Back pain, according to statistics, about 80% of people in different age groups face this unpleasant and frightening symptom at least once in their life. At the same time, it is important to be able to distinguish between situations in which painful sensations should bother and those in which you should not be concerned.
Of course, if the onset of pain was preceded by physical exertion or a minor blow, within 2-3 days it will subside, there is no need to worry. But if your back hurts, for a long time, and the pain is not similar to muscle pain, rush to a doctor.
Why is my back hurting
The causes of back pain are varied, ranging from minor external factors to the development of all kinds of pathological processes, of which there are also many.
At the same time, doctors still identify 3 common reasons which are the most common:
- Non-specific pain- combines a number of factors, including muscle pain caused by poor posture, prolonged stay in one (uncomfortable) position, overload due toexcessive physical strain on the spine and back. . . This point can also include painful sensations that occurred after hypothermia, in such cases, they say - "cooled".
- Radiant pains- are a little less common, but cannot be excluded. This includes diseases of internal organs located in other parts of the body. For example, the formation of tumors and pulmonary tuberculosis, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart and others. In each of these cases, the pain can radiate (give) to the back in different parts of it.
- Mechanical injuries and pathologies of the spine- pain in the spine also occurs due to a large number of factors, we are talking about pathological processes. These include all diseases of the spine, starting with injuries (bruises, fractures, etc. ) and ending with osteochondrosis, radiculitis, the formation of hernias and other pathologies of the spinal region affecting thespine.
These are the main causes of back pain, summarized. All of these problems threaten serious dysfunction of the spine and require a mandatory visit to a doctor.
In some cases, without proper treatment, there is a risk of developing serious problems that threaten serious complications. If the tissues of the spine or spinal cord are affected, there is a risk of paralysis of the limbs or even the whole body.
Symptoms
In order to see a doctor in a timely manner and describe your complaints correctly, you need to have an idea of the symptoms.
At the same time, the symptoms of back pain may differ slightly, and if we take into account that the pain itself is a symptom, it is worth highlighting its main manifestations, which differ in theirnature and their location:
- By nature, painful sensations are: sharp, dull, stabbed, cutting, painful, pulling, burning, etc.
- Painful sensations are strong, moderate and weak, these indicators are individual for each person. However, they must be taken into account, for example, when defining treatments for chronic back pain.
- Back pain all over the spine is quite rare. Most often, painful sensations are punctual or assigned to a separate section of the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar).
- However, it also happens that the pain in the upper part of the spine (or any other), radiates. In this case, the pain syndrome affects other parts of the back, it is often called wandering.
- Typically, sharp pain in the spine is the most uncomfortable and affects daily life the most, but it is often wavy and easier to deal with. At the same time, dull pains are less intense, but they are constantly present, set for longer and respond less well to treatment.
These are general guidelines for pain sensations in different areas of the back. But in addition to understanding the general symptoms of pain, it is also important to know that depending on the disease, the clinical picture may change. So, in one case the pain is felt between the vertebrae of the cervical spine, in another case it is localized in the lumbar region and has a different character.
For this reason, the symptoms of various pathological processes accompanied by back pain should be considered separately.
Osteochondrosis
If the back hurts the spine, the most likely diagnosis will be osteochondrosis, as this disease is more common than others. It is also important to understand that doctors distinguish between three types of osteochondrosis: cervical, thoracic and lumbar.
In each of these cases, the pain between the vertebrae is related to different parts of the spine. The disease itself involves the destruction of cartilage tissue in the intervertebral discs, while the pathological process also occurs in the vertebrae, because due to the reduction of the gap between them, they are erased.
The main symptom of the disease is pain, but clinical signs of the nervous system may also be present, as the spinal cord is most likely affected, its roots are violated.
Myositis
A rare disease characterized by an inflammatory process in the muscle tissues of the body, including the back. Most often, myositis is accompanied by aching pain, but sharp pain or a so-called back pain is also possible.
The pain syndrome is localized directly where the muscle tissue is inflamed, but the pain may radiate to nearby areas.
Spondylosis
If the spine hurts, spondylosis may be one of the likely causes. This pathology is characterized by the growth of bone tissue of the vertebrae, as well as their dystrophic changes. In this case, painful sensations appear during physical exertion due to a long stay in one position, for example, during sedentary work.
Sciatica
The term refers to a pinching of the sciatic nerve with its further inflammation. The pathological process is accompanied by cutting, throbbing and sharp pains. With sciatica, pains are not felt constantly, they arise suddenly, roll in waves.
Severe pain with sciatica directly where the infringement or inflammation occurred. However, due to the fact that the sciatic nerve has a very long length, painful sensations are present in different areas, most often the legs hurt.
Osteoporosis
The disease develops due to calcium deficiency in the body. As a result, bone tissue along the entire spine loses elasticity and stiffness, microtrauma and cracks are formed everywhere.
In this pathological process, the whole spine hurts, especially in the later stages of the disease.
Herniated disc
Sharp, severe pain in the spine may be a sign of a herniated disc. At the same time, the pain syndrome is constant, but it increases with physical exertion, bending, coughing, sudden or careless movements.
