Even children sometimes experience lower back pain. Adults know the problems first hand. To deal with it, you need to find out: why the lower back hurts, what are the reasons. The range of causes is wide: from benign to urgent conditions that require medical attention. Having found the root of the disease, you will understand what to do, you can help yourself by yourself or by contacting a doctor.
Factors that cause pain
Lumbar pain is a common phenomenon, but from the category of "accidental". It appears unexpectedly and always inappropriately. There are explanations for everything, consider the possible ones in turn.
After sleep
A person wakes up in the morning, intends to get up. . . And it can't. Sharp piercing pain in back. The day before, I did not lift weights, did not give load to the muscles, where the pain comes from, it is not clear.
Action algorithm:
- With any pain, it is important to calm down in order to adequately assess the situation.Panicking won't relieve the pain, but it can make it worse. It doesn't work, we think lying down.
- Remember yesterday.If you spent it in the office and in the evening on the TV or computer, and this is your usual routine, the muscles experience (don't be surprised) overload. Constantly, daily. They don't have time to relax during the night. Passive rest does not help repair unstrained muscles. A static load is heavier than a potential one. The first (static) - being in the same position - overloads some muscles, leaving others without work. Dynamics (movement) involves many of the muscles.
- We continue to analyze.You load the muscles evenly, you do minimal exercises, you don't sit for eighteen hours a day, but you wake up with lower back pain.
Possible causes:
- Uncomfortable posture during sleep.
- Bed that is too hard or too soft.
- Manifestation of internal diseases.
The latter circumstance is rarely associated with sleep. A person may feel sick after waking up, because in a dream the body is relaxed, the senses are dull. The perception of the awakened person is sharpened, he moves - the affected organ reacts.
- If you calmed down, analyzed the situation, found out the cause of the pain - act.When you are convinced: muscle pain, not related to organ pathology, get up gently. It doesn't work - roll to the edge of the bed, slide to the floor. There you will exercise to relieve muscle spasm - this is your treatment.
Lower back pain after sleep, manifested for the first time, usually occurs for the reasons listed above.The deep, main reason is detraining, muscle weakness.Weakened muscles react to factors that strong ones "don't notice". Hardness / softness of the bed, clumsy movement and loose muscles do not cause pain.
Learn more about sleep comfort. Which bed is better: a controversial question, the answers to which are diametrically opposed. Proponents of a hard bed insist on using a shield under the mattress, calling such a bed - orthopedic. It is believed that in a hard bed the spine straightens, which is good for posture.
Rigidity opponents promote a soft thick layer that allows the body to "sink" into the filler. In a semi-suspended state, the muscles and the spine occupy an arbitrary position. Advertisers of "gentle sleep" argue: it is more useful, the approach is normal. The mattress is also called orthopedic.
Lower back pain in both women and men occurs after sleeping in any bed. Extremes are not the best solution. Our strong ancestors, farmers, slept in chests or stoves, making beds with feather beds. Medium choice. The posture was excellent, the pain after waking up was not typical for young and middle-aged people.
To keep the body in shape, the muscles - active, regular exercises will help: exercises. Muscle training. How to help yourself "here and now" - we will definitely talk about it. When we look at all the possible causes and find out what it could be, why the pain in the lower back appeared.
You can also feel pain and burning in other cases, with diseases of the spine, injuries. Then there are non-specific mornings, annoying regardless of "sleepy" time.
After training
Lack of load leads to weakness, muscle atrophy, overload - it will reward pain for diligence. Note to trainees: take the expression "hurry up, slow down" as the motto of recovery. It is not always possible to row arms of strength and health.Gradual is the key to success.
Calculating the optimal load is not difficult, you need two indicators:
- HR (heart rate, the number of heartbeats per minute is measured).
- Arterial pressure.
Heart rate measurements are performed three times:
- Before class?
- At the end of the workout;
- 5 minutes after class.
In a relatively healthy person with an initial pulse of 70–72, immediately after exercise, the heart rate can increase with sufficient loading up to 120 (no more). After 5 minutes, the pulse should slow down: become below 100 beats. If the heart rate remains more frequent, the load is excessive, the muscles will respond with subsequent pain. The lower back is no exception.
