Recurrent back pain in the lumbar region can be associated with excessive stress on muscles, ligaments and tendons. But in most cases, the appearance of this clinical symptom signals that there are serious pathological changes in the tissues of the spine and other parts of the musculoskeletal system.
The article describes why back pain in the lumbar region, which doctor should be contacted for a full differential diagnosis, what to do at home.
In order to understand the underlying causes of this clinical syndrome development, it is important to have an idea of how parts of the body, commonly known as the back, function and function. Conditional back lobe is the lower back. Therefore, the back in our understanding is the posterior part of the chest, lower back and sacrum. The two shoulder bones adjacent to the chest, with the support of motor processes, participate in the formation of shoulder joints.
As you can see, there are three parts of the spine and each of them has its own anatomical features:
- the thoracic region provides anchoring of the lateral arches using the lateral-spine joints, whose vertebral bodies have complementary processes;
- lumbar region consists of five giant vertebral bodies, bearing the maximum wear and tear load during various movements of the human body;
- sacrum - the five vertebrae fused into a single bone, responsible for fixing the lower extremities through the formation of the sacral-pelvic joints.
The disc is located between the vertebral bodies. They are absent between the sacral vertebrae only. Inside the spine is the spinal cord, surrounded by a sclera. It is also divided into the thoracic, lumbar and sacral segments. Each of them is responsible for forming a certain part of the human body. To attach to the structures of the spinal cord, the nerves that connect the roots depart through the holes in the vertebrae. Branching outward, afferent nerves form plexus. The major nerves emanate from them, for example, the sciatica, femur, groin from the back plexus.
The mobility and flexibility of the human body is provided by the muscle frame. The vertebral muscles also provide diffuse nutrition to the cartilage tissue of the disc. The discs do not have their own circulating system. If the vertebral muscles are interrupted, full load will be placed on the foam plates that separate the spinal fibers from the vertebral body.
The stabilization of the position of vertebrates is provided by a complex mechanism. It includes:
- Vertebral joints
- - they provide certain mobility and stabilize the position of vertebral bodies relative to each other;
- longitudinal (long) and transverse (short) ligaments of the spine; Disc
- - ensures height uniformity of the spaces between vertebral bodies, compensates for impact absorbing loads and protects radial nerves from compression.
In addition, the most important structural parts of the back and lower back are the blood vessels and lymph. They nourish the tissue and remove toxins and cell debris.
Understanding the structure and physiology of this part of the musculoskeletal system of the human body, you can turn to the underlying cause of the pain. In the meantime, some practical advice is important. If you have back pain in the lower back, we recommend you seek immediate medical assistance. It is best to treat diseases of the musculoskeletal system (spine and joints) and the autonomic nervous system (spinal cord, lens nerves and their branches) in manual therapy clinics.
The causes of back pain in the lumbar region
There are many different reasons for back pain in the lumbar region, it can be both physiological and pathological changes in the tissues. First of all, you should always exclude the possibility of injury exposure:
- bruising soft tissues of the back after a blow or fall;
- stretches the ligaments and tendons of the spine (may occur when awkward movements, falls, unusually heavy lifting, etc. );
- cracks during spiny and fracture of vertebral bodies (young people with active lifestyles and the elderly with osteoporosis are at risk);
- damages the spinal cord and develops an intradural hematoma (this can cause compression and some simultaneous neurological manifestations).
In addition, due to trauma, displacement of the vertebral body, rupture of the disc, dislocation or dislocation between individual vertebrae can be observed. To eliminate the possibility of developing such negative consequences after an injury, it is necessary to see the trauma doctor as soon as possible. He will perform an X-ray examination and give an accurate diagnosis.
The second most common group of causes of back pain in the lumbar region are degenerative dystrophic changes in the cartilaginous tissues of the musculoskeletal system:
- osteonecrosis - a violation of the diffuse nutrition of the cartilage tissue of the disc leads to the fact that the annular fibers lose water, the nucleus begins to lose its ability to allocate;
- bulging disc - decreased height and increased area occupied, there is compression pressure on the soft tissues and nerve branches surrounding the spine; Disc herniation
- - rupture of the fibrous ring of the disc and the exit of an outer part of the pulp nucleus;
- destroys the cartilage layer inside the disc joint - degenerative spinal deformity;
- sacral-pelvic joint deformation;
- coxarthrosis - degenerative deformity of the hip joint.
