Lower back pain causes and treatments

Back pain in the lower back may indicate various spinal disorders, disorders of neural connections, internal organs, soft tissue injuries, and tumors. Pain syndromes can vary in intensity and nature of presentation. Depending on the type of pain that occurs, the pathology can be identified, but in order to obtain an accurate diagnosis, examinations, including instrumental diagnosis, are required. This allows you to find out why the pain is occurring. Based on the test results, the doctor chooses treatment.

type of pain

Back pain in the lower back may indicate a serious pathology. But in most cases, the discomfort is benign and related to the influence of various external factors:

• low temperature;
• Remaining in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time;
• Compression of blood vessels;
• Soft tissue damage due to trauma.

When diagnosing back pain, doctors pay attention to the nature and duration of its manifestations. If the pain is caused by a cold or simple hypothermia, the pain will disappear completely within 2 weeks of using an ointment containing NSAIDs. They won't help cure disease, but moving after them won't hurt.If spinal pain does not go away despite the use of topical medications, and sometimes even worsens, a thorough examination is needed. In some cases, this symptom is a warning sign that a dangerous disease is developing. With spinal disorders, during an attack, pain can radiate to various parts of the body: legs, arms, groin. Typically, such attacks are accompanied by unpleasant physical sensations: numbness, tingling, goosebumps, burning sensation.

In most cases, lower back pain occurs suddenly, is severe, and resembles lumbago (low back pain). Patients themselves describe the pain as stabbing, sharp, sometimes squeezing, but not that intense. At the moment of the attack, the person's movements are restricted, and the person can only straighten his waist through pain. Exercise does not relieve pain and sometimes worsens it. Acute symptoms may last only a few minutes, but sometimes last a day or longer.

Chronic lower back pain can be experienced by women and men over 50 and by people who have had serious injuries. In this case, the pain is constant but tolerable; the patient notes only mild discomfort, stiffness with morning movements, and nighttime pain. Chronic pain may be triggered by stress, heavy lifting, or hypothermia. The rest of the time there is no pain, just stiffness and discomfort.

Low back pain in pregnant women

Women often experience low back pain during pregnancy. Its occurrence is related to natural changes. As the fetus grows, around the middle of pregnancy, the center of gravity changes, causing posture deformation and waist deviation. This change is not dangerous and occurs suddenly in more than 70% of women, but it needs to be monitored as it can cause serious health problems in the future. No special treatment is given during pregnancy. To reduce the intensity of painful attacks, your doctor may recommend that women take topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In some cases, it is recommended to wear a support structure to ensure the load on the spine is properly distributed.In addition, expectant mothers should not ignore the general rules and be sure to take regular breaks and avoid wearing high heels. Be careful when bending down to pick something up. Straighten your back and straighten your body, then you need to get up as slowly as possible. You should also pay attention to the choice of bed at home, it should be comfortable.

Pain both at night and in the morning

If severe discomfort bothers you primarily at night and occurs immediately after waking up in the morning, you should look for problems in the quality of your sleep at night. The manifestation of severe pain is associated with incorrect body posture during night rest. The first thing you need to do when you get home is replace your mattress, bed, and pillows. It would be nice if the bed was orthopedic.If pain is observed only in the morning, it is worth considering the possibility of sudden movements after waking up. It's best to get up early and do a gentle warm-up of your muscles and joints while lying in bed. When you perform such exercises regularly, you can forget about the appearance of pain. Bending will be much easier and the stiffness in your back will disappear. It will be easier to get up after warming up.

It’s also worth considering that the spine and lower back carry excess body weight. Back pain problems are more common in people who are obese and those who live a sedentary lifestyle. After normalizing behavior and improving the quality of night's rest, cyclic pain will disappear if not accompanied by any disease.