Blood pressure should also return to normal in five minutes. This knowledge will tell you what to do so that pain in the lumbar muscles does not appear after training.
Because of negative emotions
A person who is prone to emotions or who has fallen into a severe prolonged stressful situation may experience pain of varying intensity in the lower back. They are not related to organic damage of the spine. The causes of back pain in the lumbar region lie in the body's reaction to stress.Nervous tension causes muscle spasms.Cramped muscles signal a malfunction in their work - pain.
This doesn't just happen in the lumbar region, muscle spasm can happen anywhere. Such a symptom in medicine is called psychosomatic pain.
Regular exercises aimed at strengthening and developing muscles, forming a "muscle corset" - preventing neurological pain.
Diseases of the spine
Diseases of the spine itself, dysfunction of the muscles located next to it, are more difficult to treat. Main assistants: will, persistence, patience. Diseases have individual triggers. The method of treatment depends on its nature.
Injuries
Spinal muscles are injured for two reasons:
- Causing harm to oneself out of ignorance: ignorance of the body's own physiology, improper "exploitation" of the body.
- External influence (accidents, elements, unforeseen circumstances).
Self-mutilation is not done intentionally (exceptions are rare, we're talking about something else here), injuries happen through carelessness. The man did not calculate his strength, jerked a heavy object and at the same time turned around awkwardly. It caused an injury to the spine in the lumbar region. The pain is sharp, sharp, does not allow movement.
More often this happens to men: they work more with weights.Typical doctor recommendations:
- Restriction of movements (bed rest)?
- Powerful injections for back and lower back pain.
- Heating rub, ointments, compresses, heating.
- Physiotherapy procedures?
- Massage;
- Exercise therapy - after reduction of intensity, attenuation of symptoms and during remission.
Let's take a closer look at the essence of medical prescriptions:
- Rest (restriction of movements). The muscles are twitchy, tense, some of them are blocked by the wrong load. By depriving the patient of mobility, the doctor inadvertently corrects this blockage: immobility will not relieve the spasm. Muscles become rigid - they lose flexibility, remaining tense for a long time. Muscle tissue quickly weakens throughout the body without movement. These are the conditions for the transition of the disease to a chronic form.
- Painkillers. Injections "suppress" the symptoms, it is easier for the patient. But there is no therapeutic effect. The reason remains, the person simply feels less pain for two to three hours. Strong drugs are also strong, giving side effects. Often used to relieve pain attacks in the lumbosacral spine, a drug from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives causes serious problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Other painkillers are also not without side effects. And they are used for a long time, courses.
- Pain is always swelling. It is visible or hidden, but pain and swelling coexist without fail. Swelling is aggravated by heating manipulations. The situation is the same: the pain subsides, the problem remains or develops.
- Physiotherapy for muscle spasms is almost as effective as placebo. The best scenario.
- Skillful massage will benefit, relax the muscles. Careful stroking is useless, use a special massage that relieves spasms. It is painful at first, but helps in quick recovery.
- Exercise is essential immediately after injury. Through the pain, the right movements bring the muscles back to normal without medication. It is necessary to know the exact diagnosis, focusing on it, choose a set of exercises. Leave the diagnosis to the doctor.
Serious injuries (soft tissue tears, fractures) require hospitalization, sometimes surgery. But in rehabilitation, the main thing is to grow and strengthen, restore injured muscles. Drug anesthesia is a temporary measure, recovery is achieved with regular exercises.
Osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is called dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs:
- The cartilage tissue of the discs wears out if the muscles that supply the spine, next to it, are underdeveloped, sluggish. The spine is vulnerable without the support of a reliable muscle corset, the load on the discs is uneven.
- The discs are flattened, the tissues around them lose their elasticity, spasm. The pain reflex is transmitted from the point of compression by the vertebrae of the disc: from the spasmodic muscles through the nerve to the brain.
