Severe back pain in the lower back: possible causes, symptoms, doctor's advice and treatment

It is impossible to independently determine the cause of lower back pain.Pain in the back and lower back is medically called low back.It is felt in the lumbar region, accompanied by muscle spasms and additional unpleasant symptoms.Acute lower back pain is felt for a variety of reasons and can last from a few minutes to a few months.As a result, a person begins to get used to acute pain in the lower back and back.However, if you do not seek help from your doctor in time, the person's health condition will deteriorate greatly and the chances of recovery will decrease.It is important to consider the causes of lower back pain and treatment.

Description of the damage

Severe back and lower back pain, feeling tense and stiff is a common condition that sooner or later occurs to many people.

In most cases, the pain syndrome occurs in the lower back, since the lumbar spine is characterized by its mobility and takes half the weight of the human body.Back pain in the lumbar region can occur as a result of lifting heavy objects or making a sharp turn.

In some cases, unpleasant symptoms in the lumbar region appear over time due to regular exercise or incorrect posture.In some cases, it is not possible to determine the cause of the pain syndrome.The pain is more intense at night, when there is a load on the lower back or after an uncomfortable position for a long time, for example, after a long car journey.In most cases, back pain in the lumbar region subsides if a person lies for a while on a hard surface.

Most often, the pain persists for several days or weeks, after which the general well-being of the person improves and the condition of the lower back is restored.You can speed up recovery by taking painkillers and optimizing daily physical activity: rest only the first few days and then gradually return to normal.But in some cases, discomfort and discomfort in the lower back indicate the onset of a chronic disease that will require complex treatment.

A person's mood also plays a special role in this process.Due to the pain, the general condition of the patient can deteriorate a lot, but according to statistics, a person who arrives in a good mood recovers faster than a person who is depressed.

Main causes of the syndrome

The condition of the back directly depends on the function of the bones, nerves, muscles and joints.Most of the time, finding the exact cause of the pain is quite difficult.Serious diseases or injuries in the spinal area occur in rare cases.

In most cases, back pain at the lumbar level occurs due to minor injuries, muscle strain, sprained ligaments and muscles, pinched nerves and at the beginning of the inflammatory process.Unpleasant back symptoms can appear suddenly or develop gradually and intensify.Causes of back and lower back pain:

• very sudden movement: tilting or turning to the side.
• lifting and carrying heavy objects, long bending of the body.
• incorrect posture when walking or working at the office.
• severe back muscle strain.
• long car rides without rest breaks.

In some cases, pain in this area appears for no particular reason, for example, in the morning after waking up.

Main Factors

There are factors that can cause severe back and lower back pain.Experts identify a large number of them.can negatively affect the condition of the back.The main ones include:

• Heavy weight - in this case, the spine is heavily strained.To determine whether body weight affects the spine, total body mass index should be calculated.
• Smoking – can adversely affect the tissues of the back, which leads to pain.
• Carrying a child - in this situation, the woman's spine is subjected to severe stress, which only becomes stronger as the size of the abdomen increases.
• Long-term use of drugs that reduce bone density, such as corticosteroids.
• Psycho-emotional overstrain, stress - regular stress leads to severe tension in the muscles of the neck and back, which causes pain.

Major diseases

Diseases that can lead to lower back pain include the following:

1. Osteochondrosis and its complications, for example, spinal hernia, is a degenerative process in which the intervertebral cartilage is destroyed, which causes pain.Such diseases occur in older people, especially those who experience severe stress on their backs.
2. Sprained ligaments and muscles - most often occur after prolonged physical activity or sudden movement.
3. Some types of arthritis are an inflammatory disease of the joints, in which, in addition to pain, stiffness is felt in the joints and there are problems with mobility in the morning
4. Kidney diseases, for example, pyelonephritis, can cause back pain on the right side of the back or on the left side.

Conducting diagnostic activities

Severe back and lower back pain can be treated at home by taking special medicines that can be bought at a pharmacy without a doctor's prescription.Inpatient treatment is usually not required.

If the back pain radiates to the lower back and causes severe discomfort, then the patient should definitely see a doctor.He will carry out an examination and prescribe treatment.

