Why back pain and how to deal with it

There is no such person who will not experience pain in the back at least once in his or her life, limiting and restraining one’s movements for a while. According to medical practice, complaints of back pain or back pain are considered the most common and can be caught at the most inopportune moment. Keep in mind that with persistent pain symptoms in the back area, it is recommended that you see a specialist who can correctly determine the causes of immobilization and prescribe effective treatment. If you do not see a doctor on time, serious complications may arise.

The cause of the pain

In fact, the causes of pain in the lower back and lower back can be very diverse, that is, independent problems and signals of spinal disease onset. The main causes of painful sensations are:

• Excessive muscle load. About 85% of back pain can occur due to excessive physical activity in the lower back. The so-called "back fatigue" not only appears during sports, but is also experienced when sitting at a computer regularly, as a result of which there are heavy and excessive muscles.
• Intervertebral hernia. A relatively common disease occurs mainly in people over the age of 40 and occurs due to pieces of the intervertebral disc. This process contributes to nerve root compression, which causes severe back pain.
• Broken bones. The underlying cause of back pain was diagnosed in 4% of patients. According to medical statistics, compression fractures are quite common in the elderly suffering from osteochondrosis. The disease is characterized by thinning of the bone, i. e. loss of its mass and density, as there is a high risk of vertebral fractures.
• Congenital malformations of the spine. Such pathologies appear at birth and can accompany a person throughout his or her life. Deviations appear in the form of extra or missing vertebrae and most often in the lumbar spine.
• Spondylolisthesis. With disease of the spine, the vertebrae move, causing a sharp painful sensation felt in the upper back.
• Gynecological diseases. Inflammation of the female genitals is accompanied by severe back pain.
• Pregnancy. Pain attacks can appear in the early stages of pregnancy and the latter. This is due to the fact that there is a change in the center of gravity, softening or relaxation of the ligaments, weight gain and weight gain.

• Contagious disease. With the inflammatory process in the skeletal muscles of the back, severe pain can occur, which radiates to the shoulders, neck and even to the forehead. The painful sensation increases with various movements, which makes it difficult to turn the body and bend.
• Intercostal neuralgia. With this disease, the pain appears right in the intercostal space or can be localized in the lower back, under the scapula and elsewhere where the nerve endings are pinched.
• Spinal tumors. Often, with this disease, the pain occurs right in the lower or middle of the back, which increases in the morning when waking up, and sometimes even at night.
• Pathology of internal organs. Because of the location of the pain in a particular area of the back, its intensity and duration, one can predict disease in a particular organ.

Alarm

When to contact a specialist? What pain is a serious sign of proper spinal dysfunction? Medical help is needed when the victim feels:

1. sudden sharp pain in the back, which is not caused by any particular reason;
2. severe pain when lying down or at night;
3. painful sensation felt after injury or bruising;
4. back pain accompanied by high fever, tingling sensation in the chest area, dizziness, numbness and other symptoms;
5. acute pain attacks that do not subside in 2-3 days;
6. chronic mild pain that does not disappear in 2-2, 5 weeks;
7. a painful sensation that is simultaneously given to the limbs, and significantly restricts a person's movement.

It is recommended to immediately see a specialist if the back hurts for the first time in a person who has been diagnosed with cancer or osteoporosis, if pain is felt after excessive alcohol intake, after taking narcotic drugs or after using steroid drugs.

Keep in mind that pain that occurs in the back does not mean that there is a serious illness. It is not recommended to diagnose diseases and pathologies of the spine independently, and even more so to prescribe treatment or perform physiotherapy exercises without a specialist.

Diagnosis

To accurately determine the cause of back pain, the specialist performs an oral survey, as well as an examination of the patient, which includes a visual examination of the back and an assessment of the victim’s ability to walk, sit or lie down. If necessary, reflex testing was performed using a neurological hammer. The data obtained will help accurately determine the cause of the onset of pain. If the doctor has doubts about the diagnosis or a progressive tumor is suspected, examinations such as:

• Radiography. Pictures can be used to pinpoint the exact location of the bone, allowing you to see the condition of arthritis, cracks and fractures. Such studies are not suitable for cases where the patient is suspected of having diseases such as those related to muscle tissue, spinal cord or nerve endings.
• MRI and CT. Magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography allows you to determine whether a patient has diseases such as: hernias, diseases of bone and cartilage tissue, problems with blood vessels, nerves and tendons.
• Osteoscintigraphy. Studies like this are rarely prescribed. Thanks to osteocyntigraphy, it is possible to identify tumors of bone tissue, compression fractures.
• Nerve examination. This analysis measures electrical impulses triggered by nerves.