- The edges of the vertebrae are deformed, they begin to grow, additionally injuring the muscles.
- The chronic process is formed gradually, pain sensations are distant from its beginning. It progresses from discomfort and dull pain - to increasing, intense. It often leads to disability.
Osteochondrosis often occurs in men who are forced to lift weights. The disease often develops in women. Women tend to be more sedentaryLack of movement weakens the musculoskeletal system. Staying in one position for a long time strains some muscle groups without engaging others. There is pain in the spine in the lumbar and other parts.
The scheme is the same: muscle spasm, the signal from the pain receptors from the compressed discs is read by the nerve, the person feels debilitating pain. It's called "root syndrome" (doctors explain it by pressing on the root of the spinal cord). Weakness is to blame along with an irresponsible attitude to health. Muscle tissue is able to recover, so it needs your conscious help. A pinched nerve (the second, imprecise, name of the syndrome, since the nerve does not contain pain receptors, transmits an impulse from swollen muscles) is not easy to heal. Will, patience, time are your allies.
Treatment is performed on inpatients or outpatients, as well as injuries that do not require surgery. Doctors use analgesic blocks, prescribe anti-inflammatory and soothing injections.
Full muscle work can only be restored by regular exercise. Thoughtful, competent exercise system. Choose from a significant variety of medical writer rehabilitation methods - right for you.
Spondylosis
Untreated, progressive osteochondrosis in the context of certain violations of the shape and body itself can develop into spondylosis. The growth of bone tissue is an adaptive reaction of the body. The muscles of the skeleton, the spine, do not hold. He tries to hold on with his own strength, pushing supports - bone spikes. The processes in advanced cases grow together with neighboring vertebrae. The spine is fixed, it becomes rigid, movements in the lower back are blocked.
The protrusions (growths) at the ends of the spinal segments constantly injure adjacent tissues.
Stop the disease in time or better prevent it.Do not allow the transition of osteochondrosis to spondylosis: the latter is more difficult to treat.
At least half an hour - forty minutes of simple (remember gradual) exercises daily. Add regularity to the gradual: do not skip classes. The result will be visible in two to four weeks. The time for a complete cure depends on the initial condition: how far the disease has progressed.
Proper exercise will certainly improve your well-being, but it will only ease the neglected stage, not cure it. The disease is serious. Operations for spondylosis are ineffective. Treatment is symptomatic. Anesthetize with ointments, injections.
The use of drugs is indicated if the pain in the lumbosacral region is unbearable. Dosage and frequency - adjustment.For muscles strengthened by exercises, the need for anesthesia disappears.The pain will subside. Prevention will serve as a guarantee of their non-return: gymnastics for muscles, joints and the whole body. At the same time, the body is completely healed.
Vertebral joint
Pain in the lumbosacral spine is severe in spondyloarthritis. The pain may radiate to the buttocks and thighs.
The disease is characterized by damage to the joints located between the vertebral bodies. The cartilage of the joint is destroyed, the bone tissue breaks. Nearby muscles and ligaments are inflamed and tense. Mobility is reduced. The disease progresses, occurs in the elderly, young people rarely suffer - with congenital anomalies of the spine.
Factors that cause spondyloarthritis:
- Age of retirement:
- Floor;
- Portliness;
- Heavy physical work in the past.
- Strength sports (barbell);
- Injuries?
- genetic predisposition.
In women, spondyloarthritis occurs twice as often. This fact is associated with metabolic disorders (fluctuations in the level and composition of hormones - pregnancy, menopause). It affects the statistics and the difference in the average life expectancy of different sexes. The age limit for spondyloarthritis is high, women exceed it more often.
The doctor decides how to treat, operations are not indicated. The procedures are aimed at reducing pain. The doctor will prescribe medicines and feasible exercises.
Rhizitis
If you do not treat osteochondrosis, it can be complicated by sciatica. The symptoms are similar, but the disease is more serious. Affected nerve fibers - bundles located in the muscles adjacent to the spine along the spine. Pain in the lower back, pain, pulling, radiation in the buttock and left leg, may indicate sciatica, osteochondrosis, spinal hernia. The pain also radiates to the right leg, less often it is bilateral. With sciatica, it is difficult to find a position that relieves the intensity of the pain. The pain radiates to the leg and with other health disorders of the spine, consult a doctor:High-quality diagnostics are half the success in treatment.