If back pain on the left side of the back prevents the patient from resting and moving normally, then you should call a doctor at home.

When examining the condition, the doctor will ask the person to sit, stand, walk, alternately lift their legs and also determine the overall range of motion in the back.He will also require information about possible recent illnesses or injuries, learn about lifestyle, job characteristics and also ask the following questions:

1. When did the pain start?
2. Where is the pain common?
3. Has your back hurt in the past?
4. How does the pain syndrome manifest itself?
5. Why does the pain get stronger or weaker?

During the examination, the doctor will try to exclude possible infection and fracture, since such manifestations occur in rare cases.If there are problems with the diagnosis, the doctor may send the patient for additional diagnostic measures: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or X-ray of the spine.A urine test is done to rule out kidney disease.

In many cases, the pain in the spine is already eliminated on the third day of treatment.If the treatment does not improve the condition and the pain continues for six weeks (chronic process) or a serious illness has led to the damage, then the doctor refers the person to a specialist.In most cases, treatment for back and lower back pain is prescribed by a neurologist.In addition, other doctors may participate in the examination of the patient's condition: an osteopath, a chiropractor and a reflexologist.

Basic treatment methods

The treatment of the pain syndrome will depend on its duration and severity, as well as on the individual characteristics of the person.In most cases, the pain can be relieved with simple home remedies.

Basic treatment methods:

• Motility.Previously, doctors believed that with pain in the lumbar region it was important to ensure peace.It has now been established that in patients who start moving earlier, the pain subsides more quickly.Complete rest and bed rest should be observed only in the first days of acute pain, when it is severe and prevents normal movement.In this case, the person should lie on a hard and flat bed.After the situation returns to normal, you should gradually return to a normal lifestyle and previous loads, adding more and more mobility every day.Over time, the person will be able to walk normally around the house or visit public places.But he should tolerate some discomfort and try to avoid anything that could lead to pain again.After a few days, a person can return to work without waiting for severe back and lower back pain to disappear completely (of course, if the person's work does not involve stress on the lumbar region).Early mobility will help restore the condition and reduce the severity of the pain.
• Taking painkillers.When you experience severe back pain above the waist or directly in it, doctors prescribe painkillers.The products help eliminate pain and inflammation.Depending on the severity of the damage, a specialist can prescribe different forms of these drugs: injections, tablets, topical preparations - ointments, gels and creams against back pain.Most of the time, the initial treatment involves injections.After the pain syndrome passes, the administration of drugs is stopped and, if necessary, tablets or special ointments are started.Such drugs have certain contraindications, so before you start taking them, you need to consult a doctor and study the instructions.Painkillers are best taken after meals with milk.
• Muscle relaxants- medicines that help eliminate muscle spasms and relax muscles.They are prescribed when the strong tension in the spinal muscles increases the pain syndrome, for example, during an acute stage of osteochondrosis or disc herniation.Muscle relaxants also have different side effects.for example, it is forbidden to take them while driving a car.It is important to consult a doctor first.
• Treatment with hot and cold compresses.In some cases, the pain can be relieved by taking a warm bath or applying heating pads to the painful area of the body.You can also improve your general condition with cold or a bag of frozen vegetables.But you should remember that you should not apply ice to the skin itself, as this can lead to frostbite.A previously cold object should be wrapped in a towel and then applied to the affected area of the body.You can also alternate between cold and heat therapy by applying either ice or a heating pad to the body.
• Choose a sleeping position.Changing your sleeping position will help relieve tension and pain.If the patient is used to sleeping on his side, then he should pull his legs to the chest and place a pillow between his legs.If he sleeps on his back, then a pillow should be placed under his knees, this will ensure a natural curve of the spine in the lower back.
• Relaxation of the body– this is a very important ingredient in combating severe back pain on the left side above the lower back, as with severe stress and overstrain the pain syndrome only worsens.As practice shows, people in a good mood recover much faster and their pain does not become chronic.There are special techniques that help a person relax and forget about back discomfort for a while.To do this, it is recommended to do special breathing exercises and perform a set of simple exercises with alternating tension and relaxation of the muscles in the body.
• Physical activity, following a healthy lifestyle.It is important to eliminate the root cause of severe back and lower back pain to prevent it from recurring.The most common causes of pain in this area include being overweight, poor posture, and regular emotional outbursts.In this case, a positive result can be achieved if you start to lead an active and healthy lifestyle, for example, walking more or visiting the pool.The main thing is to choose the activity that you like the most.In some cases, the lessons are conducted under the guidance of an instructor.Most often, sets of exercises are used that help strengthen the back muscles and ensure straight posture and stretching.
• If the pain syndrome does not subside within 6 weeks of treatment, then it automatically passes into the chronic stage.In addition to painkillers and a muscle relaxant, in this case you need to start complex treatment.

