Everyone at least once in their life has encountered a problem when their back hurts in the lumbar region. This symptom often appears after prolonged sitting in an uncomfortable position. The pain is safe for health and goes away after a good rest.
Treatment can be prescribed only after complete diagnosis and determination of the cause and nature of the disease. No action can be done on your own without a doctor's examination.
Variety of reasons
The most common causes that lead to pain syndrome: osteochondrosis, scoliosis, herniated discs. Tumors and tissue infections are much less common.
Pain manifests itself in different ways depending on the disease. If the cause of the pain is renal colic or a stomach ulcer, then the sensations are constant regardless of the nature of the activity (a person is lying down or is engaged in vigorous activity).
If osteochondrosis of the thoracic region is present, then the pain radiates to the heart, then the patient mistakenly believes that he has angina pectoris.
If the lower back hurts while lying down
When pain appears and a person does not know what to do with it, he prefers to lie down, hoping that the discomfort will go away. But if the pain intensifies while lying down, then most likely there is a disease of the musculoskeletal system, which is called ankylosing spondylitis.
The disease affects young men, changes occur in the vertebrae and they grow together, while the flexibility of the spine decreases.
Due to the fact that the spine cannot assume its natural position, a person feels pain while lying down.
Ankylosing spondylitis is inherited, the impetus for development is given by chronic infectious diseases. The pain increases if you lead a sedentary lifestyle.
The first sign is a feeling of stiffness in the spine, and if lying down the back pain worsens. Early diagnosis can completely cure the disease.
Primary pain syndrome
Doctors distinguish between primary and secondary pain syndromes when it comes to back and lower back pain.
Primary low back pain syndrome involves musculoskeletal changes that are morphofunctional in nature.
These are the most common causes of pain:
- osteochondrosis (damage to bone and cartilage tissue, intervertebral disc);
- spondyloptrosis (damage to the intervertebral joints that affect the mobility of the spine).
Secondary pain syndrome
Secondary syndrome includes a wider variety of conditions that cause back pain in the lumbar region:
- scoliosis (curvature of the spine);
- reflected pain;
- osteoporosis and osteomalacia (bone tissue damage);
- ankylosing spondylitis (inflammation of a non-infectious nature);
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- an isolated tumor or formed metastases;
- tuberculosis, epidural abscess, brucellosis (infectious diseases);
- stroke condition that leads to impaired cerebrospinal circulation;
- gastrointestinal diseases (in particular, appendicitis or bowel disease);
- diseases in the pelvic area (renal colic, venereal diseases);
- spinal vertebrae fracture (the most dangerous and serious cause).
Acute pain
Low back pain is also classified as acute and chronic. Each of them points to separate reasons.
A harmless but painful manifestation of acute pain is muscle sprain. It occurs due to the formation of spasms in the long muscles.
Sportsmen and people of working specialties suffer most often. The pain is localized in the lower back, but it is clearly felt in other parts of the body, while a person's mobility is limited, lying down the pain subsides.
Spinal injuries also lead to acute pain. The most dangerous injury is a spinal fracture.
The fracture can be caused by a fall, or it can occur completely unnoticed, for example, if the person has Paget's disease, osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, or has a tumor.
Displacement of the intervertebral discs in the lumbar region also leads to pain. In this case, human mobility will be severely limited.
The pain itself is caused by compression of the nerve roots. Additional symptoms:
- violation of sensitivity;
- decrease or complete absence of Achilles and knee reflexes;
- radicular pain.
Displacement of the vertebrae can lead to the pathology of nearby, who were healthy until the last. Disorders of the lower vertebrae lead to diseases of the bladder and intestines.
Another reason for acute pain is facet syndrome. In this case, the intervertebral disc is not affected, only the compression of the root, which comes out of the spinal canal, occurs. The intervertebral foramen narrows due to the narrowing of the intervertebral foramen.
A serious illness such as an epidural abscess can also lead to pain. What to do in this case?
Disease should not be delayed, as it can lead to tragic consequences. It is necessary to immediately take all measures to eliminate the compression of the spinal cord, sometimes surgical intervention is required.
In the area from the lower back to the knees, pain caused by diseases of the hip joint can be given.
Chronic pain
If the back is ill in the lumbar region and the pain is constantly present, is aching or pulling in nature, then this indicates other diseases than in acute pain.
The first reason is spondylosis deformans. The vertebrae of the lumbar spine undergo dystrophic changes, the ligaments weaken, and bone growth begins.
As a result, bone outgrowths begin to put pressure on the nerve roots and aching pain occurs. Numbness and weakness in the legs may be added to the symptoms.
Chronic low back pain can be caused by cancer or metabolic disorders.
In this case, you need to do anticancer therapy, change the daily regimen and diet to eliminate the root cause, everything else will be ineffective.
Another reason is osteomyelitis, when an infection gets inside the bone and causes inflammation.
Diseases leading to lower back pain
Other conditions that cause lumbar pain
- facet arthropathy;
- spinal stenosis;
- disc herniation;
- myogenic pain;
- rupture of the annulus fibrosus.
In women, pain can be triggered by diseases of the pelvis, such as endometriosis, uterine and ovarian carcinoma. In men - prostatitis or prostate carcinoma.
Diseased kidneys, a tumor in the stomach, duodenum can also be given to the lumbar region. Pain occurs with ulcerative colitis, colon tumors, diverticulitis.
If the pain extends not only to the lumbar, but also to the thoracic region, then it is important to exclude the possibility of aortic dissection.
Harmless causes can be physiological changes, for example, the postpartum period or sudden weight gain, the effect of epidural anesthesia.
Treatment of such pain is not carried out, the patient can do nothing, the pain will go away on its own after a certain time.
Lumbar Spine Treatment
Before starting treatment, you need to make a correct diagnosis. First, the doctor conducts a clinical examination of the patient, then relies on the results of ultrasound and MRI examinations.
Based on the diagnosis, a treatment program is already being selected, combining various methods.
First of all, treatment is aimed at eliminating pain in order to return the patient to a comfortable life. After all, a complete cure of the disease (if possible) can last for years.
If a bruise is the cause of the disease, then a traumatologist will carry out the treatment. Depending on the cause of the pain, which the therapist / family doctor should identify, an orthopedist, nephrologist, urologist, proctologist, gynecologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, pulmonologist, infectious disease specialist can keep a further history of the disease.
Previously, back pain was treated exclusively with antibiotics. Now there are so many methods for treatment that only an experienced doctor will help you choose the right one.
To alleviate the patient's condition, it is recommended to change the mattress to an orthopedic one. The pain will be eliminated by anesthetic warming ointments and gels, which additionally contain anti-inflammatory components.
Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is also advisable. Muscle spasms will relieve muscle relaxants, edema of the nerve root will eliminate diuretics and vascular drugs.
When the patient is able to return to normal life, the treatment continues with physiotherapy, massage and therapeutic exercises.
Treatment is carried out using the following non-drug methods:
- vacuum therapy;
- acupuncture;
- laser therapy;
- manual therapy;
- dry traction;
- pharmacopuncture;
- electrical stimulation;
- magnetopuncture.
This treatment provides rapid pain relief and also removes the cause itself, thus ensuring long-term results.