Due to work or hobby, do you spend a lot of time in a sitting position or do you exercise a lot in the gym? Everything was fine before, but now you have frequent back and waist pain? So maybe you should see a doctor for help? What causes back pain? Which doctor should I go to and how should I treat a wound? We will talk about this and more later in the article.
What causes pain?
So, "What to do if your back hurts and what can cause it? ", Let's take a closer look at this question. There can be more than several reasons. The fact is that the pain in the back and waist can signal a number of diseases, both of the spine itself and of the internal organs. This is due to the fact that many nerve endings that surround all the internal organs leave the spine. Therefore, according to the location of pain in a specific area of the ridge, we can talk about certain specific diseases.
Causes of occurrence
What do back pains say and which doctor should I contact? Both habits and illnesses can cause lower back pain. The first are:
- Permanent sedentary work. IT workers and drivers are at risk.
- Continuous upright work.
- Frequent heavy physical activity. Athletes, especially weightlifters, are at risk.
- Sedentary life.
- A separate risk group includes pregnant women and women who have recently given birth.
- Overweight.
As you can see, everything is simple with habits. In the latter case, lumbar pain can often be caused by disease. Here you can also point out diseases of the spine itself and diseases in which the pain in the lumbar region is only one symptom. The former include osteochondrosis, vertebral arthritis, intervertebral hernia and protrusion.
The second group contains the following possible causes of back pain:
- Ridge fracture due to injury.
- Fracture caused by osteoporosis.
- Tumor located in the canal of the spine.
- Prolonged muscle strain.
- The narrow structure of the spinal canal (quite rare).
- Various complications during pregnancy.
- Various arthritis such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis.
- Spinal deformities, for example, kyphosis, scoliosis, Scheuermann-Mau disease, kyphoscoliosis.
- Tuberculosis of the spine, osteomyelitis, discitis.
- Urolithiasis, pyelonephritis.
- Ovarian cancer, endometriosis, ovarian cyst.
When should you see a doctor?
Mild back pain, which passes quickly and is the result of prolonged exercise, is the norm. But if the lower back hurts for quite a long time or the pain is periodic, then it arises on its own, then disappears, then it is worth sounding the alarm. You should also go to the hospital immediately after a serious back injury. It should be understood that lower back pain may be accompanied by leg or lower leg pain. Also, part of the leg or buttocks may be numb. In this case, you have something serious and should be considered as soon as possible.
You yourself are unlikely to diagnose yourself, so you have to go to the hospital, but which doctor should you go to? Someone will tell a chiropractor and someone will say that a neurologist is more experienced. Both options are correct, however, it would be better to consult a neurologist, because he is the one who will be able to prescribe and conduct the entire course of diagnosing the disease. And in this case, the cause will be identified more accurately and there is every chance to address it successfully. Thus, taking the opinion of a neurologist, with lower back pain, based on the intensity and strength of the pain, you can roughly determine the cause of its appearance.
Sharp pains
Acute lower back pain in both men and women is the result of a recent injury (fall, muscle strain, shock, sudden movements). Also, the reason may be long-term work in an uncomfortable position or prolonged transport and lifting of heavy things. And finally, do not forget a cold back, due to hypothermia or prolonged exposure to immersion. Here you can easily treat lower back pain with folk remedies.
The Lumbago and the displacement of the intervertebral discs are distinguished from the common ones. The first disease exists in people whose field of activity involves constant hard physical work, which is why the lower back hurts in men. According to people, the disease is called "lombago". It usually stops on its own with rest or after a few days. However, it can easily last up to a month, so it requires at least home treatment for back pain.
Acute and severe pain in the lower back also occurs when the intervertebral discs are displaced. The disease can be caused by various injuries, hard physical work or an illness such as osteochondrosis. You will not be able to receive medical treatment at home. Hospitalization and complete diagnosis are required. It can even lead to surgery.
Severe pain
Severe pain differs from acute pain in that it is more prolonged in nature and is the result of some kind of disease related to the musculoskeletal system. These include sciatica and osteochondrosis of the lumbar spine. With them, the pain in the lower back is felt when sneezing, coughing, sitting, walking, in a word, the back hurts during any movement. Pain in the lower extremities may also occur and they may even become numb. Here it is no longer necessary to run, but to fly to the treating physician for examination.
Painful
As a rule, the back can ache from a strong intense tension of the muscles of the spine. You can relieve low back pain by simply resting for a few hours. But you should not fly in the clouds, you should be vigilant, because your back can ache from severe hypothermia. Thus, a more chronic disease of myositis may develop, in which the muscles of the scalp become inflamed. In this case, several days of rest are required, as well as knowing how to remove the pain.
Chronic
It is often caused by deformity spondylosis. The main symptoms of this disease are pain in the lower back that radiates to the buttocks or legs. Numbness of the lower extremities may also occur. Other diseases that cause similar symptoms include: cancer, metabolic disorder, ankylosing spondylitis.
Displaced
Such painful sensations are not the result of a disease of the back, but the result of a disease of an organ entering the dorsal area. This includes diseases of the pelvic organs of both the male and female halves, as well as diseases of the colon, kidneys, pancreas and various types of tumors.
How is the treatment performed?