Methods of treatment

Regardless of the intensity of back pain, it is recommended to see a doctor who can accurately diagnose the cause of its occurrence and determine the method of alleviating the victim's condition accurately. Of course, at first, it can be debilitating to pain attacks, which can be sharp and sudden, and recurrent periodically. Often, an attack of pain is felt when a deformed joint or back muscle is stretched. When a sharp pain is felt, the doctor advises the victim to lie down, which will alleviate the victim’s condition and reduce the load on the spine. After this, it is recommended to limit physical activity for a day or for two days.

Outbreaks of acute pain can be extinguished with an ice cold pack. This method can significantly reduce swelling, if it appears. In rare cases, ice massage is used, i. e. massaging the sore spot with ice cubes for 7-8 minutes. Such therapy is carried out for no more than 1-2 days, after which the doctor advises to use hot compresses, which are performed at the expense of a heater or a towel soaked in hot water first. You can relieve cramps in the back muscles by stretching the spine, which is done even in the supine position. To do this, you need to press the knees to your chest, put a little pressure on them and then stretch and relax. This exercise should be repeated several times. Analgesics will help save you from pain in the back, which can reduce inflammation around the painful area.

Non -traditional methods to alleviate the victim’s condition are rarely used in traditional medicine, yet are still considered effective and efficient. It is possible to cure attacks of pain in the back area using methods such as acupuncture, vacuum therapy, manual therapy, osteopathy and other folk remedies. It is recommended to consider that the method of improving the condition of the victim is used only for pain caused by diseases of the musculoskeletal system. In any case, before using one or the other method of alternative medicine, it is recommended to seek medical advice. To get rid of back pain permanently, it is recommended to eliminate the original cause or disease, and only then cure the pathology of the muscles, bones and joints of the back.

Prevention of back pain

To avoid various types of pain in the back, regardless of the original cause of their appearance, doctors recommend following a fairly simple but effective advice, namely:

• Don't lift weights. When a person lifts a load, his mass several times higher than usual, there is a sharp pressure on the intervertebral discs and blood vessels. Doctors are not encouraged to lift a load weighing 15 kilograms simultaneously, and even more so to rotate the body equivalent to this weight to the right or to the left.
• Not in a sitting position for long periods of time. If there are pathological changes in the structure of the spine, it is necessary to limit sitting in a chair or in a chair. With this body position, a person begins to relax, regularly placing one foot on the other foot, which contributes to uneven load distribution on the discs and intervertebral joints. If the main job is associated with a long time at the computer, then it is recommended to get up every hour, walk and lean to the right and left.
• Hypothermia should be avoided. Painful sensations arise from spasms of the back muscles, which most often occur due to hypothermia of the body. It is recommended to dress warmly, avoid strong winds, cold winds and strong air conditioning.
• You need to move more. The wrong choice for many people is to limit physical activity significantly to keep the spine healthy. If there is no movement, the back muscles atrophy over time, as a result of which the entire load is transferred from the muscular corset to the spine. In such cases, the intervertebral disc tissue and articular cartilage are destroyed. An excellent option to restore the health of the back, strengthen the muscles and stretch the intervertebral space are stretching exercises, swimming, walking systematically at an average rate.
• Timely treatment of the disease. There is no need to start the course of a spinal disease, such as osteochondrosis or spondyloarthrosis, which leads to serious and often irreversible complications. When diagnosing the disease, it is a good idea to start treatment immediately, which can alleviate the condition.
• Therapeutic procedures. To prevent spinal diseases, rehabilitation therapists and therapists are advised to attend a variety of therapeutic therapy procedures, namely: massage, spa procedures, rehabilitation gymnastics, yoga.

Back pain attacks can occur in people of different ages and in a variety of conditions, thus limiting a person’s movement. To avoid the appearance of chills, it is recommended to move more, take care of your health and do not forget about sports.