It is difficult to imagine a person over the age of 30 who has never experienced discomfort and pain in the lower back.In addition to physical inactivity, an increasing amount of time spent in a sitting position "gives" us spine problems.It is good if the pain is isolated, lasts for a short time and passes quickly without a trace.It is worse when the pain increases, is unbearable and does not go away for a long time.This sign should be taken seriously.Often this is a signal from the body that a serious illness is developing, which requires attention, effort and even financial expenses.
In order to avoid the development of such events, you need to know the factors and causes of diseases that can trigger the development of such pain.
We hope our popular article will help you avoid serious lower back events and help you maintain your ability to work for a long time.
Risk factors for low back pain
If you feel pain in the lumbar region, you have probably exposed this part of the body to one or more of the following factors:
- long-term lack of physical activity;
- excessive physical activity after a long break;
- Prolonged sedentary work;
- Nutritional errors;
- Long-term static, monotonous loads on the spine, vibration;
- Weight-lifting;
- Professional sports (wrestling, boxing, weightlifting);
- Smoking and alcohol.
Any of these factors can be removed or their effect can be significantly reduced, which gives an opportunity to avoid the development of chronic lower back pain.
Causes of lower back pain
The causes of lower back pain are usually divided into secondary and primary.
Primary causes of lower back pain
In fact, they are a pathological process that is predetermined by changes in the locomotor system.In the practice of low back pain, they are much more common than secondary causes of low back pain.Usually, the primary causes are one of several degenerative-dystrophic processes:
- osteochondrosis,it is caused by the development of dystrophic changes in the bone and cartilaginous structures of the lumbar spine.Sometimes the process affects both intervertebral discs and adjacent vertebrae;
- Spondyloarthrosis.This pathology affects the joints that are responsible for the mobility of the spinal column in the lumbar region.
Secondary causes of low back pain
- Deterioration of the condition of bone structures due to metabolic disorders of the lumbar spine (osteoporosis and so on);
- Oncological processes in the vertebral or paravertebral space.Often low back pain can cause distant metastases;
- The curvature of the spine;
- Infectious lesions of the body (tuberculosis, brucellosis);
- Non-infectious inflammatory processes (rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome);
- Traumatic lesions of the vertebrae in the lumbar region, including fractures;
- Diseases of the stomach and intestines;
- Diseases of the organs and systems of the pelvis (renal colic, sexually transmitted infections, adnexitis, ureaplasmosis);
- Stroke disorders of the spinal circulation.
Causes of chronic and acute lower back pain
Back pain in the lumbar region can be acute or chronic.These two factors must be distinguished, since the presence of one or the other determines the treatment tactics of the underlying disease.In some cases, this can even stop the development of complications and the chronicity of the disease (transition into a chronic form).
Causes of chronic low back pain
- Bechterew's disease (spondylitis ankylopoetica);
- Spondylosis deformans.Its symptom is often monotonous aching pain;
- Tumors and their metastases.In order to exclude oncological processes from the list of causes of chronic lower back pain, differential diagnosis should be performed by excluding lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cancerous lesions of different localization in the body;
- Oncological formations of the spinal cord (located directly in the spinal cord and in the space between the dura mater and the spinal cord);
- Osteomyelitis.Its frequent symptom is nagging pain in the lumbar region;
- In addition, a tuberculin test may be prescribed to rule out the causative agent of tuberculosis in the patient (rule out spinal tuberculosis).
In order to clarify the diagnosis, further tests can be performed in the form of radiography, myelography and biopsy.
Causes of acute lower back pain
- Tearing or stretching of the muscle mass along the lumbar spine;
- Vertebral fractures;
- Displacement of the intervertebral discs;
- Facet syndromes (damage to the nerve root in places where it is not anatomically covered by the bony structure of the spine);
- epidural abscesses;
- Coxarthrosis (a rare pathology characterized by severe pain).As such, coxarathrosis does not cause lower back pain, but it does cause excruciating pain that radiates into the legs.
Treatment of lower back pain
The appearance of lower back pain, regardless of its location or intensity, is a reason to seek qualified medical help.The high intensity of the pain syndrome should be a reason to call a doctor at home or ask for an ambulance.
The best option would be for a treatment to be performed in a hospital setting.
Low back pain can have many causes, it is often not related to damage to the spinal column, so distinguishing such causes may require the help of specialists such as:
- gynecologist;
- gastroenterologist;
- infectious disease specialist;
- pulmonologist;
- urologist;
- nephrologist;
- cardiologist and proctologist.
It is important to note that the advice of a qualified doctor as soon as possible helps to avoid the development of complications.Do not self-medicate and use folk remedies for pain in the lumbar spine only on the recommendation of a surgeon, orthopedist or vertebrologist.