What to do if the lower back hurts is a pressing issue for many modern people. Most of them have serious problems with the health of the spine. Currently, osteochondrosis is no longer a disease characteristic of old age. Today, degenerative dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissues of the intervertebral discs develop at a fairly young age. They are found even in 20-25-year-old patients. Lumbosacral osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. But not only him.
It is imperative to consult an experienced doctor. Choose the right specialist. The first thing to remember in this case: a local therapist does not treat back pain. According to medical and economic standards, it relieves the symptom only on the allotted days. His task is to return the patient to work as soon as possible. He does not mind that the disease will continue intensively. Therefore, many patients miss the time when they could have restored the health of the spine without surgery.
We recommend applying for full treatment at the manual therapy clinic. They use completely different methods and approaches. They do not use symptomatic treatment methods. Doctors working in chiropractic clinics aim to restore the patient's full health and not to mask existing symptoms.
To understand what to do if the lower back hurts a lot, you need to know how this part of the body works and can cause an unpleasant symptom. We offer you to familiarize yourself with some aspects of the anatomy and physiology of the lumbar region.
At the center of this part of the body is the lumbosacral spine. In adults, the sacrum is a single triangular bone consisting of five fused vertebral bodies. The conventional center of gravity of the human body is located between the first sacral and fifth lumbar vertebrae. This constitutes the main mechanical and damping load from the lower extremities.
This is due to the location of the iliac-sacral joints on the lateral surfaces of the sacrum. With their help, the pelvic ring is connected to the spine. On the lower side of the pelvic girdle are the hip joints. Thus, the entire load from the lower extremities is transferred to the L5-S1 intervertebral disc through the hip and iliac-sacral joints.
In modern man, due to these anatomical features, due to a sedentary lifestyle, the L5-S1 intervertebral disc and the iliac-sacral joints are destroyed at a fairly early age. And this is a serious reason for the appearance of sharp pains in the lower back.
The lumbar spine consists of individual vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs. They are quite massive. Within the lumbar and sacral parts of the spinal column are segments of the spinal cord of the same name. Paired radicular nerves separate from them, forming the lumbosacral nerve plexus and large nerves. At the base of the sacrum, the terminal cords of the spinal cord emerge, which form another large nerve plexus - the "horsetail".
The long anterior and posterior ligaments run along the spine. They begin in the coccyx region and end in the occipital bone region. There are also short transverse and interspinous ligaments. They are located between adjacent vertebral bodies. The paravertebral muscles located along the spine provide diffuse nutrition for the cartilage tissues of the intervertebral discs. If they do not work properly, then osteochondrosis and its complications develop.
It is difficult to independently determine which tissues are destroyed. You need the help of an experienced doctor. An experienced doctor will conduct an examination and make a preliminary diagnosis. Develop an individualized treatment plan.
Causes of lower back pain
If your back hurts, the first thing to do is to find the causes of this pathological condition. It is necessary to exclude the possibility of kidney pathology. Very often, urolithiasis, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis and polycystic kidney disease are manifested by a characteristic pain syndrome in the upper part of the lower back. Other urological symptoms may also be present. These are cramps during urination, changes in the color and transparency of urine, increased body temperature, general disorder, intoxication and edematous nephrotic syndrome, increased blood pressure, etc.
If you have these symptoms, we recommend that you consult a nephrologist or therapist as soon as possible. You will receive professional medical care.
If you fell, hurt yourself, had an accident on the eve of the onset of pain syndrome, you should contact a traumatologist for an appointment. The cause of pain may be a crack or fracture of the vertebral body or its process, the lower arch of the rib. Also, it is possible to damage the tissues of the kidneys with a traumatic effect.
