs (often a sign of a hernia).
CT or MRI is used to diagnose the cause of spinal discomfort. Sometimes it is enough to X-ray the affected area of inflammation. In addition, doctors make a diagnosis based on symptoms and an external examination of the patient's body.
Causes of back pain in the lumbar region: common pathologies
Basically, unpleasant sensations manifest themselves due to pathologies of the lumbar spine. In any case, if they occur, you should visit a specialist and not allow the disease to progress. Osteochondrosis, hernia, protrusion often become the cause of pain. All of them are characterized by an increase in symptoms during movements, torso twists, bends.
Much less often, the causes of back pain in the lumbar region are more serious and even life-threatening. For example, there are disorders of the lumbar spine due to metastasis from cancer growth, infections of the vertebrae, internal organs, metabolic disorders in bone and muscle tissues, and fractures.
Studies have shown that 90% of lower back pain is associated with myofascial disorders, that is, with tightening or overworking the muscles surrounding the vertebrae. And only 10% are pathologies caused by real vertebrogenic changes. It has been shown that the formation of osteochondrosis is associated with an early displacement of the vertebrae.
The most common causes of pain are:
- injuries;
- stretching muscles, ligaments;
- shifting the vertebrae;
- compression of nerve endings due to hernia, osteochondrosis, stenosis;
- fractures, deformities of the spine;
- pregnancy.
Much less often pain occurs after an infectious lesion, spondylitis, deformation changes and diseases of the abdominal organs.
If the pain persists for more than three days, consult a doctor. Since discomfort most often occurs against the background of overloading the muscles of the spine, the problem can be resolved in a short time with the right choice of treatment methods.
Back pain in the left lumbar spine: what's behind it?
If a person has discomfort or severe pain in the lower part of the lumbar spine, most likely the cause of this phenomenon is irritation of the nerve fibers, tense muscles, or irradiation of a symptom of the affected internal organ. Most of the time, however, back pain in the left lumbar region is caused by functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
In terms of frequency, pain occurs in roughly the same percentage on both sides of the spine. However, patients usually turn to a specialist, even if the diseases are neglected and require long-term treatment.
If the pain radiates to the left, it is usually caused by inflammation of the internal organs. The left lumbar zone projects diseases of the kidneys, intestines, stomach, pancreas and ovary. When the disease is acute, it is accompanied not only by the spread of pain on the left side of the lumbosacral region, but also by fever, discomfort in the abdominal cavity, stool or urinary disorders, and menstrual disorders.
Women who complain of back pain should consult a gynecologist. If the problem occurs in men, contact the urologist. It is imperative that you be examined by a therapist, have organ exams and tests. If no abnormalities are found during the diagnosis, an examination of the spine is prescribed. The most reliable method is MRI, which can help determine the cause of the back pain on the left side.
The spread of pain allows you to determine which part of the lumbar spine is affected and what consequences the pathology will have.
- If painful sensations on the left side of the lower back pass to the muscles of the lower extremity or gluteus, then the nerve roots of the lower part of the section are affected. Distant pain indicates a neglected disease that affects the entire root.
- If pain radiates to the groin or abdomen, then the pathology is in the upper part of the lumbar vertebrae.
- If distant pain affects the occurrence of numbness in the limbs, such an injury can lead to paralysis over time.
- If discomfort spreads to the leg while walking, there is a chance that the sciatic nerve could become inflamed.
An accurate diagnosis will be made by a specialist who will advise the patient of all the necessary research methods.
How is back pain treated? Effective methods
After the diagnosis, doctors prescribe drugs or physical procedures that will help eliminate the symptoms of a pathology caused by disorders in the lumbosacral area. The exact prescriptions will depend on the real cause of the pain. Consider the most basic methods of treating the symptoms of various diseases or pathologies.
Ointments
This type of medicine is effective mainly because it can be used at home without the help of other people. The ointment relieves local inflammation caused by sprains or compression of the nerve roots. It also warms the muscle tissue when there is pain due to hypothermia of the back.
There are different types of ointments:
- Anti-inflammatory analgesicsthat relieve irritation, pain and have a cooling effect.
- Combined means,for back injuries. They can have healing, pain relieving, cooling and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Irritants,that target vasodilation in the affected area to improve blood flow.
- Chondroprotectorsare used to treat pathologies of the cartilage tissue.
Only a doctor can tell you how to treat back pain. What kind of ointment to use, the specialist will determine only after diagnosing the spine.
injections
With the help of injections, pain in the lower back can be relieved in a very short time. Intramuscular or intravenous solutions are more effective than oral drugs because they bypass the gastrointestinal tract and get into the bloodstream right at the point of the inflammatory process. However, it is not always convenient to give yourself injections, so the patient has to visit the clinic or call the medical staff at home every day. Almost all injections for the lower back require a prescription.
Warm up
This therapy method is more related to folk recipes and is only used for non-inflammatory back pain. It is used for osteochondrosis, hernia, muscle tension and curvature of the spine. If the pain is caused by an infectious lesion, warming up will only worsen the symptoms and worsen the patient's health. For a positive effect, apply dry heating pads or hot compresses up to 10 times a day.
Physiotherapy exercises
Should be appointed by a physical therapist who, after diagnosing the cause of lower back pain, is able to select optimal exercises. The goal of these exercises is to strengthen the muscles in your back to correct posture and reduce pain during physical activity.
Massage
It relieves pain in the lumbar spine well, but it should only be done by an experienced specialist. With the help of effective massage movements, it is possible to improve blood circulation in the area of the affected area and make the muscles more elastic and flexible. The massage relieves acute pain, removes toxic substances from the cells and stimulates the nerve endings. It is good to combine massage treatments with a visit to the sauna.