Treatment for chronic pain

In this situation, doctors prescribe the following measures to patients:

• Manual therapy is performed by a chiropractor or osteopath and involves the use of various treatment methods, massage and mobilization.
• Alexander Technique - helps to eliminate strong tension in the muscles, teaches a person how to correctly take the position of the body in various situations and move.This technique will help you learn to maintain body balance and straight posture.
• Acupuncture sessions are an ancient Chinese method of treatment in which fine needles are inserted into various parts of the body, which help reduce pain and normalize a person's condition.
• Taking antidepressants.Such drugs are prescribed to the patient when painkillers and other treatment techniques do not bring a positive result.Doctors advise taking tricyclic antidepressants in small amounts.Such treatments were originally created to relieve depression and nervous system problems, but they can also work to relieve certain types of pain.
• Session with a psychiatrist.A positive result from such a procedure can be achieved when other treatment methods do not help.Severe back pain in the lumbar region is a real condition.How one deals with it can make it stronger or, conversely, weaken it significantly.Cognitive behavioral therapy can help eliminate back pain in the right or left lumbar region by changing your attitude towards it.According to statistics, people who have undergone psychotherapy sessions experience much less intense pain.In this case, a person becomes motivated to lead an active lifestyle and exercise regularly, which leads to a reduction in pain.

Conducting the operation

Most of the time, surgery is used only when all other methods of treating back and lower back pain have no effect.The operation is used when the pain syndrome is so strong or constant that it prevents the patient from working or even resting.The chosen method of surgery will directly depend on the type of pain syndrome and the cause of its occurrence.

For example, in the case of a spinal hernia, the doctor prescribes a discectomy.Currently, doctors are able to perform surgery through a minimal incision using specialized microsurgical instruments.Such operations are complex, but characterized by minimal trauma.

Spinal fusion is a complex and quite rare surgical procedure.Its results do not always meet expectations.For example, after surgery, a person may continue to have severe back pain below the waist.

With spinal fusion, the overall mobility of the spine is significantly reduced, since during the operation several painful vertebrae are fixed together in one place by implanting living bone tissue between them.At the end of the recovery period, the bones are completely fused, and when a person moves, they do not affect the nerve endings located near them.It helps to suppress severe back pain in the lumbar region left and right.Before deciding to undergo surgery, the patient should receive information from the neurosurgeon about all possible complications and the positive results of the treatment.

Additional treatments

When dealing with acute and chronic back pain, other alternative methods of treatment can be used, the effect of which has not been proven in medical practice.The main non-traditional methods of treatment include:

• laser therapy - minimal power lasers affect the inflamed area of the body and lead to tissue regeneration.
• therapy with interference currents - the lower back is exposed to medium and low frequency currents, which causes increased production of endorphins (hormones that relieve pain), as well as active restoration of damaged tissues.
• ultrasound therapy - in this case, an ultrasound wave aimed at the surface of the back is used: it ensures tissue restoration and active healing, which eliminates pain.
• electrical stimulation of nerves through the skin - electrodes glued to the surface of the skin provide electrical impulses of a certain strength, which cause the active production of endorphins and help stop the transmission of pain signals along the spine to the brain.
• lumbar braces - for this, special pillows, supports and corsets are used to maintain the condition of the spine.
• traction of the spine using specialized devices and sets of exercises.
• injection of special injections into the spine - drugs are injected into the intervertebral spaces.