The following diseases and conditions can be potential causes of back pain:
- traumatic violation of the integrity of the ligamentous, tendon and muscle apparatus (stretching, microscopic breaks, defibration, cicatricial deformations, etc. );
- the degenerative dystrophic process in the cartilage tissues of the intervertebral discs leads to the development of osteochondrosis and dorsopathy;
- protrusion of intervertebral discs (reduction in height and increase in occupied area);
- extrusion (tearing) of the fibrous ring and protrusion of the intervertebral hernia;
- unstable position of vertebral bodies and periodic displacement relative to each other due to the type of lateralisthesis, antelisthesis and retrolisthesis;
- destruction and inflammation of well-targeted intervertebral joints;
- curvature of the spine and deformation of the pelvis;
- deforming osteoarthritis of the iliac-sacral joints;
- spinal canal stenosis;
- compression of radicular nerves and their branches (sciatica, sciatica, radiculopathy);
- cauda equina syndrome, piriformis muscle;
- plexitis of the lumbosacral nerve plexus and many others.
It is very difficult to independently determine the true cause of lower back pain. For this, it is necessary to have extensive practical experience and special knowledge. Therefore, you should not engage in self-diagnosis and treatment. It is better to consult an experienced doctor on time and undergo complete treatment.
Very painful back - what to do at home
If your back hurts a lot, the first thing to do is to ensure complete physical rest. You need to lie on your back on a hard, flat surface and try to relax your back muscles. If the pain syndrome does not begin to decrease within 30-40 minutes, it is necessary to call an ambulance. This may be a condition that requires immediate surgical intervention.
If your back hurts, the next thing to do at home is to rule out all possible risk factors. They include the following aspects:
- excess weight - each additional kilogram increases the pressure on the cartilaginous intervertebral discs many times and causes their premature destruction;
- posture disorder (rounded or bent back, pale, etc. ) - a violation of the processes of distribution of the amortization load, displacement of the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs is possible;
- heavy physical labor related to lifting and carrying heavy loads;
- domestic, sports and industrial injuries in the lumbar region;
- proper arrangement of sleep and workplace;
- sedentary work associated with long-term static tension of the muscular frame of the body;
- selection of low-quality clothes and shoes;
- incorrect positioning of the foot during walking and running (straight legs or sticks);
- smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages (this leads to a decrease in the intensity of the process of lymph fluid and blood microcirculation, which is fraught with the development of ischemia and dystrophy of the tissues of the spinal column);
- malnutrition and insufficient clean water intake.
If your back hurts a lot and you don't know what to do, see a doctor right away. Only a specialist will be able to find the potential cause, eliminate it and develop an individual treatment course.
Low back pain - how to treat it with manual therapy techniques
So, what to do if the lower back hurts - currently there are several options for how to treat it. The first is to request an appointment with a local therapist at a city clinic. In this case, symptomatic treatment will be carried out. All unpleasant symptoms will be eliminated, but the process of destruction of the tissues of the spinal column will continue. And it can even increase, because by using symptomatic means to treat pain, the doctor completely destroys the natural defense mechanisms of the human body.
For example, the pain syndrome due to the protrusion of intervertebral discs in most cases is associated with the paravertebral muscles compensating and taking over the amortization load. This is accompanied by a strong tension of the muscle fiber and pain. But if muscle relaxants are used, the muscles become paralyzed and all the wear and tear and mechanical load begin to be fully applied to the already damaged intervertebral discs. In some cases, this leads to the rupture of the fibrous ring and the appearance of an intervertebral hernia.
You can also visit a chiropractor. This specialist applies a completely different approach to treatment. He will try to detect all risk factors and give the patient individual recommendations for their elimination. Then he will prepare an individual treatment course. It will be based on the principle of complete restoration of the disturbed process of diffuse nutrition of cartilage tissues of intervertebral discs.
Several sessions of manual stretching of the spine are performed to restore the normal shape of the intervertebral disc. During this procedure, the doctor increases the flexibility of the soft tissues surrounding the spine. It then spreads the adjacent vertebral bodies to a normal distance. There is room for full disk expansion. After 2-3 procedures, the acute pain syndrome disappears completely.
In the future, a full course of treatment is carried out. This may include osteopathy, therapeutic exercises, kinesiotherapy, laser exposure, physiotherapy and more.