It is difficult to imagine a person over the age of 30 who has never experienced discomfort and pain in the lower back.The increasing time of living in a sitting position, in addition to physical inactivity, "creates" us problems with the spine.It is good when the pain is isolated, short-lived and passes quickly without leaving a trace.It is worse when the pain grows, is unbearable and does not go away for a long time.This sign should be taken seriously.Often this is a message from the body that it is developing a serious illness that will require attention, effort and even financial expenses.
To avoid the development of such events, you need to know 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 developing serious events for your waist 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, 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.
- Prolonged sedentary work.
- Diet mistakes?
- 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 removed or significantly reduced, which will give you the opportunity to avoid developing chronic back pain.
Causes of lower back pain
The causes of lower back pain are usually divided into secondary and primary.
Primary causes of low back pain
In fact, it is a pathological process that is predetermined by musculoskeletal changes.In low back pain practice, they are far more common than secondary causes of low back pain.As a rule, the main causes are understood as one of several degenerative-dystrophic processes:
- osteochondrosis,caused by the development of dystrophic changes in the bones and cartilaginous structures of the lumbar spine.Sometimes the process affects both the intervertebral discs and the adjacent vertebrae.
- Spondyloarthritis.This pathology affects the joints that are responsible for the mobility of the spine in the lumbar region.
Secondary causes of low back pain
- Deterioration of the condition of bone structures due to metabolic disorders of the lumbar spine (osteoporosis and so on).
- Oncological processes in the vertebral or paravertebral space.Often, low back pain can cause distant metastases.
- Spinal curvature?
- Infectious lesions of the body (tuberculosis, brucellosis).
- Inflammatory processes of a non-infectious nature (rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome).
- Traumatic injuries of the vertebrae in the lumbar region, including fractures.
- Diseases of the stomach and intestines.
- Diseases of organs and systems in the pelvis (renal colic, sexually transmitted infections, adexitis, ureaplasmosis).
- Stroke disorders of the vertebral circulation.
Causes of chronic and acute low back pain
Back pain in the lumbar region can be both acute and chronic.These two factors should be distinguished, since the presence of one or the other of them will determine the treatment strategy for the underlying disease.In some cases, this can even stop the development of complications and the chronicity of the disease (its transition into a chronic form).
Causes of chronic low back pain
- Bechterew's disease (ankylosing spondylitis).
- Spondylosis deformans.Often the symptom is a monotonous pain.
- Tumors and their metastases.Conducting a differential diagnosis to exclude oncological processes from the list of causes that caused chronic back pain is carried out with the exception 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 the symptom is annoying pain in the lumbar region.
- In addition, tuberculin tests may be prescribed to rule out the causative agent of tuberculosis in the patient (rule out spinal tuberculosis).
In order to clarify the diagnosis, additional studies can be carried out in the form of X-ray, myelography and biopsy.
Causes of acute low back pain
- Tearing or stretching of the muscle mass along the lumbar spine.
- Spinal fractures?
- Displacement of intervertebral discs?
- Facet syndromes (damage to the nerve root in places where it is not anatomically covered by the bony structure of the spine).
- Epidural abscesses?
- Coxarthrosis (a rare pathology characterized by severe pain).Therefore, coxaarthrosis does not cause low back pain, but causes excruciating pain that radiates down the legs.
Treatment of lower back pain
The appearance of pain in the lower back, regardless of its location or intensity, should be a reason to seek specialized medical help.The high intensity of the pain syndrome should be a reason to call a doctor at home or seek an ambulance.
The best solution would be to conduct a course of treatment in a hospital setting.
Low back pain can have a variety of causes, which are often not related to damage to the spine, and therefore, to differentiate such causes, you may need the help of specialists such as:
- gynecologist?
- Gastroenterologist;
- infectious disease specialist;
- 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 spondologist.