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 cord is subjected to increased stress.If pain occurs intermittently, no treatment is necessary.But if the pain is regular, you should contact a doctor.Treatment is selected depending on the cause of the identified pathology - drug therapy, physical therapy and sometimes surgery.
Reasons
To determine the causes of back pain, you need to identify when and under what conditions they occur:
- Morning sickness.Usually happens after waking up.A person cannot change position, raise an arm, or turn their neck without severe pain.Most of the time, this has nothing to do with the spine, but is caused by myositis - muscle inflammation 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 - drugs that restore tissue.
- Pain on exertion.They appear during a walk, with a long walk or, conversely, inactivity.Usually the pain is dull, but quite strong, it disappears only after the load is removed, but sometimes it becomes constant.In this case, you need to contact a doctor.The specialist will be able to determine the exact cause of the discomfort - ankylosing spondylitis, spinal stenosis or bone disease.
- Pulling pains appear in the neck towards the end of the working day.They are accompanied by a crunching sound and after a while they become louder - these are symptoms of cervical spine osteoporosis.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.
Intervertebral disc disease develops with age.This means they lose their shock absorption, leading to back pain.In such cases, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chondroprotectors are prescribed.Your doctor may recommend specific therapeutic exercises that help strengthen your back muscles.An intervertebral disc herniation should not be confused with a herniated disc;the latter is characterized by vertebral projections.In severe cases, surgery is prescribed.
Chemotherapy 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 the pain with anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroids and genital dysfunction occurs, the hernia is done.The probability of pain remaining even after surgery is no more than 1.5%.
Back pain can be caused by an injury.This occurs due to sprains in the ligaments that support the spine, injuries that can occur during sports and heavy lifting.Injuries to the vertebrae themselves lead to the development of osteoporosis, a disease that causes the thinning of bone tissue.The pathology itself does not cause pain, but leads to vertebral fractures.
Depends 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 can indicate other pathologies that cause similar symptoms.The back in the middle hurts not only because of osteoporosis, but also because of diseases of the stomach or pancreas.
Back pain, localized to the right or left, is not necessarily related to diseases of the spine.Sometimes this is a symptom of kidney disease - an infectious disease or the appearance of stones in them.An ultrasound scan will help establish an accurate diagnosis.Further treatment depends on the cause of the pathology - the infection is fought with antibiotics and the kidney stones are surgically removed.
Sometimes back pain can be caused by gynecological conditions, such as endometriosis - the growth of endometrium outside the uterine cavity.But there are cases when it even affects the abdominal cavity, leading to compression of nerve endings.In such cases, the stomach starts to hurt.If pain occurs in the lower back, you should contact a gynecologist.Most of the time, endometriosis needs to be treated with conservative methods, but sometimes surgery is necessary.
Back pain occurs during pregnancy.Their appearance can cause increased stress on the spine and hormonal changes, which 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 beneficial effect.The best option is water aerobics and yoga for expectant mothers.It is important to remove additional stress from the back.
Pain can also be caused by joint problems.The most common of these are various types of arthritis.Often the disease is contagious in nature and therefore 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 can go away on its own.Anti-inflammatory medications can be used to speed recovery.Warming compresses and wool belts should not be used.It is better to replace them with a special elastic corset.
Special bandages are made for mothers-to-be that help reduce stress on the back.But if the pain does not go away within three days, despite all the measures taken, you need to contact a doctor.
Under no circumstances should you self-medicate, especially massage and warming such as a bath or sauna - this only increases inflammation and discomfort.
Treatment is comprehensive: they take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain, while reducing the load on the spine.This applies primarily to overweight people;they need to follow an energy-reduced diet.
In addition, doctors often prescribe various physiotherapy methods - magnetic therapy, massage.If the pain is caused by the destruction of synovial 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 can't sit for long without moving.In this position, there is a lot of stress on the spine.
- Vertical stress on the spinal cord should be avoided.
- The back muscles need to be strengthened so that they provide additional support to the spine.
- If you have severe, chronic pain, you should contact a specialist.