Back pain can occur not only in people who lead a sedentary lifestyle.This can happen with age or during heavy work when the spine experiences an increased load.If the pain occurs from time to time, then no treatment is needed.But if the pain is regular, you should consult a doctor.Therapy is chosen depending on the cause of the identified pathology - drug treatment, physiotherapy and sometimes surgery are used.
Reasons
To determine the causes of back pain, you need to analyze when and under what circumstances they occur:
- Morning pain.It usually happens after waking up.A person cannot change his position, raise his hand 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 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.If the inflammation also affects the joints, the doctor prescribes chondroprotectors - agents that restore tissues.
- Pain on exertion.They appear during a walk, with a long walk or, conversely, lack of movement.Usually the pain is dull, but quite strong, it disappears only after removing the load, but sometimes it becomes constant.In this case, you should consult a doctor.The specialist will be able to accurately determine the cause of the discomfort - spondylolisthesis, stenosis of the spinal canal or osteochondrosis.
- Towards the end of the working day, a pulling pain appears in the neck.They are accompanied by crunching and after some time intensify - these are symptoms of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.The disease cannot be completely cured.But pain relief can be done.In the acute period, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or, if they do not help, corticosteroids are prescribed.
With age, dystrophy of the intervertebral discs develops.This means they lose their ability to absorb shock, leading to back pain.In such cases, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chondroprotectors are prescribed.The doctor can recommend special therapeutic exercises that will help strengthen the back muscles.Dystrophy of intervertebral discs should not be confused with herniation;the latter is characterized by vertebral prominence.In severe cases, surgical treatment is prescribed.
Drug therapy and other conservative methods of hernia treatment allow maintaining the patient's quality of life at a high level.But in the most advanced cases, when it is impossible to relieve the pain with anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroids and dysfunction of the genitourinary system appears, the hernia is operated.The probability that the pain will remain even after surgery is no more than 1.5%.
Back pain can be caused by an injury.This happens due to a sprain of the ligaments that support the spine, an injury that can occur during sports and weight 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 the location
It is important to determine the localization 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 can indicate other pathologies that cause a similar symptom.The back in the middle hurts not only because of osteochondrosis, but also because of diseases of the stomach or pancreas.
Back pain, located on the right or left, is not necessarily related to 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 surgically removed.
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 affects even the abdominal organs, which leads to compression of the nerve endings.In such cases, the stomach starts to hurt.If pain occurs in the lower back, you should consult a gynecologist.Most often, endometriosis should 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 that lead to muscle relaxation.Nonsteroidal 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 take the increased strain off your back.
Pain can also be caused by joint problems.The most common of these are different types of arthritis.Often the disease has an infectious nature, so antibiotics are needed.
Treatment and prevention
If the pain is caused by physical overload or occurs against the background of hypothermia and an infectious disease, it may disappear on its own.Anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to speed recovery.Warming compresses and wool belts should not be applied.It is better to replace them with a special elastic corset.
For expectant mothers, special bandages are produced that help relieve stress from the back.But if the pain does not disappear within three days, despite all the measures taken, you should consult a doctor.
In no case should you self-medicate, especially massage and warming procedures such as a bath or sauna - this only increases swelling and discomfort.
The treatment is carried out comprehensively: they take anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs to relieve pain, while reducing the load on the spine.This applies mostly to overweight people;must follow a diet with reduced energy value.
In addition, doctors often prescribe various physiotherapy methods - magnetotherapy, massages.If the pain is caused by the destruction of joint tissue, then you should 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 great load on the spine.
- Vertical loads on the spine should be avoided.
- The back muscles should be strengthened so as to provide additional support to the spine.
- If you have severe, persistent pain, you should consult a specialist.