It is difficult to imagine a person older than 30 years who has never experienced discomfort and pain in the lower back.The increasing lifetime spent in a sitting position, in addition to physical inactivity, "gives" us problems with the spine.It is good when the pain is isolated, short-lived and passes quickly without leaving a trace.It is even worse when the pain grows, unbearable and does not pass for a long time.This signal should be taken seriously.Often this is a signal from the body that a serious illness is developing that will require attention, effort and even financial costs.
In order to avoid the development of such events, you need to know about the factors and causes of those diseases that can cause the development of such pain.
We hope that our popular article will help you avoid the development of serious events for your lower 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 lumbar region, 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;
- Prolonged sitting work;
- Nutritional errors;
- Long-term static, monotonous loads on the spine, vibrations;
- Weight lifting;
- Professional sports (wrestling, boxing, weightlifting);
- Smoking and alcohol.
Any of these factors can be eliminated or its impact can be significantly reduced, giving you the opportunity to avoid developing chronic low back pain.
Causes of lower back pain
The causes of lower back pain are usually divided into secondary and primary.
Primary causes of lower back pain
In fact, they are a pathological process that is predetermined by changes in the musculoskeletal system.In the practice of low back pain, they are much more common than secondary causes of low back pain.As a rule, primary causes mean one of several degenerative-dystrophic processes:
- osteochondrosis,caused by the development of dystrophic changes in the bone and cartilage structures of the lumbar spine.Sometimes the process also affects the intervertebral discs and adjacent vertebrae;
- Spondyloarthrosis.This pathology affects the joints that are responsible for the mobility of the spinal column in the lumbar region.
Secondary causes of lower back pain
- Deterioration of bone structures due to metabolic disorders of the lumbar spine (osteoporosis, etc.);
- Oncological processes in the vertebral or paravertebral space.Often low back pain can cause 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);
- Circulation disorders in the spine from stroke.
Causes of chronic and acute pain in the lower back
Back pain in the lumbar region can be both acute and chronic.These two factors should be distinguished, because the presence of one or the other of them will determine the tactics of treating the underlying disease.In some cases, it can even stop the development of complications and the chronicity of the disease (its transition into a chronic form).
Causes of chronic lower back pain
- Bechterew's disease (ankylosing spondylitis);
- Spondylosis deformans.Often its symptom is a monotonous aching pain;
- Tumors and their metastases.Carrying out differential diagnostics to exclude oncological processes from the list of causes that caused chronic low back pain is carried out with the exclusion of lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cancerous lesions of the body of various localizations;
- 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 excruciating pain in the lumbar region;
- In addition, tuberculin tests can be prescribed to exclude the causative agent of tuberculosis in the patient (exclusion of spinal tuberculosis).
To clarify the diagnosis, additional studies can be carried out in the form of radiography, myelography and biopsy.
Causes of acute pain in the lower back
- Tearing or stretching of the muscle mass along the lumbar spine;
- Spinal fractures;
- Displacement of intervertebral discs;
- Facet syndromes (nerve root damage in places where it is not anatomically covered by the bony structure of the spine);
- Epidural abscesses;
- Coxarthrosis (rare pathology characterized by severe pain).As such, coxarthrosis does not cause lumbar pain, but it does cause excruciating pain that radiates into the legs.
Treatment of lower back pain
The appearance of pain in the lower back, regardless of its localization or intensity, should be a reason to seek qualified medical help.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.
Lower back pain can have many different causes, which are often not related to spinal damage, so you may need the help of specialists to distinguish between such causes, such as:
- gynecologist;
- gastroenterologist;
- specialist in infectious diseases;
- pulmonologist;
- urologist;
- nephrologist;
- cardiologist and proctologist.
It is important to remember that getting advice from a professional doctor as soon as possible will help you avoid developing complications.You should not self-medicate, and use folk remedies for pain in the lumbar spine only on the recommendation of a surgeon, orthopedist or vertebrologist.