Radicitis in the absence of proper treatment leads to curvature of the spine. A common complication of the disease is a herniated disc, a protrusion of a disc that is compressed by the vertebrae. With a hernia of the lumbar spine, the pain is constant, this is a serious consequence of sciatica.
The onset of radiculitis, like osteochondrosis, has similar causes:
- Violation of body posture?
- Muscle discharge?
- flatfeet;
- The habit of incorrectly "holding the back" when walking, sitting, working and resting.
- Violation of metabolic processes.
If osteochondrosis occurs, pain and burning occurs in the back, treat the problem immediately. Until it got worse.
Radiculitis is treated in the same way as osteochondrosis:
- Eliminate pain - apply ointments, gels, medicines.
- Relieve inflammation.
- Strengthen the muscular system with exercises.
tuberculous process
The infectious disease tuberculosis can cause inflammation of the muscles of any localization. If the muscles of the lumbar back are inflamed, this is where the pain is felt. Tuberculosis in the bone tissue of the vertebrae is due to the penetration of certain tuberculosis bacteria into the spinal tissue with the blood stream. This causes the development of tuberculous spondylitis or osteomyelitis (bacteria infect the bone marrow of the spine).
Diseases of lumbar tuberculous etiology are accompanied by severe pain in an advanced stage.
What to do if tuberculosis of the spine is diagnosed? Follow the instructions of an experienced doctor. Delaying treatment is dangerous: the spine is gradually deformed: the vertebrae are destroyed, a hump is formed.
Treatment is long, antibacterial, sometimes surgical. Load limitation is recommended. Medical follow-up is necessary even after remission is achieved.
Volume
Tumor processes in the lumbar spine and adjacent tissues cause pain, which increases with the growth of the neoplasm. Unpleasant sensations give tumors of all kinds: benign and malignant.
If a tumor is suspected, thorough examination and treatment is vital.Symptoms may resemble a pinched nerve, sciatica, or a herniated disc. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor, establishing a reliable diagnosis.
Diagnosis is difficult due to the similarity of symptoms with other diseases. Night and morning pains are characteristic. A tumor involving the spinal cord is the most serious prognostically.
Benign tumors are treated surgically, removed. Malignant ones are more often formed by metastases from other organs, they are difficult to cure. You should contact an oncologist, he will plan and carry out the treatment. Treatment regimen: anesthesia, supportive treatment, if necessary - surgery.
Diseases of internal organs
disease, symptoms |
Why does the lower back hurt? |
Necessary actions |
|---|---|---|
A stroke is a violation of blood circulation in the brain. Failure of most body functions - speech, motor, mental. |
Acute circulatory failure due to rupture or narrowing of a blood vessel can affect the spinal cord. Its functions are disturbed, hypoxia occurs. This causes pain. |
Emergency call for ambulance ambulance. |
Atypical acute appendicitis |
Pain occurs in uncharacteristic places for this disease - epigastrium, left side or lower back. |
Call an ambulance, hospitalization and surgery are possible. |
Pyelonephritis, ICD (kidney disease) |
The inflammatory process (pyelonephritis) or the advancement of a kidney stone causes pain in the lower back and lower abdomen of varying intensity - from pain to sharp, unbearable. |
Call an ambulance. |
Intestinal obstruction. Acute life-threatening condition: fecal and gas retention, vomiting, nausea, food masses do not move through the intestines. Cold sweat, rapid pulse, drop in blood pressure. |
Pain in the form of contractions can be given to the lower back. |
Emergency treatment. |
Reflected pain |
Give them:
|
Examination by a doctor, examination, diagnosis, followed by the appointment of appropriate treatment. |
women's issues
The causes of pain are not always pathology, if we are talking about women. Sometimes they are found in purely female physiology.
