Low back pain is known to almost everyone. It is difficult to find someone who has never experienced this extremely unpleasant symptom at least once. Sometimes it is enough to sit in an uncomfortable position for a while to cause discomfort in the lumbar spine. But this is not a serious problem, but just a consequence of being in an awkward position for a long time.
But severe back pain almost always has specific reasons and is a reason to go to the doctor. The diagnosis will not always be expected, because osteochondrosis is just one of the possible problems, back pain.
Why the lower back hurts and what to do in such a situation is not difficult to guess. The doctor will diagnose and identify the cause of the pain, after which you will need to start treatment.
Pain syndrome - primary and secondary
Understanding why the lower back hurts, we must not forget that the causes of this pain are numbered in the dozens and a layman will never be able to determine the true source of the problems.
In general, the medical classification distinguishes between primary and secondary pain syndromes that can affect the lumbar region.
Primary back pain syndrome occurs as a result of musculoskeletal changes of a morphological nature. It is the cause of the vast majority of cases of back pain in the lumbar region. The most important of the reasons are the degenerative-dystrophic changes that occur in different parts of the spine:
- Osteochondrosis, which is a damage to bone and cartilage tissue, this disease has a dystrophic nature. When it affects the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae, vertebral fall begins to develop.
- Spondyloarthritis is a form of osteoarthritis in which the disease affects the intervertebral joints, which are responsible for the mobility of the spine, or articular joints.
Secondary pain syndrome has much more varied causes of pain:
- scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, as well as some other developmental diseases.
- various inflammations of non-infectious nature. For example, rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome.
- a tumor found in the vertebrae, the spinal cord itself or the retroperitoneal space, regardless of whether it is primary or caused by metastases.
- fracture of one or more dorsal vertebrae. This is probably one of the most serious causes of back pain.
- various infectious diseases leading to damage to the vertebrae and intervertebral discs (tuberculosis, brucellosis, epidural abscess).
- stroke conditions in which there is a severe violation of the blood supply to the spinal cord. In this case, there may also be a feeling that the lower back hurts.
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, acute appendicitis with atypical course, intestinal obstruction.
- often, back pain is reflexive in nature. A similar problem can occur with certain organ diseases located in the pelvic area. For example, renal colic, sexually transmitted diseases (gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, chlamydia, ureaplasmosis, and hepatitis - all of these diseases cause reflex back pain).
What is acute and chronic pain
Back pain is also divided into acute and chronic, which can be caused by a variety of problems and diseases, both of the nerve endings and of the spine itself.
Displaced pain is also common - there is a translation of pain from other organs, which are much deeper. In other words, it seems to a person that his back hurts, although in reality the problem is in a completely different part of the body. Most often, pain from the pelvic organs, pancreas, kidneys, colon or tumors located behind the peritoneum is projected in the lumbar region.
Usually people do not know what to do if their back hurts. But it is very clear what not to do - it is self-healing. The causes of pain are varied, only a specialist can make the right diagnosis and the continued use of painkillers (which many consider to be a cure) can do even more harm.
The specialist, in turn, makes a diagnosis based on the data obtained as a result of additional tests, for example, diagnostics with magnetic resonance imaging of the spine.
Causes of acute pain
Before deciding what to do when your lower back hurts badly, any serious doctor will first determine the cause of the pain that occurred. The reasons may be different, but most of them are related in some way to the spine.
One of the simplest and safest causes of pain is acute muscle strain. In this case, the spasmodic long muscles are the source of the pain. With this problem, the pain rarely "radiates" to other parts of the body, but rather severely restricts a person's mobility. This reason is very common, often encountered by athletes and people whose work is related to various physical activities.
Another common but much more serious source of pain is a fracture of the spine, especially when it comes to a vertebral compression fracture. Most often this happens with unsuccessful falls and other back injuries. But if a person is sick with hyperparathyroidism, osteoporosis, Paget's disease or there are tumors in the spine, then a fracture may occur and not be noticed by the patient, as they say "in advance". In addition, a person will not even understand when this fracture occurred.
An equally unpleasant situation, in which acute pain occurs in the lower back, is the displacement of the intervertebral discs in the lumbar spine. The symptoms of this problem are intense, intense pain in the lower back, which severely restricts mobility. Most often, the pain occurs due to compression of the nerve roots. The signs of such compression are:
- sensitivity disorders;
- disappearance or significant reduction of the Achilles reflex.
- absence or reduction of reflex knee tension.
- unilateral radical pain.
One of the unpleasant tendencies of this problem is that such a displacement can cause pathology of the lower vertebrae. As a result, pain occurs below the lumbar region and the functions of the rectum and bladder may be impaired. Detection of pain above the lower back is also possible in some cases.
Acute back pain can also occur as a result of facial syndrome. In this case, the cause of the pain is the compression of the root at the exit from the spinal canal, while the intervertebral disc itself remains intact. This syndrome usually results from the enlargement of the upper and lower face of the intervertebral joint, resulting in the narrowing of the intervertebral foramen.
Epidural abscess is one of the most serious diseases that cause severe back pain. This disease requires urgent diagnosis and immediate treatment and any highly effective measures are recommended, until surgery, the main thing is to quickly eliminate the compression of the spinal cord.
Diseases of the hip joint are also often the cause of acute back pain. They are characterized by pain that radiates to the lower back, legs up to the knee.
Causes of chronic back pain
One of the causes of chronic pain is deforming vertebrae. With this disease, a dystrophic change occurs in the vertebrae of the lumbar spine, the connection of the ligaments weakens and bone growth occurs. As a result, the spinal canal narrows and bone growths begin to press on the nerve roots. Aching pains can be accompanied by numbness and weakness in the legs, as well as other neurological symptoms. In any case, a complete examination will be needed, according to the results of which the final diagnosis will be made.
Bechterew's disease, also called ankylosing spondylitis, can also cause chronic pain. Manifested by traction pain in the lower back, a curvature of the spine appears in the chest area and develops rapidly. The first symptoms are limited mobility and reduced chest movement during breathing.
Cancer and metabolic disorders often cause back pain. But even benign tumors can cause chronic pain that will not be accompanied by neurological symptoms.
Osteomyelitis can also cause back pain, which can be very long lasting.
conclusion
As you can see, back pain can occur as a result of many diseases. At the same time, quite often a person does not even expect that the problem will not be where it hurts. So, even if your back hurts not constantly, but from time to time - do not pull, consult a doctor. It is easier to deal with any disease at an early stage and not when it is in a neglected state and will cause many complications with it.