According to medical statistics, acute back pain is the second most common cause of disability. At least 80% of people have suffered from them at least once. They can occur sporadically or be seen with exacerbations of spinal diseases. But, in any case, acute and chronic back pain requires competent treatment and targeted action on the causes of its occurrence.
Acute back pain: causes
Acute pain is pain that persists for less than 6 weeks. For most, it disappears in 2 weeks. Although it is initially impossible to predict how long it will last. However, in almost half of the cases, similar or more serious attacks repeat later and become chronic pain.
Acute pain can be of different intensities, deaf, burning, etc. Sometimes it radiates to the arms, legs, buttocks. The so-called back pain usually occurs after hypothermia, excessive physical effort and as a result of sprains. Several days may pass between the impact of the traumatic factor and the direct manifestation of the pain syndrome, and it will manifest under the influence of negligible physical efforts, for example, flexion.
They can also be the result of a back injury or the first manifestation of diseases of the spine, including:
- osteochondrosis;
- intervertebral hernia;
- spondyloarthrosis;
- spinal stenosis, etc.
Increases the likelihood of back problems:
- frequent stress;
- increased regular physical activity;
- overweight;
- frequent and prolonged stay.
In addition to severe back discomfort, headaches, a burning sensation in the legs and dizziness may occur. All of these symptoms should be reported to the doctor at the consultation.
Regardless of which anatomical structure was damaged first, this involves a whole chain of successive changes that increase discomfort. Initially, inflammation factors are formed in the lesion, causing edema and irritation of the nerve fibers. In response to this, muscle spasm frequently occurs, which further aggravates the situation and causes poor circulation in the affected area. This leads to a decrease in the amount of nutrients and oxygen that enter the focus of the injury, as well as the retention of metabolic products in it.
Treatment of acute back pain
To relieve pain, lie on your back on a hard surface. This will allow your back muscles to relax and relieve stress on your spine. To increase the effect, orthopedic pillows can be placed under the knees and under the head, but it is important to avoid sagging in the lower back. With severe pain, it is allowed to take drugs from the NSAIDs group for a short term. In the future, be sure to contact a neurologist or spinal surgeon to determine the cause of the painful syndrome.
As soon as possible, you need to see a doctor if there is no improvement in one week, recurrence of an attack or irradiation of pain in the feet or knees, violation of urination and defecation. In order to diagnose existing diseases, patients are shown:
- MRI;
- CT; x-ray
- ;
- biochemical blood test;
- UAC.
Based on the results of the research and the characteristics of the symptoms, the doctor makes a diagnosis and develops treatment tactics. In case of acute pain that deprives the person of the ability to work, a spinal block can be proposed, which relieves the painful syndrome in a few minutes.
After the discomfort subsides, it is important not to linger in bed. Moderate physical activity, complemented by special exercises in medical gymnastics, is the best prevention of recurrence of these crises in the future.
When you go to the hospital, you are sure to receive high quality treatment for pain syndrome and its causes. Specialists will be able to develop the most effective treatment tactics and quickly relieve pain with the help of a well-made and accessible block.
Chronic back pain: causes
People suffer from chronic back pain just as often. They can get worse and turn into an acute pain attack, which completely shuts the person off from normal rhythm. Most of the time, they are a consequence of:
- Sedentary lifestyle, which leads to a weakening of the muscle corset. This causes an increase in the load on the spine and compression of the vertebrae. The result is osteochondrosis, protrusion of intervertebral discs and herniated intervertebral discs, spondyloarthrosis.
- Postural disorders. The long-term preservation of any position of the body, in which the natural curves of the spine are disrupted, causes their curvature and the development of scoliosis or kyphosis. This leads to degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs, redistribution of the load on the muscles and pinching of the nerve roots.
- Weakening of the abdominal muscles. Because they act as support for the internal organs and partially relieve the spine, when they are weak, the load on the lumbar region increases, which increases lordosis and causes chronic pain. In addition to sedentary lifestyle, the weakening of the abdominal muscles can be a consequence of pregnancy or obesity.
- Age changes. Over the years, the intervertebral discs gradually become dehydrated, which causes a decrease in elasticity, resistance and size. The fibrous ring that surrounds the gelatinous pulpous nucleus dries up and becomes more fragile. The loads cause the formation of cracks in it, which leads to the formation of protrusions and hernias. The resulting protrusion can compress nearby blood vessels, nerve roots and spinal cord, which causes pain to appear.
