Back pain can occur not only in people who lead a sedentary lifestyle.This can happen with age or during hard work, when the spinal column experiences increased stress.If pain occurs from time to time, then no treatment is required.But if the pain is regular, you should consult a doctor.Therapy is selected depending on the cause of the identified pathology - drug treatment, physiotherapy, and sometimes surgery are used.
Reasons
In order to determine the causes of back pain, you need to analyze when and under what circumstances they occur:
- Morning pain.Usually happens after waking up.A person cannot change position, raise an arm, or turn his neck without severe pain.Most often, this has nothing to do with the spine, but is caused by myositis - inflammation of the muscles, which is caused by hypothermia, excessive stress, and infectious diseases.In such cases, warming ointments are prescribed, including those based on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.If the inflammation also affects the joints, the doctor prescribes chondroprotectors - agents that restore tissue.
- Pain on exertion.They occur during a walk, with long walking or, conversely, lack of movement.Usually the pain is dull, but quite strong, it goes away only after the load is removed, but sometimes it becomes constant.In this case, you need to consult a doctor.The specialist will be able to accurately determine the cause of the discomfort - spondylolisthesis, spinal canal stenosis or osteochondrosis.
- Pulling pain occurs in the neck towards the end of the working day.They are accompanied by a crunching sound, and after some time they intensify - these are symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.The disease cannot be completely cured.But pain relief can be performed.In the acute period, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or, if they do not help, corticosteroids are prescribed.
With age, intervertebral disc dystrophy develops.This means that they lose their shock-absorbing ability, resulting in back pain.In such cases, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chondroprotectors are prescribed.The doctor may recommend special therapeutic exercises that will help strengthen the muscles in the back.Intervertebral disc dystrophy should not be confused with a hernia; the latter is characterized by protrusion of a vertebra.In severe cases, surgical treatment is prescribed.
Drug therapy and other conservative treatment methods for hernia make it possible to maintain the patient’s quality of life at a high level.But in the most advanced cases, when it is impossible to relieve pain with anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroids and dysfunction of the genitourinary system occurs, the hernia is operated on.The likelihood that pain will remain even after surgery is no more than 1.5%.
Back pain can be caused by injury.This occurs due to sprains in the ligaments that support the spine, an injury that can occur during sports and heavy lifting.Injuries to the vertebrae themselves lead to the development of osteoporosis, a disease that causes thinning of bone tissue.The pathology itself does not provoke pain, but leads to vertebral fractures.
Depending on location
It is important to determine the location of the pain - in the middle of the back or below.Sometimes this helps to understand in which part of the spine there are problems, and may indicate other pathologies that cause a similar symptom.The back in the middle hurts not only due to osteochondrosis, but also due to diseases of the stomach or pancreas.
Back pain, localized on the right or left, is not necessarily associated with diseases of the spine.Sometimes this is a symptom of kidney pathology - an infectious disease or the appearance of stones in them.Ultrasound will help establish an accurate diagnosis.Further treatment depends on the cause of the pathology - the infection is fought with antibiotics, and kidney stones are removed surgically.
Sometimes back pain can be caused by gynecological diseases, such as endometriosis - the growth of the endometrium outside the uterine cavity.But there are cases when it even affects the abdominal organs, which leads to compression of the nerve endings.In such cases, the stomach begins to hurt.If pain occurs in the lower back, you should consult a gynecologist.Most often, endometriosis must be treated with conservative methods, but sometimes surgical intervention is necessary.
Back pain occurs during pregnancy.Their appearance can be provoked by increased load on the spine and hormonal changes, which lead to muscle relaxation.Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are usually contraindicated for expectant mothers, and even massage is excluded in some cases.Special therapeutic exercises for pregnant women can have a good effect.The best option is water aerobics and yoga for expectant mothers.It is important to remove increased stress from your back.
Pain can also be caused by joint problems.The most common of these are various types of arthritis.Often the disease is infectious in nature, so antibiotics are required.
Treatment and prevention
If the pain is caused by physical overload or occurs against the background of hypothermia and an infectious disease, it may go away on its own.Anti-inflammatory medications can be used to speed up recovery.Warming compresses and wool belts should not be worn.It is better to replace them with a special elastic corset.
Special bandages are produced for expectant mothers that help relieve stress from the back.But if the pain does not go away within three days, despite all the measures taken, you need to consult a doctor.
Under no circumstances should you self-medicate, especially massage and warming procedures like a bath or sauna - this only increases swelling and discomfort.
Treatment is carried out comprehensively: they take anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs to relieve pain, while simultaneously reducing the load on the spine.This applies most of all to overweight people; they need to follow a diet with reduced energy value.
In addition, doctors often prescribe various physiotherapeutic methods - magnetic therapy, massages.If the pain is caused by the destruction of joint tissue, then you need to take additional chondroprotectors - drugs based on chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine, which restore joints and promote collagen production.
To prevent the disease, it is important to follow the recommendations:
- You cannot sit for a long time without moving.In this position, there is a large load on the spine.
- Vertical loads on the spinal column should be avoided.
- The back muscles should be strengthened so that they provide additional support to the spine.
- If you have severe, prolonged pain, you should consult a specialist.