If a person experiences back pain, the symptoms indicate irritation of the nerve endings. Degenerative-dystrophic lesions often develop between the vertebrae, which compress the muscles, blood vessels, and NS fibers. If the patient has back pain in the lumbar region, a neuropathologist, vertebrologist, and chiropractor will help determine the cause and treat it.
There are several main factors that influence the occurrence of lumbar discomfort. These include:
- Any kind of curvature of the spine;
- Hypothermia of the back, legs;
- Muscle tissue overload (lifting weights, working in the same position);
- Insufficient physical fitness of the musculoskeletal system;
- Vitamin deficiency, malnutrition;
- Overweight;
- Smoking, alcohol abuse and other bad habits.
Lumbar pain is the most common complaint of patients seeking medical attention. According to statistics, about 70% of all people over the age of 30 already face such problems. Since the lumbar part is located below the thoracic and above the sacral part, the central zone of the spine takes on maximum loads.
Pain can be of different nature. Depends on the reason for the appearance. Painful sensations are described as pain, burning, cutting, sharp, blurred. Sometimes the pain spreads to other parts of the back and even to the lower limbs. It ignites gradually or suddenly. There are excruciating pains, but often it also depends on the psychoemotional state and age-related changes.
There are the following types of lower back pain:
- Lumbago- characterized as a sharp lumbago (occurs as a result of hypothermia or physical overload);
- Lumbodynia- characterized by painful pain of a chronic nature (people often have sedentary activities);
- Lumboischialgia- is determined by the spread of pain in the legs (often a sign of hernia).
CT or MRI are used to diagnose the cause of spinal discomfort. Sometimes it is enough to do an X-ray of the affected area of inflammation. Also, doctors make a diagnosis based on complaints and an external examination of the patient’s body.
Causes of back pain in the lumbar region: common pathologies
Basically, unpleasant feelings are manifested due to pathologies of the lumbar spine. If they do occur, you should definitely visit a specialist and not allow the disease to progress. Osteochondrosis, hernia, bulges often become the cause of pain. All of them are characterized by an increase in symptoms during movement, body rotation, and bending.
Much less often the causes of back pain in the lumbar region are more serious and even life-threatening. For example, there are disorders in the lumbar spine due to metastasis of cancerous growths, infections of the vertebrae, internal organs, metabolic disorders in bone and muscle tissue and fractures.
Studies have shown that 90% of low back pain is related to myofascial disorders, ie to the tightening or overloading of the muscles surrounding the vertebrae. And only 10% of pathologies are caused by true vertebrogenic changes. Osteochondrosis formation has been shown to be associated with early vertebral displacement.
The most common causes of pain are:
- Injuries;
- Stretching of muscles, ligaments;
- Vertebral displacement;
- Compression of nerve endings due to hernia, osteochondrosis, stenosis;
- Fractures, spinal deformities; Pregnancy.
Much less often pain occurs after an infectious lesion, spondylitis, deformity changes, diseases of the abdominal organs.
If the pain lasts longer than three days, see a doctor. Since most often the discomfort is felt in the background of overload of the spinal muscles, the problem can be corrected in a short time by proper choice of treatment methods.
Back pain in the left lumbar region: what is behind it?
If a person has discomfort or severe pain in the lower lumbar spine, then, most likely, the cause of this phenomenon is irritation of nerve fibers, tense muscles or irradiation of symptoms of the affected internal organ. But basically, back pain in the lumbar region on the left side develops through disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
In terms of frequency, pain on both sides of the spine occurs in approximately the same percentage. But patients usually turn to a specialist even when the diseases are neglected and require long-term treatment.
If the pain radiates to the left side, then, as a rule, it is caused by inflammation of the internal organs. The left lumbar zone projects diseases of the kidneys, intestines, stomach, pancreas, ovaries. If the disease is acute, then it is accompanied not only by the spread of pain to the left side of the lumbosacral region, but also fever, discomfort in the abdominal cavity, disorders of defecation or urination, and menstrual irregularities.
Women who complain of lower back pain should visit a gynecologist. If the problem occurs in men, then in urologists. It is necessary for you to be examined by a therapist, do an ultrasound of the organs and do tests. If no abnormalities are detected during the diagnosis, then an examination of the spine is prescribed. The most reliable method is MRI which helps determine the cause of left back pain.
By spreading the pain, you can determine which part of the lumbar spine is affected and what the consequences of the pathology will be.
- If the painful sensations on the left side of the lower back pass to the lower limb or gluteus muscle, it is affected by the nerve roots of the lower section. Distant pains indicate a neglected disease that affects the entire root.
- When pain radiates to the groin or abdomen, then there is pathology in the upper lumbar spine.
- If distant pain affects the occurrence of limb stiffness, over time such a violation can cause paralysis.
- If the discomfort spreads to the leg while walking, there is a chance that the sciatic nerve is inflamed.
An accurate diagnosis will be made by a specialist who will refer the patient to all the necessary research methods.
How to treat lower back pain? Effective methods
Once diagnosed, doctors will prescribe medications or physical procedures to help eliminate the symptoms of pathology caused by disorders in the lumbosacral region. The exact recipes depend on the real cause of the pain. Consider the most basic methods of treating the symptoms of various diseases or pathologies.
Fat
This type of medicine is effective primarily because it can be used at home without the help of other people. The ointment relieves local inflammation caused by sprains or compression of nerve roots. It also warms the muscle tissue if the pain occurs due to hypothermia of the back.
There are several types of fats:
- Anti-inflammatory analgesics,which relieve irritation, pain and have a cooling effect.
- Combined agents,is used for back injuries. They can have healing, analgesic, cooling and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Irritant drugsaimed at vasodilation in the affected area to improve blood flow.
- Chondroprotectorsare used to treat cartilage pathologies.
How to treat low back pain, only a doctor can tell. The type of fat that should be used, the expert will determine only after the diagnosis of the spine.
Injections
With injections, lower back pain can be relieved in a very short time. Intramuscular or intravenous solutions are more effective than oral medications because they bypass the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream directly at the site of the inflammatory process. But giving injections to oneself is not always convenient, so the patient will have to visit the clinic every day or call the medical staff at home. Almost all back injections can be obtained with a prescription.
Warming up
This method of therapy is more related to folk recipes and is used only for non-inflammatory back pain. It is used for osteochondrosis, hernia, muscle tension, curvature of the spine. If the pain is caused by an infectious lesion, warming will only intensify the symptoms and worsen the health of the patient. To achieve a positive effect, apply dry heating pads or hot compresses up to 10 times a day.
Physiotherapy exercises
He should be appointed by a physiotherapist who will be able to choose the optimal exercises after diagnosing the cause of low back pain. The purpose of these exercises is to strengthen the back muscles in order 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. Massage relieves acute pain, removes toxins from cells and stimulates nerve endings. It is good to combine massage treatments with a visit to the sauna.