Lower back pain radiating to the legs

Pain that occurs in the back can radiate throughout the body. Most often, it radiates down the leg and may involve part of the foot and reach the heel. The cause of the pain is sciatica, low back pain or radiculitis, a pathology associated with damage to nerve tissue. Due to changes in the structure of the cartilage tissue, resulting in deformation of the vertebrae and the formation of osteophytes, the nerve endings are squeezed, followed by the onset of severe pain that radiates to the legs.

acute pain

The duration of acute pain attacks varies. They can last from a few minutes to a few weeks. Chronic pain may manifest unnoticed and be intense to the person; the patient becomes accustomed to it and may not feel it after the episode passes. Severe, unbearable pain in the lower back is characteristic of a variety of conditions:

• Scoliosis;
• Myositis;
• arthritis;
• joint;
• neurological disorders;
• neoplastic processes;
• osteomyelitis;
• Spondylitis

If the pain has a shooting character, it indicates that the roots of the spinal cord are involved in a pathological inflammatory process. If the pain seems dull, dull, and spreads into the abdominal cavity, liver inflammation should be suspected. Severe attacks disrupt consciousness and lead to loss of consciousness, which may signal urolithiasis or pyelonephritis.

Causes of low back pain

Lower back pain can have different causes. Many of them lead to the development of pathologies that significantly reduce the quality of life, with pain becoming a constant companion. Trying to solve the problem on your own is actually pointless and difficult; only based on the results of instrumental diagnosis can you make an accurate diagnosis and choose an effective treatment.The most common causes of back pain:

• Intervertebral hernia;
• osteochondrosis;
• Gastrointestinal disorders;
• curvature of the spine;
• Tumor;
• Muscle and ligament injuries;
• Soft tissue infection.

The cause of the pain is usually simple hypothermia, which affects the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. Additionally, in cases of hypothermia, it may become squeezed, causing severe pain. Other factors may also trigger attacks:

• lack of physical activity;
• excessive nervousness;
• Heavy physical labor;
• Damage and injury.

Low back pain may occur with urolithiasis; they accompany attacks. They are also characteristic of many sexually transmitted diseases. Lower back pain in women is not always pathological. If it occurs before menstrual bleeding or at the onset of menopause, it is physiologically normal. In these cases, the condition is not dangerous and can be controlled with pain medication. For all listed conditions, moving around the home, bending, or doing any work is problematic.

spinal disease

The main causes of low back pain are various diseases, deformations and lesions of the spine. The nature of the pain can be completely different. The intensity of its manifestations depends on many factors and varies greatly depending on the part of the spine affected. The most common types of pain observed are:

• cyclical;
• local or native;
• pull or squeeze;
• burning and cutting;
• shooting.

The intensity of symptoms may depend on stress, uncomfortable posture in a chair, exercise, and physical activity. Discomfort increases when you stand or sit incorrectly. Low back pain occurs when the muscle fibers spasm and the entire area aches. With pain like this, stiffness of movement can occur, and symptoms can spread to the back of the thigh and can even reach the calf or even the foot. Much depends on the type of disease and its nature. Pathology must be treated by experts.

intervertebral hernia

Lumbar intervertebral hernia usually develops with osteochondrosis later in development. They usually cover primarily the lumbar area, lower back, and form between the fourth and fifth vertebrae and in the sacral area. The pain syndrome in this condition is unpleasant, invasive, and is associated with damage to the nerve roots and weak blood circulation. The pain is similar to radiculitis and worsens when you stand or sit on an uncomfortable stool. If the hernia forms large, it can compress the spinal cord, desensitizing the person, and in complex cases, paralysis can result as the hernia gets between the discs.You can tell you are having an intervertebral hernia by experiencing the following symptoms:

• It is impossible to stand without the support of a chair or other surface, due to the increased load on the discs;
• Lying on your stomach is extremely uncomfortable;
• A feeling of stiffness in the back;
• difficulty bending forward;
• It is impossible to arch your back because the pain impedes movement.

The treatments for hernia are conservative and surgical. Determine the appropriate approach based on the patient's condition. For advanced cases, conservative treatment is ineffective.

