It is difficult to imagine a person over the age of 30 who has never experienced discomfort and pain in the lower back.The increase in life time spent in a sitting position, in addition to physical inactivity, "gives" to problems with the spine.It is good when the pain is isolated, short-term and passes quickly without leaving a trace.It is worse when the pain increases, becomes unbearable and does not go away for a long time.This signal should be taken seriously.Often this is a signal from the body that it is developing a serious disease that requires attention, effort and even financial costs.
In order to prevent the development of such events, it is necessary to know about the factors and causes of these diseases that can lead to the development of such pains.
We hope that our popular article will help you prevent the development of serious problems for your 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 you have probably exposed this part of the body to one or more of the following factors:
- Lack of physical activity for a long time;
- excessive physical activity after a long break;
- Long-term sedentary work;
- Errors in nutrition;
- 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 eliminated or significantly reduced, allowing you to prevent the development of chronic back pain.
Causes of back pain
The causes of back pain are usually divided into secondary and primary.
The main causes of back pain
In fact, they are a pathological process predetermined by changes in the musculoskeletal system.In practice, low back pain is more common than secondary causes of back pain.As a rule, the main 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 spine.Sometimes the process affects both intervertebral discs and adjacent vertebrae;
- Spondyloarthrosis.This pathology affects the joints responsible for the mobility of the spine in the lumbar region.
Secondary causes of back pain
- Deterioration of bone structures due to metabolic disorders of the lumbar spine (osteoporosis, etc.);
- Oncological processes in the vertebral or paravertebral space.Frequent 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 lesions of the vertebrae in the lumbar region, including fractures;
- Stomach and intestinal diseases;
- Diseases of organs and systems in the pelvis (renal colic, sexually transmitted infections, adnexitis, ureaplasmosis);
- Stroke disorders of spinal circulation.
Causes of chronic and acute back pain
Back pain in the lumbar region can be both acute and chronic.It is necessary to distinguish between these two factors, because the presence of one or the other will determine the treatment tactics of the main disease.In some cases, it can even stop the development of complications and chronicity of the disease (its transition into a chronic form).
Causes of chronic back pain
- Bechterev's disease (ankylosing spondylitis);
- Spondylosis deformans.Often its symptom is monotonous aching pain;
- Tumors and their metastases.In order to exclude oncological processes from the list of causes that cause chronic back pain, differential diagnosis is carried out with the exception of lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cancerous lesions of the body of various localization;
- 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 aching pain in the lumbar region;
- In addition, tuberculin tests can be prescribed to exclude the causative agent of tuberculosis (except for spinal tuberculosis).
Additional studies in the form of X-ray, myelography and biopsy may be performed to clarify the diagnosis.
Causes of acute back pain
- Tearing or stretching of the muscle mass along the lumbar spine;
- Spinal fractures;
- Displacement of intervertebral discs;
- Facet syndromes (injury of the nerve root in places that are not anatomically covered by the bone structure of the spine);
- epidural abscesses;
- Coxarthrosis (a rare pathology characterized by severe pain).Thus, coxarthrosis does not provoke back pain, but causes excruciating pain that spreads to the legs.
Back pain treatment
The appearance of back pain, regardless of its location and intensity, should be a reason to seek qualified medical attention.The high intensity of the pain syndrome should be a reason to call a doctor at home or seek emergency care.
The best solution would be to conduct a course of treatment in a hospital setting.
Back pain can have various causes, often not related to spinal cord injury, and therefore you may need the help of specialists to distinguish such causes:
- gynecologist;
- gastroenterologist;
- infectious disease specialist;
- pulmonologist;
- urologist;
- nephrologist;
- cardiologist and proctologist.
It should be remembered that seeking advice from a professional doctor as soon as possible will help prevent complications.You should not self-medicate and use folk remedies for back pain only on the recommendation of a surgeon, orthopedist or vertebrologist.