In most cases, a hernia forms in the lumbar spine, which is explained by the vulnerability of this area to excessive loads, weightlifting. Often a hernia occurs as a complication of osteochondrosis, which is due to the peculiarities of the course of this pathology.
In this case, a hernia is dangerous not only with pain, there is a risk of pinching the nerve branches of the spinal cord and the development of neurological symptoms.
Excessive mobility of the spine
This problem is also called spinal hypermobility or spinal instability. A clear sign of pathology are painful sensations, which intensify with intense physical exertion and weight lifting. Painful sensations in the back are inconstant in nature, they suddenly disappear or reappear.
The most severely affected is the cervical spine, if the disease progresses it becomes difficult for a person to hold their head.
Scoliosis
Oddly enough, the curvature of the spine is a direct cause of pain. One of the most common problems is scoliosis. The pain in scoliosis is more muscular in nature. This is due to increased stress on some muscles in the back, while others are relaxed.
In scoliosis, due to the curvature of the spine, the individual spinal discs are compressed and the cartilage tissue is deformed.
Painful sensations in scoliosis are constant, painful or pulling, their intensity is weak, in rare cases the pain is strong and sharp.
Spinal injury
Of course, any mechanical damage, even minor, is painful. In this case, the stronger the pain, the more severe the damage, and sometimes, even with a seemingly insignificant injury, sharp pain is felt, which may indicate serious internal injuries. In this case, blows, bruises, sprains, dislocations are taken into account, but fractures are the most serious type of injury.
It should be noted that long-healed old wounds are felt decades later. So back and neck pain may remind you of how you fell on ice when you were a child.
Bechterew's disease
This dangerous disease is also called ankylosing spondylitis. Pathology is characterized by a chronic inflammatory process in the joints, in other words, inflammation of the spine.
Ankylosing spondylitis is accompanied by severe pain, and the intensity of the pain syndrome is high at the onset of the pathological process and only intensifies in the future. In this case, the pain increases after rest and depending on the change of weather, but it is well controlled by drugs of the NSAID group and physiotherapy.
Oncological diseases
Cancer is the most dangerous pathology, a clear sign of which is pain. In this case, the pain syndrome appears in both benign and malignant neoplasms, if they are localized not far from the spine and put pressure on it.
Metastasis is an even more dangerous manifestation of oncology. In this case, the pains are constant and strong, they pursue a person always and everywhere, regardless of the position of the body or actions. The back also hurts even when lying down.
Kidney disease
The causes of low back pain are not always related to back problems. Due to the anatomical location of the kidneys, pathologies affecting them also respond to severe pain in the lumbar spine.
The pains can be dull and drawing or cutting, their intensity varies according to the disease and the degree of its progression.
Here it is important to understand that painful sensations can be on both sides or only on one side, which indicates which kidney is involved in the pathological process.
Cardiovascular pathology
The opinion that in diseases of the cardiovascular system pain occurs exclusively in the thoracic region is wrong. For example, with ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction, painful sensations surround, radiating to the back in the thoracic region. They are characterized as sharp, poignant, and occur abruptly.
Pathologies of the cardiovascular system include aortic aneurysms, in which sharp and sharp pain occurs near the spine in the thoracic region.
Pathology of the digestive tract
Diseases of the digestive tract also often cause back pain, however, in such cases there are always a number of distinctive clinical signs. In addition to pain, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or diarrhea, and general malaise are present.
Infections
Among the infectious diseases accompanied by back pain, the most serious and the most dangerous is tuberculosis of the bones. The disease is accompanied by serious pathological processes in the tissues of the bones, the whole spine hurts. The pains are of a different nature, sometimes drawing, sometimes stabbing, but always constant.
Respiratory diseases
The lungs occupy most of the thoracic region of the body, so lung conditions are often accompanied by back pain. Among these conditions are pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, pleurisy, etc.
With such pathologies, the pain intensifies when coughing, sneezing, deep breathing, yawning. In addition, the clinical picture is enriched by cough, shortness of breath and other similar symptoms.
Congenital pathologies
The birth defect factor is extremely rare, but persistent. In this case, the main suspicions are the congenital excess or insufficient number of vertebrae in the spine. This affects the muscles and ligaments, the structure of the body, threatens the protrusion of the spine or compression, which is invariably accompanied by pain.
Pregnancy and childbirth
Pregnancy is also one of the causes of back pain symptoms.
Pain in the spine and other similar problems appear more often in the third trimester, which depends entirely on the growth of the fetus and the increased load on the spine.
In such cases, the pain is usually dull, drawing, subsides or temporarily disappears after a short rest when the expectant mother goes to bed.
Inflammatory processes
Many different inflammatory processes lead to the development of pain syndrome, some of which have already been mentioned. Take spondylitis (ankylosing spondylitis). This pathology begins in the lumbosacral region, then inflammation and, with it, painful back pain, rises in the spine.
Pain radiating to the spine
As mentioned at the very beginning, there is a class of pain that is called radiating. This means that the back pain “breaks out” of the spine from other parts or organs in which the disease has started. Let's talk about these pains in more detail.