Stachybotrys

For smaller bends, there is no pain. Fatigue may occur; a person may want to spend more time lying down because the pain may become more intense when standing or sitting. Various neurological diseases are associated with secondary malformations. During this stage, pain occurs, which can be moderate to moderately severe, occurring on both the left and right sides. As the disease progresses, discomfort increases during the day and in its advanced stages becomes intolerable and unrelieved by topical and systemic analgesics. This phenomenon is difficult to completely eliminate, but the bending can be cured quickly.

osteoporosis

This disease mostly affects men and women over the age of 50. Its pathology is characterized by rapid loss of bone tissue. As a result of this loss, the vertebrae become brittle and weakened, and even minor injuries, physical exertion, or heavy lifting can cause damage. The patient bends over only with discomfort and recovers from the bent position with severe pain. When a person picks something up from the floor, it is best to sit down with a straight back and then straighten up again. The health risk of osteoporosis is reduced if you sit down first.Osteoporosis pain is caused by more than just broken bones. The disease is dangerous and can be used to register disabled people.

spinal injury

The most common injury is bruising. If it's mild, there will be moderate discomfort. It tends to worsen with movement during the day, causing localized swelling, hematomas, and bleeding. This symptom always worsens with movement and exercise. In severe cases, this problem can not only cause damage, but may also be accompanied by neurological disorders, especially when nerve endings are involved in the process. It is impossible to completely eliminate the problem; even surgery does not always cure the consequences of the injury.

Soft tissue and kidney damage

Soft tissue bruises may cause mild pain that subsides with topical anti-inflammatory compounds. The pain is always localized, and the bruised area is swollen and may bleed.If combined with the above symptoms, there is pain in the left waist and accompanied by blood in the urine, it indicates kidney damage. The discomfort will be more intense; when the organs of the excretory system are severely damaged, urination will be affected or impossible. Hematoma may occur in the lower back. Shock and life-threatening situations cannot be ruled out.

spinal infection

Infectious lesions of the spine are even more dangerous. Osteomyelitis may be:

• Postoperative;
• post-traumatic;
• touch;
• Hematogenous.

In acute cases, the disease can progress at lightning speed. It is characterized by an increase in pain during the day, accompanied by an increase in body temperature and a severe deterioration of the general condition. The nature of the discomfort may vary: twitching, pressing, bursting. These attacks are so severe that they impede movement and force the person to freeze in one position because movement is painful. In chronic lesions, fistulas may appear and purulent discharge may develop.Spinal tuberculosis is a rare but dangerous spinal disease. In the initial stages of development, it causes deep, intense pain down below, peaking after exercise. The gait of both men and women stiffened. As the bone structure is destroyed and the nerve roots become compressed, the pain becomes searing and spreads to the lower parts of the body.

With a spinal epidural abscess, the pain is quite deep and intense, accompanied by chills and muscle tension. Against the background of progression, radicular syndrome intensifies, paresis occurs, and the function of the pelvic organs is destroyed.

muscle damage

Lower back pain and discomfort may occur after physical activity, lifting weights, or performing strenuous exercise. It can also occur when you hold static positions for long periods of time and your lower back and gluteal muscles are tight.In this lesion, the discomfort is lessened by the application of a warm ointment during and after rest. Muscle damage or myositis occurs not only in the context of infection. It can be caused by physical stress and hypothermia, severe intoxication, and metabolic disorders. This condition is most often accompanied by pain.

myofascial syndrome

Myofascial syndrome is classified as a painful disorder in which lower back discomfort is associated with painful muscle tension. During the attack, trigger points appear in the affected area. The sources of pain are muscles, fascia, and connective tissue. To treat this condition, experts prescribe painkillers, NSAIDs, and sedatives.In some cases, centrally acting muscle relaxants are needed to treat the disease. This type of therapy is designed to reduce tension, reduce arousal, and cause relaxation of spastic muscles, allowing the patient to bend. In some cases, experts perform acupoint blockade by administering an anesthetic.

