What to do if your lower back hurts is a pressing problem for many modern people. Most of them have serious problems with spinal health. Currently, osteochondrosis is no longer a disease inherent to old age. Today, degenerative-dystrophic changes in the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs develop at a relatively early age. They are found even in patients aged 20 to 25 years. Lumbosacral osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. But not only him.
Seeing an experienced doctor is a must. Choose the right specialist. The first thing to remember in this case: the local therapist does not treat low back pain. According to medical and economic standards, it only removes the symptom in the allotted number of days. Your task is to return the patient to work as soon as possible. You do not pay attention to the fact that the disease will continue to develop intensively. Therefore, many patients lose time during which they could restore spinal health without surgery.
We recommend that you request a full treatment at the manual therapy clinic. They use completely different methods and approaches. They do not use symptomatic treatment. Physicians working in chiropractic clinics aim to restore the patient's complete health and not 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 what can cause an unpleasant symptom. We offer you to get acquainted with some aspects of the anatomy and physiology of the lumbar region.
At the heart of this part of the body is the lumbosacral spine. The sacrum in an adult is a single triangular bone, consisting of five fused vertebral bodies. Between the first sacral vertebra and the fifth lumbar vertebra is the conditional center of gravity of the human body. This explains the main mechanical load and depreciation of the lower extremities.
This is due to the fact that the iliac-sacral joints are located on the lateral surfaces of the sacrum. With its help, the pelvic ring is attached to the spine. On the lower lateral part of the pelvic ring are the hip joints. Thus, the entire load of the lower extremities through the hip and iliac-sacral joints is transferred to the intervertebral disc L5-S1.
Due to these anatomical features in a modern person, due to his sedentary lifestyle, at a fairly young age, the intervertebral disc L5-S1 and the iliac-sacral joints are destroyed. And this is a serious reason for the appearance of acute pain in the lumbar region.
The lumbar spine consists of individual vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs. They are quite massive. Within the lumbar and sacral sections of the vertebral column are the spinal cord segments of the same name. Paired root nerves depart from them, forming the lumbosacral nerve plexus and large nerves. In the lower part of the sacrum, the terminal threads of the spinal cord leave, forming another large nerve plexus - the "horse's tail".
Long anterior and posterior ligaments run the length of the spinal column. They start in the region of the coccyx and end in the region of the occipital bone. There are also short transverse and interspinous ligaments. They are found between adjacent vertebral bodies. The paravertebral muscles located along the spine provide diffuse nutrition for the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs. If they work incorrectly, osteochondrosis and its complications develop.
It is difficult to independently determine which tissues are being destroyed. The help of an experienced doctor is needed. An experienced doctor will conduct an examination and make a preliminary diagnosis. Develop a personalized treatment plan.
Reasons why the lower back hurts
The first thing to do if your lower back hurts is to find out the causes of this pathological condition. It is necessary to exclude the possibility of renal pathology. Most often, urolithiasis, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis and polycystic kidney disease are manifested by a characteristic pain syndrome in the upper lower back. Other urologic symptoms may also be present. These are cramps when urinating, change in color and transparency of urine, increase in body temperature, general malaise, intoxication and edematous nephrotic syndrome, increase in blood pressure, etc.
If you have these symptoms, we recommend that you see a nephrologist or therapist as soon as possible. You will receive professional medical care.
If on the eve of the onset of pain syndrome you fell, hurt yourself, had an accident, then you need to contact a traumatologist to make an appointment. The cause of pain may be a crack or fracture of the vertebral body or its process, lower costal arch. Also, with a traumatic effect, it is possible to damage the tissues of the kidneys.
The following diseases and conditions may be potential causes of low back pain:
- traumatic violation of the integrity of the ligamentous, tendon and muscular apparatus (stretching, microscopic ruptures, defibration, cicatricial deformities, etc. );
- degenerative dystrophic process in the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs, leading to the development of osteochondrosis and dorsopathy;
- protrusion (reduction in height and increase in occupied area) of the intervertebral discs;
- extrusion (rupture) of the fibrous ring and exit of the intervertebral hernia;
- unstable position of the vertebral bodies and their periodic displacement relative to each other by the type of laterolisthesis, antelisthesis and retrolisthesis;
- destruction and inflammation of well-directed intervertebral joints;
- curvature of the spine and distortion of the pelvic bones;
- deforming arthrosis of the iliac-sacral joints;
- spinal canal stenosis;
- pinching of the root 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 real reason why the lower back hurts. For this, it is necessary to have extensive practical experience and specific knowledge. Therefore, you should not engage in self-diagnosis and treatment. It is better to consult an experienced doctor in a timely manner and undergo a full course of treatment.
Very sore back: what to do at home
If your lower back hurts a lot, the first thing you should do is ensure complete physical rest. It is necessary to lie on your back on a hard, flat surface and try to relax your back muscles. If within 30-40 minutes the pain syndrome does not begin to subside, then it is necessary to call an ambulance. This may be a condition that requires immediate surgical attention.
The next thing to do at home if you have lower back pain is to exclude all possible risk factors. They include the following aspects:
- overweight - each additional kilogram repeatedly increases the pressure on the cartilaginous intervertebral discs and provokes their premature destruction;
- violation of posture (round or stooped back, withers, etc. ) - there is a violation of the processes of distribution of the depreciation load, displacement of the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs is possible;
- heavy physical labor associated with lifting and carrying heavy loads;
- domestic, sports and industrial injuries in the lower back;
- improper organization of the place for sleeping and working;
- sedentary work associated with prolonged static tension of the muscular structure of the body;
- selection of low-quality clothing and shoes;
- incorrect foot position when walking and running (flat feet or club feet);
- smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages (causes a decrease in the intensity of the microcirculation process of lymphatic fluid and blood, which is fraught with the development of ischemia and dystrophy of spinal tissues);
- malnutrition and insufficient consumption of clean water.
If your lower 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 a potential cause, eliminate it and develop an individual course of treatment.
Lower back pain - how to treat with manual therapy methods
So what to do if your lower back hurts: There are currently several treatment options. The first is to make 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 spine will continue. And it can even increase, because using symptomatic remedies for pain treatment, the doctor completely disables the natural defense mechanisms of the human body.
For example, with the protrusion of the intervertebral discs, the pain syndrome in most cases is associated with the fact that the paravertebral muscles compensate for the depreciation load, they take it on themselves. This is accompanied by a strong tension of the muscle fiber and pain. But, if muscle relaxants are used, the muscles are paralyzed, and all the depreciation and mechanical load begin to be fully applied to the already damaged intervertebral discs. In some cases, this causes the rupture of the fibrous ring and the appearance of an intervertebral hernia.
You can also visit a manual therapist. This specialist practices a completely different treatment approach. She will try to detect all risk factors and give the patient individual recommendations for their elimination. Then you will develop an individual treatment course. It will be based on the principle of complete restoration of the disturbed process of diffuse nutrition of the cartilaginous tissues of the intervertebral discs.
To restore the normal shape of the intervertebral disc, several sessions of manual traction of the spine are performed. During this procedure, the doctor increases the degree of elasticity of the soft tissues that surround the spine. It then extends the neighboring vertebral bodies to a normal distance. The disks have room to fully expand. After 2-3 procedures, the acute pain syndrome completely disappears.
In the future, a full course of treatment is carried out. It can include osteopathy, therapeutic exercises, kinesiotherapy, laser exposure, physiotherapy and much more.