10 alternative back pain treatments to try before choosing surgery | Orthopaedics and Rehab

4. Consider acupuncture

Acupuncture is a technique in which tiny needles are inserted into the body to stimulate specific points, or energy channels, and is thought by some patients and doctors to relieve back pain.

Although there isn’t enough information yet to recommend clinical practice guidelines, acupuncture is worth a try. Some studies, such as a 2013 meta-analysis in the journal Spine, suggest that acupuncture might be an effective therapy for certain types of back pain. 

5. Ask your doctor about biofeedback

In recent years, biofeedback – a type of mind-body technique that uses electrical sensors to help you make subtle changes in your body – has grown in popularity as an effective way to manage back pain. A February 2017 meta-analysis suggested that biofeedback could reduce the intensity of back pain and muscle tension, both as a standalone treatment and when combined with other treatments.   

6. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness and meditation are well-known therapies to relieve stress and anxiety. However, some research suggests mindfulness might reduce the intensity of low back pain and improve back function in the short term.

7. Skip the stilettos 

High-heeled sandals, pumps, and stilettos might be fashionable but can push the lower back, spine, and hips out of alignment, which leads to muscle overuse and back pain. Even shoes with platform or block heels can be bad for your back over time.

If you’re not willing to part with your shoes, try to avoid wearing them for long periods of time. You could also choose lower heels, avoid pointy toed-shoes that squish the feet into an awkward position, and use gel or padded inserts to reduce the impact on your hips and spine.

8. Practice yoga

Regardless of the type and severity of your back pain, yoga can significantly reduce your symptoms. Some patients are able to avoid pain medication and surgery altogether. According to a July 2017 study in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, patients with chronic back pain were less likely to take pain medication after participating in a 12-week yoga practice, which in this study was comparable to the results of patients who participated in physical therapy.

9. Move more

You might be tempted to take a break from all physical activity when your back hurts, but doing so actually can make the pain worse. For many patients, a personalized combination of strength training exercises focused on the core (the abdominal and back muscles), flexibility exercises, and aerobic activity can effectively prevent and control chronic back pain:

• Core strength exercises can provide additional support to the lower back, improving posture and reducing strain on the spine.
• Flexibility of the muscles and ligaments in the back increases your range of motion and improves back function.
• Aerobic exercise can increase blood flow and nutrients to the tissues in the back, speeding up healing and reducing stiffness that can lead to back pain.  

10. Quit smoking

Surprised? Smoking inhibits blood flow and prevents tissue throughout the body from getting oxygen and nutrients, which can cause the spine and back muscles to weaken. The result: chronic back pain.

When you’re ready to quit smoking, talk to your doctor about tools to quit, such as prescription medications or nicotine gum or patches. Also, consider a nicotine cessation program, which, in combination with medication, has been shown to help patients quit tobacco for good.

When it comes to treating back pain, surgery should be reserved only for patients with severe conditions or when more natural treatments don’t work. For the majority of patients, lifestyle changes and alternative therapies can help keep back pain at bay over the long term.

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Symptoms, Causes, & Risk Factors

There’s a lot riding on your spinal column. It’s your body’s main structural support. It needs to keep you stable enough to stand upright but flexible enough for movement. So it’s no surprise that many people have back problems from time to time.

The hurt can stem from sore muscles, ligaments, and tendons, or from herniated disks, fractures, and other problems in your upper, middle, and lower back. Sometimes you feel the effects right away. But in many cases, back problems develop over time.

Causes

We often bring on our back problems through bad habits, such as:

• Poor posture, like sitting incorrectly at a desk or behind the steering wheel
• Repeating the same motion or overdoing it
• Pushing, pulling, and lifting things carelessly

The spine is actually a stack of 24 bones called vertebrae. A healthy spine is S-shaped when viewed from the side. It curves back at your shoulders and inward at your neck and small of your back. It houses and protects your spinal cord, the network of nerves that transmit feeling and control movement throughout your entire body.

One of the more common types of back pain comes from straining the bands of muscles surrounding the spine. It happens most often in the curve of the low back and the base of the neck. These areas support more weight than your upper and mid back, which are less prone to trouble.

Injuries from contact sports, accidents, and falls can cause problems ranging from minor muscle strains, to herniated disks, to fractures that damage to the spinal column or cord.

Stabbing low back pain could be from muscle spasms, when your muscles seize up and don’t relax, like a cramp.

Osteoarthritis can affect your vertebrae, when the cartilage between them wears down. Bone spurs or a herniated disk can push on nerves.