Spinal tumors, kidney tumors

Tumors of the spine and spinal cord are quite rare. The detection frequency of such diseases does not exceed 0. 5% of the total number of diagnosed cancer pathologies. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Depending on this, the prognosis varies greatly.A unique symptom for this pathology is pain in the lower back. For benign causes, discomfort can be relieved with the use of medications. If the formation is malignant, treatment must be complex and usually involves only surgery.

In addition, left lower back pain may also be related to kidney cancer. It will have an obvious feature, which may be pain, pressure, or rupture. Over time, discomfort increases and urinary disturbances may occur. Do not steam or heat the affected area. After the formation is removed, the situation may normalize.

What to do after acute low back pain

If you experience brief, severe back pain, the condition can be controlled on your own. If possible, you should see a specialist and get tested to reduce the risk of recurrence.If the following symptoms occur, you need to contact a specialist urgently:

• Low back pain of any nature lasting for one week;
• Against the background of pain, body temperature increases;
• Discomfort in previously injured and damaged areas;
• Pain spreads throughout the body;
• Loss of sensitivity in certain areas.

In these cases, pain cannot be ignored. It is important to see a doctor as soon as possible and start treatment, otherwise the disease will worsen.

Which doctor should I contact?

If you suspect the development of a disorder of the musculoskeletal system, you should consult a traumatologist or neurologist. The expert will conduct an investigation, a physical examination and prescribe the necessary instrumentation. If you have sudden pain in your back, you can call an ambulance. You can use pain relief gel at home.If you suspect that your lower back pain is caused by kidney damage, you should see a urologist or nephrologist. You can also see a therapist. Any specialist will tell you how to treat low back pain due to kidney disease and will also perform additional tests. Laboratory tests are required on the patient's blood and urine; they are needed to confirm or refute the disease.If a woman experiences occasional low back pain and it is related to menstruation or menopause, it is worth raising this issue with her gynecologist. An expert will help you choose a treatment that will eliminate your discomfort. If you need to get to the bottom of your pain syndrome, you should see a therapist, family doctor or general practitioner. A doctor will conduct an examination and determine the preliminary cause of the violation.

diagnosis

There are many factors that can cause low back pain, and even an experienced doctor cannot make an accurate diagnosis without an examination. The following methods are used as part of the diagnosis:

• X-rays of the painful area;
• MRI;
• Ultrasound examination of pelvic and abdominal organs;
• General analysis of urine and blood;
• Neuroelectromyography.

If the pain occurs in the context of genitourinary or gastrointestinal pathology, an endoscopy of the bowel may be necessary. If tumors are suspected in the body, biochemical blood tests are performed.

treat

The intervention options required to treat back pain are selected individually. The main rule is that treatment should be comprehensive and include symptomatic treatment and lifestyle changes. The doctor determines the cause of the pain and then chooses a treatment.Regardless of the cause of back pain, all patients should follow these rules:

• Do not lift heavy objects;
• Bend over and straighten your back while sitting;
• Give up strenuous exercise;
• If you are obese, you should lose weight;
• Change your sleeping area to make it comfortable;
• Conduct regular physical education classes directly in a chair or armchair;
• light exercise;
• Don’t take steam baths, don’t go to saunas, don’t take hot baths;
• Wear a supportive bandage (as prescribed by your doctor).

For diagnosed spinal lesions, treatment options also include the following recommendations:

1. Medicinal Effects. Painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and decongestants may be needed. These medications can be taken orally or used topically in the form of a cream, gel, or ointment to relieve pain.
2. Block the lumbar area.
3. physiotherapy. Patients receive physical therapy, massage, magnet therapy and electrophoresis therapy.
4. Acupuncture, manual therapy, osteopathy.

In severe cases, when conservative intervention for spinal lesions does not produce results, surgical intervention is required.The information in this article should not be relied upon for self-diagnosis and treatment; it is for informational purposes only. You should not take any medication without consulting a specialist.

Trying to figure out on your own how to get rid of lower back pain and the causes of back pain is almost pointless. It can be of different nature depending on which influencing method is chosen to be effective. Self-treatment for many illnesses is ineffective and dangerous because it can lead to worsening of the condition.