It is hard to imagine a person over 30 who has never experienced discomfort and pain in the lower back.The increasing time of life spent in a sitting position, in addition to physical inactivity, "creates" problems related to the spine.It is good when the pain is isolated, short and quickly passes without a trace.It is worse when the pain increases, is unbearable and does not go away for a long time.This signal should be taken seriously.Often this is the body's signal that it is developing a serious disease that requires attention, effort and even financial costs.
To prevent the development of such events, you need to know about the factors and causes of diseases that can cause the development of such pain.
We hope that our popular article will help you avoid serious events for the lower back and help you maintain your ability to work for a long time.
Risk factors for low back pain
If you feel pain in the lower back, then this part of the body is most likely affected by one or more of the following factors:
- lack of physical activity for a long time;
- excessive physical exertion after a long break;
- long sitting work;
- errors in nutrition;
- long 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 impact significantly reduced, giving you the opportunity to avoid the development of chronic low back pain.
Causes of back pain
The causes of lower back pain are usually divided into secondary and primary.
The main causes of back pain
In fact, they are a pathological process that is predetermined by muscular changes.In low back pain practice, they are much more common than secondary causes of low back pain.As a rule, the primary causes are understood as one of several degenerative-dystrophic processes:
- osteochondrosis,It is caused by the development of dystrophic changes in the bone and cartilage 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 others);
- Oncological processes in the spine or paravertebral space.Often low back pain can lead to distant metastases;
- curvature of the spine;
- infectious lesions of the body (tuberculosis, brucellosis);
- inflammatory processes of a non-infectious nature (rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome);
- traumatic injuries of the spine in the lumbar region, including fractures;
- Stomach and intestinal diseases;
- diseases of pelvic organs and systems (renal colic, sexually transmitted infections, adnexitis, ureaplasmosis);
- Stroke disorders in spinal circulation.
Causes of chronic and acute low back pain
Back pain in the lumbar region can be both acute and chronic.These two factors should be distinguished, since the presence of one or the other determines the tactics of treatment of the main disease.In some cases, this can stop the development of complications of the disease and its chronic form (its transition to a chronic form).
Causes of chronic back pain
- Bekhterev's disease (ankylosing spondylitis);
- Deformative spondylosis.Often its symptom is monotonous aching pain;
- Tumors and their metastases.In order to exclude oncological processes from the list of causes of chronic back pain, differential diagnosis is carried out by excluding lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cancerous lesions of various localizations;
- oncological formations of the spinal cord (located both directly in the spinal cord and in the space between the dura mater and the spinal cord);
- Osteomyelitis.Often its symptom is a painful pain in the lower back;
- In addition, tuberculin tests may be prescribed to exclude the causative agent of tuberculosis in the patient (exclusion of spinal tuberculosis).
To clarify the diagnosis, additional studies in the form of radiography, myelography and biopsy can be performed.
Causes of acute lower back pain
- tearing or stretching of the muscle mass along the lumbar spine;
- spinal fractures;
- displacement of intervertebral discs;
- Facet syndromes (nerve root damage 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, coxarthrosis does not cause low back pain, but causes excruciating pain that radiates down the legs.
Treatment of back pain
The appearance of lower back pain, regardless of its localization and intensity, should be a reason to seek qualified medical help.The high intensity of the pain syndrome should be the reason to call the doctor at home or call an ambulance.
The best solution would be to conduct a course of treatment in a hospital.
Low back pain can have various causes, often not related to spinal column damage, and therefore, to differentiate such causes, you may need the help of specialists such as:
- Gynecologist;
- gastroenterologist;
- infectious disease
- pulmonologist;
- urologist;
- nephrologist;
- Cardiologist and proctologist.
It is important to remember that the advice of a professional doctor as soon as possible will help to avoid complications.You should not self-medicate and use folk remedies for pain in the lower back only on the recommendation of a surgeon, orthopedist or vertebrologist.