Pathologies of the heart and great vessels
The most probable diseases of the cardiovascular system, accompanied by pain in the back, have been mentioned previously. It is only important to understand that in addition to pain, these pathologies are accompanied by violations of blood pressure, arrhythmia and pallor of the skin, this is their distinguishing feature.
Diseases of the gallbladder
The clearest example of such a pathological process is cholecystitis, which leads to the irradiation of pain in the right scapula and the central part of the spine in the thoracic region.
The acute form of the disease is accompanied by strong cuts, while the chronic form is more difficult to diagnose because the pain is intermittent and of low intensity.
Pancreatic disorders
The most common disease of the pancreas is pancreatitis. The clinical sign of such a condition is pain in the abdomen, but they are also encircling, characterized by stabbing. However, in addition to pain, the patient suffers from nausea, vomiting, and painful sensations appear after eating fatty, sweet and fried foods.
Pathology of the kidneys and upper urinary tract
Diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract are also accompanied by pain and are usually severe. Severe pain occurs with urolithiasis, but it is not felt only in the lumbar region. There is severe discomfort in the lower abdomen and groin area.
Diagnostics
As shown by the huge list of possible problems and probable diseases, in order to eliminate pain in the back and in the spine, it is necessary to identify the main cause of its occurrence.
To do this, you should definitely consult a doctor and carry out a full-fledged differential diagnosis, which includes:
- The
- Radiographyis a simple but quite effective way to determine the condition of the spine, allowing to detect deformities and various pathologies.
- CT- computed tomography more accurately reveals the pathology of the intervertebral discs and vertebrae.
- MRI- Magnetic resonance imaging is an even more advanced and effective diagnostic method that will not only show probable problems in the structure of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs, but will also allowto identify or exclude the involvement of the spinal nerves in the pathological process of the brain.
If the above investigations did not yield any results, please contact specialists with a narrow profile in other fields. The problem may lie in diseases of the heart, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, pelvic organs, etc.
How to treat back pain
The treatment of acute back pain requires a comprehensive and systematic approach. Methods of struggle become clear after a comprehensive examination and accurate diagnosis. It is also important to understand that in case of problems of this nature it is imperative to contact a specialist, self-medication is in no way unacceptable.
The attending physician will determine the treatment regimen, which will likely include drug therapy, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, and a course of massage.
Physiotherapy
It is one of the main methods of treating pathologies involving the spine.
The treatment of back pain involves the following procedures:
- Electrophoresis.
- Exposure to ultrasound.
- Laser therapy;
- Magnetotherapy.
Treatment is carried out in 7-10 or more procedures, the intervals between procedures are 3-5 days.
Gymnastics
Physiotherapy and gymnastics are also included in the treatment of pain syndrome, however, these techniques are mainly used for recovery when there is no longer more severe pain. Gymnastics is necessary to restore elasticity and mobility of muscles, to keep them in good shape and to speed up recovery from back injuries.
It is important to conduct the first sessions with a physiotherapist, who will correct the methodology and distribute the load, teach you how to do it correctly. In the future, classes are conducted at home and, most importantly, the requirements are a systematic approach.
Drug treatment
Pharmacotherapy is at the heart of all treatment. Each drug is prescribed by a doctor on the basis of the diagnostic data obtained. The technique depends on the intensity of the pain syndrome, the stage of progression of the disease.
The following medications are needed for back pain:
- NSAIDs(nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) - are prescribed in the form of ointments, tablets, injections, sometimes in the form of suppositories. NSAIDs have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects and reduce local temperature.
- pain relieversare pain relievers that block the nerve centers responsible for recognizing pain.
- muscle relaxantsare given when muscle spasms need to be eliminated.
- Vitamin complexes,including B vitamins. Their effect contributes to the restoration of nerve fibers and the establishment of metabolic processes.
Duration of drug therapy, frequency of drug use and dosages are determined by the doctor.
Massage
Another effective method of relieving pain is the massage course. Appointed when the painful sensations disappear, it is carried out exclusively by a narrow specialist.
Massage therapy can stimulate blood circulation, relieve pain, restore elasticity of nose and muscles, etc. To achieve a tangible effect, a massage course is necessary, consisting of at least 10 sessions.
Prevention
To minimize the risk of developing pathologies in which pain in the spine is felt or to reduce the risk of recurrence of diseases, you should follow simple preventive recommendations:
- Eliminate bad habits.
- Eat well, eat less junk food, switch to a fractional food system.
- Lead an active lifestyle, play sports, preferably swimming or some form of gymnastics.
- It helps if the back is hung from the horizontal bar at least 3-4 times a week.
- Once you are seated, take breaks to warm up.
- Avoid strenuous physical activity and injury.
- If it is impossible to avoid lifting weights, do everything right, lift heavy objects with your back straight.
- Sleep on a medium hard bed, buy an orthopedic mattress.
Remember, if the pain persists for more than 4 to 5 days, or if the pain is so severe that it is difficult to tolerate it, see your doctor immediately. Timely started treatment allows you to save health and avoid many dangerous complications.