During pregnancy
Lumbar pains in expectant mothers can be conditionally attributed to pain. This is a natural feeling of weight: the child grows, the stomach grows, the weight in the pelvic area is the greatest. This gives an increased load on the spine in the lumbar region. Imagine that you have a bag tied to your belt, a bucket or bucket and half of the water is poured into it. After walking with such a load for several hours, even a man will feel tired, his lower back will hurt. Carrying a child is not an easy joy by any means. 
In the initial stages, the body begins to rebuild, it becomes noticeable.
A healthy woman does not perceive the desired "excess weight" as a nuisance.Naturally developed muscles, exercise for pregnant women neutralizes the feeling of weight.If the pain is severe, the lower abdomen and waist hurt, inform the doctor who is leading the pregnancy. The doctor will help you find out what it might be. Multiple pregnancy can increase the severity - the load is greater than usual. Exacerbation of diseases that existed before pregnancy is not excluded, consultation with a doctor will reveal this.
Period
Normal process that shows: the woman is healthy. At the beginning of menstruation, the cervix opens slightly and a pulling pain may occur. Then the inner mucous membranes covering the uterus are shed - there may also be pain. If the pain is unbearable - see a doctor, he will tell you how to normalize menstruation. Irregular cycle may indicate hormonal disorders.
How to ease the pain
Acute muscle pain in the back that is not related to organ damage can be relieved on its own, quickly and without medication.
Strong exhalation (deep, from the belly) activates the diaphragm, activates blood circulation and the condition is relieved.
- Lying on the back, we put a cold object under the back (a pillow with ice, a bag of frozen vegetables, etc. ), the cold also anesthetizes the edematous muscles.
- Bend the legs slightly at the knees.
- We put our hands on the ears, on exhalation we raise the head and shoulders and lower it on inhalation.
Cold relieves swelling by activating blood flow to the lower back. The pain subsides.
Get down on the floor on all fours, stretch the muscles by walking with support on the palms and knees. 5-20 minutes is the optimal duration of exercise. The swelling subsides, anesthesia appears.
Lie on your back, feet on a bench (sofa, other comfortable support). Under the lower back - a heating pad with ice. Hands behind the head. As you exhale, lift the shoulder part, trying to reach your knees with your elbows. Perform 20 times or more if possible. Muscles grow, swelling and spasms go away, pain goes away.
There is a complex of exercises that strengthen the back muscles, here are the main ones that quickly relieve pain. Something like an ambulance. The exercises are safe, initial pain is natural. If you start performing these movements immediately, as soon as a person feels discomfort, "pulled" the muscles, it is possible to relieve the pain syndrome in one or two sessions.
Painkillers of a pharmaceutical nature bring temporary relief, but do not eliminate the problem.Apply, if unbearable, ointment, folk remedies (salt lotion, herbal baths), but the emphasis is on exercises.
Alternate between work and rest reasonably, allow yourself a good sleep.
Don't be frivolous: work your muscles proactively. Practice movements that eliminate muscle stagnation. It is a dynamic instrument. Applying reasonable sets of exercises, do not push. Be patient. The work of the muscles is controlled by the mind, their ability to regenerate (recovery) is amazing. Under load, new pathways are innervated, bypassing the damaged ones, and temporarily lost functions of the muscles affected by the disease or external influence are restored.
Anatomical changes concern only the tracts. Health, well-being, mobility - they are restored.
There is no better investment than investing in your own health. It is an investment of effort: exercise as part of a lifestyle. To make it a habit - every day, like brushing your teeth.
Hospitalization is not an option. The desire to find a comfortable position for the body that relieves pain is understandable. But if "motion is life, " then peace (which one desires in the face of pain) is the antithesis of life. Eternal peace - with any degree of laziness - few care, so you have to bother the sick muscles. Through pain Diseases are loved when treated (bed rest, minimal movement, warming up and other indulgences). Butdiseases recede before the brave, overcoming the fear of experiencing pain and through it itself. Get over self-pity: it's an excuse for laziness and fear. A little courage, regular light work and you will forget the pain in the back.