Sometimes the reason for back pain in the lumbar region is damage to the tissues of the spinal cord, the afferent nerve, the plexus and the large nerves (sciatica, femur, groin). Does not exclude the possibility of developing tunneling syndromes, tangles inflammation, pulpitis, etc. v. Low back pain (pain in the lower back) can be diagnosed in most cases only by special examination.
It definitely includes X-ray images of the spine, sacral-pelvic joints. In order to detect degenerative diseases of the spine and joints, an MRI examination is required.
If you have back pain in the lower back, you should see a chiropractor or neurologist. If there is injury the day before, see the trauma doctor. Local treating doctors often do not have the professional qualifications to make accurate diagnosis and prescribe effective treatment.
Severe low back pain - what to do?
The first thing to do if your back hurts in the lumbar region is to stop physical activity on that area. Pain may be caused by damage to muscles, ligaments or tendons. Fibromyalgia usually occurs in young people with active lifestyles. This is a condition that involves impaired conduction of nerve impulses to cells of the muscle. As a result, some cells get impulses to contract or relax early, others - with a delay. A chaotic muscle contraction occurred. This causes a fairly strong pain syndrome.
Second, the pain can be caused by overactive back muscles with the aim of compensating for the convex background of the disc. In this case, stopping muscle fiber spasm is extremely dangerous. In some cases, after taking a muscle relaxant, a patient with a bulging disc had a rather large disc herniation mass.
Severe back pain in the lumbar region can be a clinical symptom of the development of sciatica or low back pain. Therefore, it is not worth independent diagnosis and treatment. You need to provide yourself with peace, try to relax tense muscles without the use of pharmacological drugs. See a neurologist or a chiropractor as soon as possible. During the initial examination, these specialists will be able to diagnose and provide the necessary support to eliminate severe pain syndrome.
Never take pain relievers before seeing a doctor. This will make it difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. It is also not recommended to use external pain relievers (ointments, patches, compresses). In the first 3 days after an exacerbation of osteonecrosis, it is contraindicated to warm up, including taking a bath and a sauna.
Lumbar back pain treatment
Treatment should be initiated if the back pain is in the lumbar region after differential diagnosis. The fact is that pain syndrome is not an independent disease. Pain cannot be effectively and safely treated without a therapeutic effect on the underlying condition. Pain always indicates changes in tissues. Therefore, it is important to detect these pathological changes and eliminate them as far as possible. Only way to get rid of this pain syndrome is considered effective and safe.
For example, back pain in the lumbar region is caused by a decrease in the height of the disc (the bulge) relative to the background of long-term osteoporosis. On manual examination, the vertebral specialist experienced in this situation will find that the muscle fibers are over-stretched, and the height of the disc cavity decreases.
For first aid in such a situation, you can use a manual spinal pull procedure. After 2-3 sessions, the patient relieves pain and regains natural mobility. But you cannot stop at this stage. If you do not have rehabilitation treatment, the pain may return after a few months.
Further back pain treatment in the lower back is recommended with the following exposure methods:
- Massage
- to increase the elasticity and permeability of all soft tissues of the back and lower back; Osteopathy
- - to accelerate the microcirculation of blood and lymph fluid, this provides comprehensive functionality to all tissues and begins to regenerate; The
- reflex therapy - acts on the biological activity points of the human body stimulates the recovery of damaged tissues by activating hidden reserves in the human body;
- physiotherapy - to improve metabolism at the cellular level, speed up the recovery process;
- therapeutic exercise and motor therapy to increase muscle tone and initiate diffuse nutrient disturbance of the cartilage tissue of the disc; Effects of laser
- to restore and activate the cell regeneration process.
Please note that the treatment process is always strictly individualized, taking into account all the characteristics of the patient's medical condition. It also includes recommendations from your doctor for lifestyle changes. For example, if you don't change your regimen of physical activity and continue a sedentary lifestyle, then no, even the most effective treatment will help restore your spine.
If you have back pain in the lumbar region, please consult a manual therapy clinic and go there for a consultation with a chiropractor or neurologist.