Chronic back pain diseases include:
- osteochondrosis;
- spondyloarthrosis; osteoporosis;
- intervertebral hernia; facet syndrome
- ; ankylosing spondylitis
- ;
- spondylolisthesis;
- rheumatoid arthritis; intercostal neuralgia;
- oncological and other diseases.
A common cause of chronic pain is deterioration of the joints. The cartilages located in them are also subject to thinning with excessive stress on the spine. As a result, when moving, they cease to function as shock absorbers, which causes friction of bone fragments and the development of inflammation.
Treatment for back pain
Treatment tactics are developed based on the disorders found during diagnostic studies. When spinal diseases are detected, conservative therapy is initially prescribed, including:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapy; massage
- ;
- Exercise therapy.
Conservative therapy
A holistic and individualized approach is important in the treatment of back pain. Depending on the cause of their occurrence, patients are given a series of medications, in particular:
- NSAIDs - the drugs in this group have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, but with prolonged use they negatively affect the state of the digestive tract;
- corticosteroids - drugs with pronounced anti-inflammatory properties, prescribed in moderate to severe cases;
- muscle relaxants - help to eliminate increased muscle tone and spasms; Antidepressants
- - help to eliminate psychological discomfort, which generally reduces the effectiveness of conservative therapy;
- topical agents - ointments or gels containing anti-inflammatory, heating or cooling components can help to reduce the intensity of pain and have virtually no side effects;
- chondroprotectors - preparations containing glucosamine and chondroitin have a beneficial effect on the condition of the cartilage tissue, increase its elasticity and help to restore normal thickness.
In mild cases, oral medication is sufficient. But in more complex situations, intra-articular injections can be prescribed for patients. In case of severe pain, it is recommended to do the blocks once or throughout the course, which can include up to 10 procedures.
To improve the effectiveness of drug therapy, patients receive massage and physiotherapy sessions. The correct effect on the back muscles helps to activate blood and lymph flow, improve metabolic processes and eliminate muscle spasms. Manual therapy is very effective in spinal deformities, especially in scoliosis of 1 to 2 degrees. Regular sessions help restore normal spine position and relieve pressure on internal organs.
As part of physical therapy, patients receive sessions:
- UHF;
- magnetic therapy;
- Bernard Chains; laser therapy
- ; electrophoresis
- ;
- UFO;
- balneological treatment.
If in six months it is not possible to improve the condition or if there is a risk of complications, patients can be offered surgical treatment for existing diseases.
Surgical Treatment
Modern surgical intervention methods are distinguished by a high level of efficiency and safety. They allow you to quickly eliminate the pathological cause of the development of pain syndrome and often do not require hospitalization. But most minimally invasive and microsurgical methods can be applied only when patients refer to spine surgeons in the early stages of disease development.
The indications for surgical treatment are:
- intervertebral discs with progressive hernia;
- spinal stenosis; hijacked hernia;
- fractures of the spine; scoliosis
- grade 3-4;
- severe forms of spondyloarthrosis;
- compression of the spinal cord or its nerve roots;
- hemangiomas of the vertebral bodies;
- instability of individual column segments;
- cauda equina syndrome.
The surgeon determines the type of operation based on the severity of the patient's condition. With the same diagnosis, surgical treatment can be performed in different ways, differing in the degree of invasiveness, effectiveness, time of rehabilitation and cost.
Recently, minimally invasive methods of surgical treatment have become very popular. With their help, intervertebral bumps, herniated intervertebral discs, hemangiomas and a number of other diseases are treated. Minimally invasive surgery takes no more than an hour and, after its completion, the patient can almost immediately walk and leave the clinic on the same day or the next day.
The great advantages of the method are a good cosmetic effect (in most cases, all the necessary surgical instruments are introduced through soft tissue punctures), ease of rehabilitation and an affordable price. In the case of intervertebral hernias, only nucleoplasty with cold plasma or hydroplasty (hydrodiscectomy) can be considered a more promising method.
In situations where microsurgical techniques cannot be applied, surgeons perform open operations. During them, it is possible to completely remove pathologically altered formations, level out severe spinal deformities, replace irrecoverable structures with implants and achieve normal spinal function by assembling titanium metal structures.
Modern spinal surgery is capable of dealing with almost all back problems. All the latest methods of surgical treatment of spinal diseases are available at many institutions. A team of doctors of different profiles will help you to get rid of chronic back pain, acute or excruciating, as soon as possible.
Preventing back pain
After the end of the seizure and dull pain, it is recommended to avoid a second episode:
- do not lift very heavy objects;
- don't bow;
- walk more;
- give up heavy physical work;
- when sitting, take regular breaks to warm up.