Due to work or hobbies, do you spend a lot of time sitting or training a lot in the gym? It was okay before, but now you have frequent back and lower back pain? So maybe you should see a doctor for help? What causes back pain? Which doctor should I go to and how to deal with a sore? We will talk about this much more later in the article.
What causes the pain?
So, "What to do if your back hurts and what can cause it? "Let's take a closer look at this issue. There may be more than enough reasons. The fact is that back and lower back pain can signal a number of diseases, both of the spine itself and of the internal organs. This is due tothe fact that many nerve endings that surround all internal organs deviate from the spine. Therefore, according to the localization of pain in a particular area of the ridge, we can talk about some specific diseases.
Causes
What do low back pain say and which doctor should I see? Both habits and illnesses can cause lower back pain. The first are:
- Constant sedentary work. IT workers and drivers are at risk.
- Constant constant work.
- Frequent heavy physical activity. Athletes, especially weightlifters, are at risk.
- Sedentary way of life.
- A separate risk group includes pregnant women and women who have recently given birth.
- Overweight.
As you can see, with habits everything is simple. As for the second case, often the pain in the lumbar region can be caused by disease. Here you can also highlight diseases of the spine itself and diseases in which lumbar pain is only a symptom. The former include osteochondrosis, spondyloarthritis, intervertebral hernia, and bulge.
The second group contains the following possible causes of back pain:
- Ridge fracture due to trauma.
- Fracture caused by osteoporosis.
- Tumor localized in the spinal canal.
- Prolonged muscle tension.
- The narrow structure of the spinal canal (quite rare).
- Various complications during pregnancy.
- Various arthritis such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis.
- Spinal deformities, for example, kyphosis, scoliosis, Scheuermann-Mau disease, kyphoscoliosis.
- Spinal tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, discitis.
- Urolithiasis, pyelonephritis.
- Ovarian cancer, endometriosis, ovarian cyst.
When should you see a doctor?
Mild back pain, which passes quickly and is the result of prolonged exercise, is the norm. But if the lower back hurts for quite a long time or the pain is periodic, then it arises on its own, then disappears, then it is worth alerting. You should also go to the hospital immediately after a severe back injury. It should be understood that low back pain may be accompanied by pain in the foot or lower leg. Also, part of the legs or buttocks may become numb. In this case, you have something serious and you should be examined as soon as possible.
It is unlikely that you will diagnose yourself, so you should go to the hospital, but which doctor should you go to? Some will tell a chiropractor, and some will say that the neurologist is more experienced. Both options are correct, but it would be more correct to consult a neurologist, because he will be able to correctly prescribe and conduct the entire course of diagnosis of the disease. And in this case the cause will be identified more accurately and there is every chance to successfully deal with it. So, taking the point of view of a neurologist, with pain in the lower back, based on the intensity and strength of the pain, you can roughly determine the cause of its occurrence.
Acute pain
Acute lower back pain in men and women is the result of a recent injury (fall, muscle tension, shock, sudden movements). Also, the reason may be prolonged work in an awkward position or prolonged carrying and lifting heavy objects. Finally, do not forget about a cold back due to hypothermia or prolonged exposure to drafts. Here you can easily treat low back pain with folk remedies.
Lumbago and displacement of the intervertebral discs can be distinguished separately from the common ones. The first disease affects people whose field of activity includes constant hard physical labor, due to which the lower back hurts in men. According to people, the disease is called "lumbago". It usually stops on its own with a break or after a few days. However, it can easily take up to a month, so it requires at least home treatment for back pain.
Acute and severe pain in the girdle in the lower back is also manifested by displacement of the intervertebral discs. The disease can be caused by various injuries, hard physical work or a disease such as osteochondrosis. You will not be able to be treated at home. Hospitalization and full diagnosis are required. It can even lead to surgery.
Strong pain
Severe pain differs from acute pain in that it is of a longer nature and is the result of some type of disease related to the musculoskeletal system. These include sciatica and osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. In them, pain in the waist in the lower back is felt during sneezing, coughing, sitting, walking, in short, the back hurts with every movement. Also, pain can be given to the lower extremities and they may even tingle. Here it is no longer necessary to run, but to fly to the doctor for an examination.
Pain
As a rule, the back can ache from a sharp strong tension of the spinal muscles. You can relieve low back pain simply by resting for a few hours. But you should not fly in the clouds, you should be alert, because your back can hurt with severe hypothermia. In this way, a more chronic disease of myositis can develop, in which the psoas muscles become inflamed. In this case, you need a few days of rest, as well as know how to eliminate the pain.
Chronic
Often caused by deformity of spondylosis. The main symptoms of this disease are lumbar pain in the lower back, radiating to the buttocks or legs. Numbness of the lower extremities may also occur. Other diseases that cause similar symptoms include: cancer, impaired metabolism, ankylosing spondylitis.
Displaced
Such painful sensations are not the result of a disease of the back, but the result of a disease of an organ entering the dorsal area. This includes diseases of the pelvic organs of both the male and female halves, as well as diseases of the colon, kidneys, pancreas and various types of tumors.
How is the treatment carried out?
So, how to get rid of low back pain? You must first go to the hospital and make an appointment with a specialist for an examination. After the examination, your doctor should send you for an examination to confirm or deny the diagnosis you suspect. To find out what it could be, you may be sent to take an X-ray of your spine. Today, a more sophisticated method called myelography is used.
