Low back pain is known to almost everyone. It is difficult to find someone who has never experienced this extremely uncomfortable symptom at least once. Sometimes sitting in an uncomfortable position for a while is enough to cause discomfort in the lumbar region of the spine. However, this is not a serious problem, but simply a consequence of a long time in an uncomfortable position.
However, severe back pain almost always has specific reasons and is a reason to see a doctor. The diagnosis is not always expected because osteochondrosis is just one of the possible back pain problems.
Why the lower back hurts and what to do in such a situation is not difficult to guess. The doctor will diagnose the cause of the pain and identify what to start treatment after.
Pain Syndrome - Primary and Secondary
When we understand why the lower back hurts, we must remember that the causes of such pain are dozens and a layperson will never be able to determine the real cause of the problems.
In general, the medical classification separates primary and secondary pain syndromes, which can affect the lumbar region.
The primary low back pain syndrome occurs as a result of morphofunctional changes in the musculoskeletal system. It is the cause of the vast majority of back pain in the lower back. The main reason is degenerative-dystrophic changes that occur in different parts of the spine:
- Osteochondrosis, which is a lesion of bone and cartilage tissue, this disease has a dystrophic nature. When the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae are affected, spondylosis begins to develop.
- Spondyloarthrosis is a form of osteoarthritis in which the disease affects the intervertebral joints, which are responsible for the mobility of the spine, or synovial joints.
Secondary pain syndrome has much more diverse causes of pain:
- Scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, as well as some other growth diseases;
- various inflammations of a non-infectious nature. For example rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter syndrome;
- a tumor on the vertebrae, in the spinal cord itself, or in the retroperitoneal space, regardless of whether it is primarily caused or metastasized;
- Rupture of one or more vertebrae. This is perhaps one of the most serious causes of back pain;
- various infectious diseases that cause damage to the vertebrae and intervertebral discs (tuberculosis, brucellosis, epidural abscess);
- Stroke conditions that involve a serious violation of the blood supply to the spinal cord. In this case, there may also be a feeling that the lower back is sore;
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, acute appendicitis with an atypical course, intestinal obstruction;
- Back pain is often of a reflected nature. A similar problem can arise with some diseases of organs in the pelvic area. For example, renal colic, sexually transmitted diseases (gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, chlamydia, ureaplasmosis, andexitis - all these diseases cause reflected back pain).
What is acute and chronic pain
Low back pain is also divided into acute and chronic, which can be caused by a wide variety of problems and diseases, both of the nerve endings and of the spine itself.
Often displaced pain is also observed - there is a transmission of pain from other organs that are much deeper. In other words, it seems to a person that the lower back is aching when the problem is actually in a completely different part of the body. Most often, however, pain from the pelvic organs, pancreas, kidneys, large intestine, or tumors located behind the peritoneum is projected into the lumbar area.
Usually people don't know what to do when their lower back hurts. But it's clear what you shouldn't be doing - it's self-medication. The causes of pain are many, only a specialist can diagnose it correctly, and constant use of pain medication (which many see as a treatment) can do even more damage.
The specialist in turn makes a diagnosis on the basis of data obtained as a result of additional examinations, for example the MRI diagnosis of the spine.
Causes of Acute Pain
Before deciding what to do when the lower back is in severe pain, any serious doctor will first determine the cause of the pain that has occurred. The reasons can be different, but most of them are somehow related to the spine.
One of the simplest and most harmless causes of pain is acute muscle strain. In this case, cramped long muscles are the source of pain. With this problem, pain rarely "radiates" to other parts of the body, but rather restricts a person's mobility. This reason is very common and is often seen by athletes and people whose work involves various physical activities.
Another common but much more serious source of pain is a spine fracture, especially if it is compression fractures of the vertebrae. This most often happens with unsuccessful falls and other back injuries. However, if a person has hyperparathyroidism, osteoporosis, Paget's disease or if there are tumors in the vertebral area, then a fracture can occur and go unnoticed by the patient, as it is called "out of the blue". Furthermore, a person will not even understand whenthis fracture occurred.
An equally uncomfortable situation in which acute pain occurs in the lower back is the displacement of the intervertebral discs in the lumbar spine. Symptoms of this problem are severe, stabbing pain in the lower back, which greatly restricts mobility. Most often, pain occurs due to compression of the nerve roots. Signs of such compression are:
- Sensitivity disorders;
- Disappearance or significant decrease in the Achilles reflex;
- Absence or decrease in the intensity of the knee reflex;
- unilateral radicular pain.
One of the unpleasant tendencies of this problem is that such a shift can cause pathology of the lower vertebrae. As a result, pain occurs below the lumbar spine and the functions of the rectum and bladder can be impaired. In some cases, the pain can also be localized above the lower back.
Acute back pain can also occur as a result of facet syndrome. In this case, the cause of pain is compression of the root at the exit of the spinal canal, while the intervertebral disc itself remains intact. This syndrome usually results from an enlargement of the upper and lower facets of the intervertebral joint, which leads to a narrowing of the intervertebral hole.
An epidural abscess is one of the most serious conditions that causes severe back pain. This disease requires urgent diagnosis and immediate treatment, and all highly effective measures are recommended, up to and including surgical intervention, the main thing is to quickly get rid of the compression of the spinal cord.
Diseases of the hip joint are also often the cause of acute lower back pain. They are characterized by pain that radiates into the lower part of the lower back down to the legs up to knee level.
Causes of Chronic Back Pain
One of the causes of chronic pain is spondylosis deformans. With this disease, there is a dystrophic change in the vertebrae of the lumbar spine, the ligamentous apparatus weakens, and bone growth occurs. This narrows the spinal canal and the bony outgrowths begin to press on the nerve roots. Aching pain can be associated with numbness and weakness in the legs, as well as other neurological symptoms. In any case, a full-fledged examination is required, the results of which will make the final diagnosis.
Bechterew's disease, also called ankylosing spondypoarthrosis, can cause chronic pain. It is manifested by pulling pain in the lower back, a curvature of the spine in the chest area occurs and develops quickly. The first symptoms are limited mobility and decreased chest movement when breathing.
Cancer and metabolic disorders often cause lower back pain. But benign tumors can also cause chronic pain that is not accompanied by neurological symptoms.
Osteomyelitis can also cause lower back pain that can last for a very long time.
graduation
As you can see, back pain can occur with many medical conditions. At the same time, a person often doesn't even expect that the problem isn't where it hurts. So even if your lower back hurts not all the time, but from time to time - don't drag, see a doctor. It is easier to deal with any disease at an early stage, rather than when it is in a neglected state and has many complications.