Back pain affects more than 25% of the world's population and more than 50% of people of working age. Unfortunately, evolution has not taken care to ensure that people over the age of 35-40 years old live comfortably. The biomechanical structure of the spine is such that the absence of back pain is not a guaranteed given, but a happy (and, unfortunately, temporary) coincidence. Especially now, when the body of the average office worker has to sit at the computer for 8-12 hours in a row. But we have been adapted by millions of years of evolution in the wild to a completely different, much more active way of life!
Can spine pain be treated on my own?
Unfortunately, not everyone is asking themselves this very correct question. The answer is this: self-medication based on information from the Internet is extremely dangerous. This is a huge risk that can lead to disability. If we are talking about such internal pain as pain in the back and spine, then all the more it is not necessary to "diagnose" yourself and "prescribe" treatment. Nerve endings in internal organs are located differently than on the surface of the skin. The pain inside is difficult to localize, and sometimes it seems that one hurts, but in fact the reason is in another. Let's say back pain can be caused by gastrointestinal cancer. And the pain that another person may describe on a forum or in an article as very similar to yours may be caused by completely different reasons and require a radically different treatment.
Yoram Anekstein, Tel Aviv Medical Center: "A very important advice: do not try to learn the names of spinal diseases, understand their etiology, diagnosis, etc. Spondyloarthritis, scapular periatrosis, cervicobrachialgia - all these terms are useless to you. There are dozens of such diseases in textbooks for medical universities, and even with various clarifications and modifiers. You should know and remember the name of your diagnosis when it is delivered by a qualified doctor. But not earlier. "
Alarming symptoms
Unpleasant sensations most often occur in the cervical and lumbar spine, but chest pain is much less common. It is exposed to less stress, therefore, osteochondrosis, protrusions and herniated intervertebral discs do not affect it very often. However, chest and thoracic back pain may well be caused by spinal problems.
Unpleasant sensations can occur occasionally, but often they are not dangerous. If it is muscle pain (although it may not be like pain in the muscles of the arms after hard work and feel more severe), then the cause is most likely due to overexertion due to a long stay in one position or too high a load. If the pain goes away after a change in posture or a short walk and does not return, then the problem is unlikely to be serious. Although it is necessary to deal with minor problems, for example, change habitual postures, increase your physical activity, and do physical education. And only a doctor can establish the severity of the problem. If there is even the slightest opportunity, then you should definitely go to the doctor: it is always much easier (and cheaper) to cure the disease in the early stages than an advanced case.
What is really dangerous? Here is a list of "alarms", after the occurrence of even one of which it is necessary to start diagnostics and treatment as soon as possible:
- the pain does not stop, the change in body position does not help; pain is not relieved by rest; pain worse at night;
- numbness (decreased sensitivity) or decreased strength of the limbs occurs;
- there are problems with urination and defecation (for example, the feeling of emptying the bladder is lost; incontinence of urine and feces, or vice versa, delay; not to be confused with constipation);
- the temperature rises, while there are no other reasons that can explain this, for example, SARS;
- pain wakes up, interrupts sleep;
- complications after postponed malignant tumors (the statute of limitations does not matter);
- unexplained weight loss;
- complications after taking steroids for many years;
- complications after recent serious illnesses;
- complications after recent infectious diseases;
- loss of the anal reflex;
- weakness in the hips and knees;
- neurological deficit;
- progressive deformity of the spine;
- back pain that gets worse at rest;
- chest pain (ACS - ECG);
- general malaise.
Note that you don't have to wait for everything to start together. If any of these symptoms occur, see your doctor immediately.
Yoram Anekstein, Tel Aviv Medical Center: "The question often arises: I made an appointment with a doctor, but my back has already stopped hurting. Should I go or not? Definitely go. "
Articles on the Internet very often try to describe which types of pain are characteristic of osteochondrosis, and which are for sciatica, etc. This is the wrong approach, the reasons for which we have already explained above. It does not matter what type of pain: left, right, in the tailbone, everywhere, shooting, lasting a couple of seconds or hours and days. All these are symptoms that scream that qualified medical attention is needed.
Causes of back pain
The most common cause is non-specific pain associated with muscle strain, overstretching of tendons, ligaments and fascia.
Much less often, pain is associated with a herniated disc affecting the nerve root (~ 3% of cases).
Osteoporosis (including pat. Fractures), infections (spondylodiscitis), tumors, tuberculosis, trauma, and other rheumatological diseases cause pain much less often (about 1%).
Diseases of the internal organs can also cause back pain (pancreatic cancer, peptic ulcer disease, for example, or acute coronary syndrome).
Degenerative changes, called osteochondrosis, and consisting of a complex of components (a decrease in the elasticity and strength of the disc substance, a decrease in the height of the disc, protrusion, hernia, changes in the vertebral bodies (Modic I-III), ligaments (spondylosis), facet joints (spondyloarthrosis) of a direct relationshipto pain and other clinical manifestations do not have.
It should be understood that only the group of spondylitis and spondyloarthritis includes more than 10 diseases with various causes, characteristics of the course, symptoms, etc. The number of back and spine diseases in particular is very high. But from the descriptions above, you yourself can understand that they are united by seriousness. Back pain cannot be ignored. Many of these diseases proceed slowly, with long stages of remission. But at the same time, in each acute stage, the risk of complications (up to complete loss of mobility) increases.