It is difficult to imagine a person over the age of 30 who has never experienced discomfort and pain in the lower back.An increasing amount of life time spent in a sitting position, in addition to physical inactivity, “gives” us problems with the spine.It’s good when the pain is isolated, short-lived and passes quickly without leaving a trace.It’s worse when the pain is growing, unbearable, and doesn’t go away for a long time.This signal should be taken seriously.Often this is a signal from the body that it is developing a serious illness that will require attention, effort and even financial expenses.
To avoid the development of such events, you need to know about the factors and causes of those diseases that can trigger the development of such pain.
We hope that our popular article will help you avoid the development of serious events for your lower back and help you maintain your ability to work for a long time.
Risk factors for low back pain
If you feel pain in the lumbar region, then you probably exposed this part of the body to one or more of the following factors:
- Lack of physical activity for a long time;
- Excessive physical activity after a long break;
- Prolonged sedentary work;
- Errors in nutrition;
- Long-term static, monotonous loads on the spine, vibration;
- Weight lifting;
- Professional sports (wrestling, boxing, weightlifting);
- Smoking and alcohol.
Any of these factors can be removed or its influence can be significantly reduced, which will give you the opportunity to avoid the development of chronic low back pain.
Causes of lower back pain
The causes of lower back pain are usually divided into secondary and primary.
Primary causes of low back pain
In fact, they are a pathological process that is predetermined by musculoskeletal changes.In the practice of lower back pain, they are much more common than secondary causes of lower back pain.As a rule, the primary causes are understood as one of several degenerative-dystrophic processes:
- Osteochondrosis,caused by the development of dystrophic changes in the bone and cartilaginous structures of the lumbar spine.Sometimes the process affects both the intervertebral discs and the adjacent vertebrae;
- Spondyloarthrosis.This pathology affects the joints that are responsible for the mobility of the spinal column in the lumbar region.
Secondary causes of low back pain
- Deterioration of the condition of bone structures due to metabolic disorders of the lumbar spine (osteoporosis and so on);
- Oncological processes in the vertebral or paravertebral space.Often, low back pain can cause distant metastases;
- Curvature of the spine;
- Infectious lesions of the body (tuberculosis, brucellosis);
- Inflammatory processes of a non-infectious nature (rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome);
- Traumatic lesions of the vertebrae in the lumbar region, including fractures;
- Diseases of the stomach and intestines;
- Diseases of organs and systems in the pelvis (renal colic, sexually transmitted infections, adnexitis, ureaplasmosis);
- Stroke disorders of the spinal circulation.
Causes of chronic and acute lower back pain
Back pain in the lumbar region can be both acute and chronic.These two factors should be distinguished, since the presence of one or the other of them will determine the treatment tactics for the underlying disease.In some cases, this can even stop the development of complications and chronicity of the disease (its transition to a chronic form).
Causes of chronic low back pain
- Bechterew's disease (ankylosing spondylitis);
- Spondylosis deformans.Often its symptom is a monotonous aching pain;
- Tumors and their metastases.Carrying out differential diagnostics in order to exclude oncological processes from the list of causes that caused chronic low back pain is carried out with the exclusion of lymphoma, multiple myeloma, cancerous lesions of the body of various localizations;
- Oncological formations of the spinal cord (located both directly in the spinal cord and in the space between the dura mater and the spinal cord);
- Osteomyelitis.Often its symptom is nagging pain in the lumbar region;
- Additionally, tuberculin tests may be prescribed in order to exclude the causative agent of tuberculosis in the patient (exclusion of spinal tuberculosis).
In order to clarify the diagnosis, additional studies may be carried out in the form of radiography, myelography, and biopsy.
Causes of acute lower back pain
- Tearing or stretching of the muscle mass along the lumbar column;
- Spinal fractures;
- Displacement of intervertebral discs;
- Facet syndromes (damage to the nerve root in places where it is not anatomically covered by the bony structure of the spine);
- Epidural abscesses;
- Coxarthrosis (a rare pathology characterized by severe pain).As such, coxarathrosis does not provoke lumbar pain, but it causes unbearable pain that radiates to the legs.
Treatment of lower back pain
The appearance of lower back pain, regardless of its location or intensity, should be a reason to seek qualified medical help.The high intensity of the pain syndrome should be a reason to call a doctor at home or seek an ambulance.
The best solution would be to conduct a course of treatment in a hospital setting.
Lower back pain can have a variety of causes, often not related to damage to the spinal column, and therefore, to differentiate such causes, you may need the help of specialists such as:
- gynecologist;
- gastroenterologist;
- infectious disease specialist;
- pulmonologist;
- urologist;
- nephrologist;
- cardiologist and proctologist.
It is important to remember that getting advice from a professional doctor as soon as possible will help you avoid developing complications.You should not self-medicate, and use folk remedies for pain in the lumbar spine only on the recommendation of a surgeon, orthopedist or vertebrologist.