The specialist may also send the patient to a "pain school", in which people are taught to independently cope with pain, perform special exercises and lead an active and healthy life.Such institutions mainly deal with group therapy, relaxation and psychology.

Preventive measures

A healthy and strong back is the best solution to avoid any pain.For this reason, the most effective prevention will be regular physical activity in a reasonable amount, correct body posture, but also avoiding lifting heavy objects.

If a person has temporary back pain that radiates to the lumbar region, then the following preventive measures should be taken:

• get rid of excess weight, if any: a large number of extra kilograms can negatively affect the condition of the lower back, causing additional stress.
• Use proper and comfortable shoes with low heels, which will help to evenly distribute the load on the foot and avoid excessive strain on the spine during movement.
• It is also important to stop moving suddenly, as this can cause muscle strain.
• learn to deal with anxiety, depression, nervous breakdowns, stop worrying too much as these can all cause pain.

Types of back exercises

A set of exercises is a good method of preventing and relieving lower back pain, but if the pain lasts for more than 6 months, then it is very important to consult a doctor before starting the exercises.

Walking and strengthening swimming will help improve the condition of the muscles and support the spine without overloading it, which eliminates possible sprains.Pilates and yoga will help strengthen the back muscles and develop their flexibility, but should be performed under the strict supervision of a professional trainer.

The most common simple exercises for back pain that can be done at home:

1. Wall squats - to do this you need to straighten up, place your feet shoulder width apart.Then perform a squat until the body is in a 90-degree bent position.
2. Alternating leg lifts.To perform the exercise, you need to lie on the floor and start lifting your legs one by one without bending them.The exercise is repeated 5 times.
3. Pelvic lifts.The exercise is performed in a supine position.First, the knees bend, and then the pelvis rises with tension in the abdominal muscles.When performing the exercise, it is important to keep your back straight.Repeat 5 times.

Initially, the exercises are performed several times a day, over time the number of approaches increases to six, depending on how the person himself feels.This complex helps to warm up and strengthen the back muscles.Most of the time, people injure their lower back while doing everyday activities, for example, when lifting heavy objects or cleaning the house.Thoroughly warming up your muscles before performing the task will help prevent injury.

Pain due to osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is a disease of the articular cartilage that connects the vertebrae.Due to this disease, pinching of the roots of the spinal cord occurs, which causes pain.People over the age of 30 are particularly susceptible to this condition, and recently the lesion is often diagnosed in young people.

The main cause of pain in the back and lower back is lifting heavy objects, monotonous work in an uncomfortable position (for example, in the garden).Osteochondrosis can appear as a result of a long journey without a break, when a person sits constantly.

No person is immune from such a disease.It can be recognized by the following symptoms:

• back pain;
• pain in the lower back, pain on the right side of the back (or on the left), the pain radiates to the leg.
• the pain intensifies only with changes in position and the load on the lower back.
• a person may experience a strong burning sensation and painful back pain.
• after a long stay in an uncomfortable position, it is difficult to change it due to severe discomfort.
• the sensitivity of the buttocks and legs decreases, a feeling of goosebumps appears.
• Problems with sweating appear, the lower extremities get cold.

If a person is sure that the pain syndrome originates from the spine, then he should perform the following therapeutic measures:

• use a special woolen belt or scarf, tying it around the lower back.
• Lie on a hard and flat surface.
• start taking anti-inflammatory drugs.
• apply anti-inflammatory ointments for back pain in the lumbar region.

It is important to remember that painkillers should not be taken on an empty stomach, as they irritate the mucous membrane and can cause ulcers and gastritis.If a person is not sure about the cause of pain in the back and lower back, then it is important to see a doctor - taking anti-inflammatory drugs for diseases of the stomach and pancreas is very dangerous, as they can only worsen the overall condition.

What is prohibited?

In no case should the patient try to "straighten" his back on his own - this can only increase the pain syndrome and also cause great harm.In case of an acute form of osteochondrosis, you should not take hot baths or visit baths and saunas.

After warming up, a person may feel an improvement in his condition and relief from pain, but after that the state of health will worsen.If the pain often occurs in the back area, it is important to get an MRI and seek help from a neurologist.