Low back pain is familiar to almost everyone. It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t experienced this extremely unpleasant symptom at least once. Sometimes it is enough to sit in an awkward position for a while to cause discomfort in the lumbar region of the spine. But this is not a serious problem, but simply a consequence of being in an awkward position for a long time.
But severe back pain almost always has specific causes, and that’s why you need to see a doctor. Diagnosis is not always expected because osteochondrosis is just one of the possible problems with back pain.
Why your lower back hurts and what to do in such a situation is not hard to figure out. The doctor will diagnose and identify the cause of the pain and then begin treatment.
Pain syndrome - primary and secondary
Once we understand why the lower back hurts, we must not forget that the causes of such pain are dozens, and a layman will never be able to determine the true source of the problems.
In general, medical classification distinguishes between primary and secondary pain syndromes involving the lumbar region.
Primary low back pain syndrome results from the morphofunctional nature of locomotor lesions. He is the cause of the vast majority of back pain in the lumbar region. The most significant causes are degenerative-dystrophic changes in different parts of the spine:
- osteochondrosis, which is a lesion of bone and cartilage tissue, this disease is dystrophic in nature. When it touches the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae, 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 joint joints.
There are many more causes of pain in secondary pain syndrome:
- scoliosis, which is the curvature of the spine, as well as some other growth diseases;
- various inflammations of a non-infectious nature. For example, rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome;
- a tumor located in the vertebrae, spinal cord, or retroperitoneal space, whether caused by primary or metastatic conditions;
- fracture of one or more dorsal vertebrae. This is perhaps one of the most serious causes of back pain;
- various infectious diseases that lead 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 the back pain is of a reflective nature. A similar problem can occur with some diseases of organs in the pelvic region. For example, renal colic, venereal 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 various problems and diseases, both the nerve endings and the spine itself.
Displaced pain is also often observed - the translation of pain comes from other organs that are much deeper. In other words, it seems to a person that his waist hurts, although in fact the problem is in a completely different part of the body. But most often, pain in the pelvic organs, pancreas, kidneys, colon, or tumors behind the peritoneum is projected into the lumbar region.
Usually people don’t know what to do if their waist hurts. But it is clear what not to do - self-healing. The causes of pain are varied, only a specialist can make the right diagnosis, and constant use of painkillers (which many see as treatment) can cause even more damage.
The person skilled in the art, on the other hand, makes a diagnosis on the basis of data obtained as a result of further examinations, such as MRI diagnostics 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 appears. The causes may be different, but most are related to the spine in some way.
One of the simplest and most harmless causes of pain is acute muscle tension. In this case, spasmodic long muscles are the source of pain. With this problem, pain rarely "radiates" to other parts of the body, rather severely restricting a person’s mobility. This is a very common cause, often faced by athletes and people whose work involves different physical activities.
Another common but much more severe source of pain is fracture of the spine, especially when it comes to compression fractures of the vertebrae. This is most common with failed falls and other back injuries. But if a person has hyperparathyroidism, osteoporosis, Paget's disease, or tumors in his vertebrae, a fracture can occur and the patient goes unnoticed, as they say "out of nowhere. "Moreover, a person will not even understand when this fracture occurred.
The same discomfort 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 severe, sharp pain in the lower back, which severely restricts mobility. Most often, the pain is caused by compression of the nerve roots. Signs of such compression include:
- sensitivity disorders;
- disappearance or significant reduction of the Achilles reflex;
- lack or decrease in knee reflex intensity;
- unilateral radical pain.
One unpleasant tendency of this problem is that such a displacement can cause pathology of the lower vertebrae. As a result, pain appears below the lumbar region and rectal and bladder functions may be impaired. In some cases, it is also possible to localize the pain above the lower back.
Acute back pain can also occur due to facet syndrome. In this case, the cause of the pain is the compression of the root as it exits the spinal cord, while the intervertebral disc itself remains intact. This syndrome usually occurs due to enlargement of the upper and lower sides of the intervertebral joint, which results in narrowing of the intervertebral openings.
Epidural abscess is one of the most serious diseases that causes severe back pain. This disease requires urgent diagnosis and immediate treatment, and any highly effective measures are recommended, even until surgery, the most important thing is to quickly relieve spinal cord compression.
Diseases of the hip joint are also often the cause of acute low back pain. Their characteristic is that the pain radiates to the lower back, to the legs, to the knees.
Causes of chronic low back pain
One of the causes of chronic pain is spondylosis deformans. With this disease, a dystrophic lesion occurs in the vertebrae of the lumbar spine, the ligament ligament weakens, and bone growth occurs. As a result, the spinal cord narrows and bone outgrowths begin to press on the nerve roots. Aching pain may be accompanied by numbness and weakness in the legs and other neurological symptoms. In any case, a full examination will be required, on the basis of which the final diagnosis will be made.
Bechterew's disease, also known as ankylosing spondypoarthrosis, can also cause chronic pain. This is manifested by pulling pain in the lower back, curvature of the spine appears in the chest region, and develops rapidly. The first symptoms are limited mobility and decreased chest movement when breathing.
Cancer and metabolic disorders often cause back pain. But even benign tumors can cause chronic pain that is not accompanied by neurological symptoms.
Osteopyelitis can also cause painful lower back pain, which can be very lasting.
Conclusion
As you can see, back pain can occur as a result of many diseases. However, often one does not even expect that the problem will not be where it hurts. So even if the lower back does not hurt constantly, but from time to time - do not pull, consult a doctor. It is easier to cope with any disease at an early stage and not when you are in a neglected state and it leads to many complications.