So how do we get rid of low back pain? First, you need to go to the hospital and make an appointment with a specialist for examination. After the examination, the treating physician should send you for an examination to confirm or deny the suspected diagnosis. To find out what it may be, you may be sent for an x-ray of your spine. Today, a more advanced method is used, called myelography.
This method allows you to examine in detail the pathways leading to the spinal cord. Reveals all pathologies in the presence of reduced road accessibility. It is worth knowing that before the x-ray, you will inject into the spinal cord with a syringe with xenon substance, which will highlight everything in the image. This method is quite expensive, but very effective and almost always helps to find out why your back hurts. In addition, MRI, ultrasound, ECG and CT may be prescribed. In additional cases, other tests may be required, such as a complete blood draw, etc.
Medication
In most cases, medications are great for back pain. It aims at relieving pain, eliminating and further preventing inflammatory processes, improving blood circulation and rejuvenating damaged tissues. So, once we know why the lower back hurts, we can get an overview of how to deal with lower back pain.
Conventionally, the whole treatment can be divided into 3 stages, ie: the beginning of the treatment, the treatment itself and the end of the treatment. At each stage, the drugs can act as droppers, as well as in the form of blockages and injections. The treatment of lower back pain in the first stage should eliminate the pain itself, reduce swelling and inflammation, relieve spasms and relax the muscles. In the second stage, you must get rid of the cause of the disease completely. Here, the treatment is performed mainly locally. Ointments, mixtures for compresses are used. In addition, physiotherapy is recommended.
The third stage consists of injections, which increase the regeneration of damaged tissues and nourish them with all the necessary ingredients. Thus, the full functionality of the department is restored. At all stages, the choice of drug and treatment depends on the diagnosis and the choice of the treating physician. Self-medication is strongly discouraged.
Physiotherapy
Once the cause of the pain has been accurately determined, treatment can resort to the use of physiotherapy methods. Based on their reasons, the following methods of treatment can be distinguished:
- Ultrasound.
- Laser treatment.
- Exposure to electricity etc.
Physiotherapy focuses more on how to deal with back pain in the early stages. In the later stages of the disease, it can be suggested as an adjunctive method of treatment. The treatment you need is only prescribed by your doctor after an examination.
Surgery
In the vast majority of cases, back pain will not require surgery. However, if you have had pain for a long time and over time it worsens and you categorically refuse to consult a doctor, then this method of treatment is also possible. In this case, most likely, general anesthesia will be used, where a lytic mixture is used, in order to completely immobilize the patient. The surgery plan itself will be developed by the surgeon based on diagnostic data.
Folk methods
The question "How to relieve back pain? " Traditional medicine can also answer. Here, depending on how strong the symptoms of pain are, various homemade ointments, lotions, etc. can be used. The main goal of these treatments is to relieve pain and inflammation. In most cases, the treatment of the lower back with folk remedies is justified only as first aid. With prolonged self-medication, without knowing the main cause of the pain, the disease can get much worse. Then some folk remedies.
- A compress of grated horseradish and radish mixed with sour cream is placed on the injured area of the lower back. From above, all this is covered with a paper towel and the entire lower back is tied with a handkerchief. Such a compression perfectly eliminates the symptoms of pain and removes muscle spasms.
- When your back hurts, warm compresses from an infusion made with a mixture of medical injuries will help. This includes thyme, chamomile, balsam and black raspberry. The compress is applied at night. The affected area is wrapped in a warm cloth. It is recommended to do the treatment at night. An identical compress is made by injecting dried burdock leaves.
- Another treatment with folk remedies is based on the healing properties of chestnut. First you have to grind the chestnut powder. It is then mixed with camphor oil and melted lard. The ingredients are given in about the same amount. The resulting ointment is spread on a slice of brown bread and applied to the back wound as a compress. Such a drug can improve blood circulation, has nutritional and anti-inflammatory properties.
But remember, no matter how well the folk remedy works, it is still necessary to consult a doctor. After all, self-medication is always done at your own risk and peril. In addition, it can be shown that therapeutic procedures bring only short-term relief, after which the pain intensifies from time to time.
Prophylaxis
When the back hurts in the lumbar region, it is too late to prevent. But in order not to face such a problem as much as possible, you need to think about how to prevent it and what leads to it? It has already been described above that people who lead a sedentary or sedentary life, athletes, especially weightlifters and overweight people are at risk.
Therefore, the best prevention of the disease will be mandatory morning exercises, sports, therapeutic exercises, reduction of the load on the back, massage, diet control, etc. the doctor will help.
First aid
What to do if your lower back hurts too much and is too far to get to the hospital? How to quickly relieve back pain to wait for the doctor? To do this, you need to know some first aid methods. Of course, they will not have a therapeutic effect, but they will help treat the pain. So, we do everything gradually:
- Lie on your back, on a hard bed or on the floor. The blanket should be removed from the bed.
- At the same time, the legs rise and bend at the knees. For convenience, place a pillow or blanket under your raised legs.
- We take the usual dose of the analgesic or anti-inflammatory drug we have.
- We lie down and try not to make sudden movements.
- During the procedure, do not forget to call a doctor at home.
- In most cases, you will need rest and relaxation in bed for the next few days. After the doctor's visit, call work and inform your boss.
- Try to avoid spicy and smoky foods during and after treatment.