This method allows you to examine in detail the pathways leading to the spinal cord. Reveals all pathologies in the presence of reduced road traffic. It is worth knowing that before the X-ray examination you will be injected into the spinal cord with a syringe with a xenon substance, which will highlight everything in the photo. This method is quite expensive, but very effective and almost always helps you understand why your back hurts. In addition, MRI, ultrasound, ECG and CT may be prescribed. In additional cases, other tests may be needed, such as a complete blood count and others.
Medicines
In most cases, medications are great for back pain. It is aimed at relieving pain, eliminating and further preventing inflammatory processes, improving blood circulation and rejuvenating damaged tissues. Thus, once we learn why the lower back hurts, we can get a general picture of how to treat low back pain.
Usually the whole treatment can be divided into 3 stages, namely: the beginning of the treatment, the treatment itself and the end of the therapy. At each stage, the drugs can act as droppers, as well as in the form of blockages and injections. Treatment of low back pain in the first stage should eliminate the pain itself, reduce swelling and inflammation, relieve spasms and relax muscles. In the second stage you need to completely get rid of the cause of the disease. Here the treatment is performed mainly locally. Ointments, mixtures for compresses are used. Physiotherapy is also recommended.
The third stage consists of injections that increase the regeneration of damaged tissues and nourish them with all the necessary components. In this way, the full functionality of the segment is restored. At all stages, the choice of medication and therapy depends on your diagnosis and the choice of doctor. Self-medication is definitely not recommended.
Physiotherapy
When the cause of the pain is precisely identified, treatment with physiotherapy can be resorted to. Based on their causes, the following methods of treatment can be distinguished:
- Ultrasound.
- Laser therapy.
- Exposure to electric current, etc.
Physical therapy is more focused on how to treat back pain in the early stages. In the later stages of the disease it may be recommended as an adjunctive method of treatment. The therapy you need is prescribed only by your doctor after examination.
Surgical intervention
In most cases, back pain will not require surgery. However, if you have had pain for a long time and over time they only get worse, and you flatly refuse to consult a doctor, then this method of treatment is possible. In this case, general anesthesia will most likely be used, where a lytic mixture is used to completely immobilize the patient. The operative plan itself will be developed by the surgeon based on diagnostic data.
Folk methods
The question "How to relieve low back pain? " Traditional medicine can also answer. Here, depending on how severe the symptoms of pain are, various home-made ointments, lotions, etc. can be used. The main focus of such funds is to relieve pain and inflammation. In most cases, the treatment of the lower back with folk remedies is justified only as first aid. With prolonged self-medication, without knowing the root cause of the pain, the disease can worsen significantly. Then a few folk remedies.
- A compress of grated horseradish and radish, mixed with sour cream, is placed on the inflamed area of the lower back. The top is all covered with a paper napkin, and the entire lower back is tied with a scarf. Such a compress perfectly eliminates the symptoms of pain and eliminates muscle spasms.
- When your back hurts, hot compresses from an infusion prepared with a mixture of healing injuries will help. These include thyme, chamomile, St. John's wort and black elderberry. The compress is applied at night. The affected area is wrapped in a warm towel. It is recommended that the treatment be performed at night. An identical compress is prepared from a decoction of dried burdock leaves.
- Another folk remedy is based on the healing properties of horse chestnut. First you need to grind chestnut powder. It is then mixed with camphor oil and melted lard. The ingredients are given in approximately the same amount. The resulting ointment is spread on a slice of black bread and applied to the affected back as a compress. Such a drug can improve blood circulation, has nutritional and anti-inflammatory properties.
But remember, no matter how well the folk remedy is shown, it is still necessary to consult a doctor. After all, self-medication is always done at your own risk and risk. In addition, it may be that the treatment procedures bring only short-term relief, after which the pain will intensify at times.
Prevention
When your back hurts in the lumbar region, it is too late to deal with prevention. But in order not to face such a problem for as long as possible, you need to think about how to prevent it and what leads to it? It has already been described above that people who lead a sedentary or sedentary lifestyle, athletes, especially weightlifters and overweight people are at risk.
Accordingly, the best prevention of the disease will be mandatory morning exercises, sports, therapeutic exercises, reducing the load on the back, massage, nutrition control, etc. Also, to eliminate what can cause low back pain, periodic regularChecks with your doctor will help.
First aid
What to do if your lower back hurts a lot and it's too far to get to the hospital? How to quickly relieve back pain to wait for the doctor? To do this, you need to know some first aid methods. Of course, they will not have a healing effect, but they will help to cope with the pain. So, we do everything in stages:
- We lie on our backs, on a firm bed or on the floor. The blanket should be removed from the bed.
- At the same time, the legs are raised and bent at the knees. For greater comfort, place a pillow or rolled-up blanket under the raised legs.
- We take the usual dose of the painkiller or anti-inflammatory medicine we have.
- We lie down and try not to make sudden movements.
- During the procedure, be sure to call a doctor at home.
- In most cases, you will need rest and bed rest for the next few days. After visiting the doctor, call at work and inform your supervisor.
- Try to avoid spicy and smoked foods during and after treatment.