Pregnancy often brings on back pain, too. Hormonal changes and weight gain put new kinds of stresses on a pregnant woman’s spine and legs.

Sometimes your back might be sore for no clear reason. That’s called nonspecific backache. It could come from weak muscles that can’t handle everyday walking, bending, and stretching.

Other Symptoms

Back pain — whether a dull ache or shooting — is just one sign that something’s going on with your back. You may also have feelings in your legs or arms:

• Radiating pain
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Weakness

Uncontrolled peeing or pooping could mean a serious problem like spinal cord compression. Call your doctor right away.

Diagnosis

You should see a doctor:

• After you get hurt, like in a fall or accident
• When the pain gets in the way of your daily activities
• If it lasts longer than 6 weeks, or spreads

During your exam, your doctor will test your range of motion — unless you can’t move — and check how well your nerves are working. That may be enough to decide what to do next.

You might need imaging tests, like X-rays, an MRI, or a CT scan. But they’re not always useful, and there’s not always a direct link between the results of these tests and how much it hurts.

Treatment

Your specific treatment will depend on what’s causing your pain and where in your back it is.

Despite what you may think or have been told before, staying in bed isn’t usually the answer; gentle exercise is. It will help work out the kinks, build support for your spine, and improve your flexibility. A physical therapist can work with you to design a set of exercises, give you relief from the pain, and get you moving again.

Over-the-counter pain relievers, ice, and heat will work to take the edge off most back pain. Your doctor can prescribe stronger medicines, but some can make you drowsy or dependent on them if you’re not careful.

Complementary therapies, such as chiropractic spinal manipulation, acupuncture, and massage, can help ease pain, too.

If a bone is damaged, or you have a herniated disk or pinched nerve, you may need surgery. But for ongoing back pain, doctors will try other treatments first.

Counseling could help you learn to live with chronic pain better as well as deal with symptoms of depression because of it.

Prevention

Exercise! Strengthening the muscles around your spine and in your core will help keep you stable and balanced. Walking is great for your low back, and it’s simple to do.

Practice good posture. As a rule of thumb, aim to keep your ears, shoulders, and hips aligned when you sit, stand, and walk. Lift heavy things correctly, using your hips and knees for power while keeping your back straight.

Try sleeping on your side, with a medium-firm mattress.

Don’t smoke. It restricts blood flow, so your muscles and tissues don’t get a good supply of nutrients and oxygen. That can lead to weakness and aches. Repeated coughing could strain your back.

I Have a Sharp Pain in My Lower Back, What Could It Be?

September 07, 2018

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Approximately 80 percent of adults experience lower back pain at least once during their lifetime, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). From muscle strains to debilitating kidney conditions, there is a multitude of reasons why sharp lumbar (lower back) pain can develop.

Properly diagnosing and treating the cause of your lower back pain may involve a series of tests – but the first course of treatment should be a visit to a reputable orthopedic doctor.

What Causes Lower Back Pain?

According to the NIH, muscle strains and sprains are the most frequently reported culprit when it comes to lower back pain. Whether you work in a strenuous profession – such as construction, or a job where you complete repetitive tasks – or you’re a “weekend warrior” training for a marathon, you may have experienced weakness, pain, swelling, or even bruising in your lower back.

Luckily, this discomfort can often be mitigated through home remedies to the painful area such as heating, icing, and the use of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen.

Pain from Herniated Discs

Spinal discs act as shock absorbers and cushions between the vertebrae, protecting us against the wear-and-tear caused by everyday activities, as well as aging. A sudden and severe shooting pain in the back is a common symptom of a slipped (or herniated) disc.

A slipped disc occurs when the softer interior of a disc leaks out due to a rupture in the exterior of the disc, and this leakage can irritate the nerves and cause pain, numbness, or weakness.

Lower Back Pain from Sciatica

If the lower back pain is occurring in the buttocks and down through the legs, it may be sciatica. The sciatic nerve goes from your lower back down through your buttocks, hips, and legs. Sciatica usually affects only one side of your body.

Sciatica can be caused by a herniated disc, a bone spur along the spinal column, or spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spine). Usually, sciatica can be resolved after a few weeks of non-surgical treatment.

Back Pain from Osteoporosis or Fractures

A compression fracture of the vertebrae can be caused by degenerative conditions such as osteoporosis, which is a gradual reduction of bone density.

A back fracture can also be caused by trauma, such as a fall, sports injury, or car accident. Those experiencing this type of musculoskeletal ailment often report shooting pain the lower back, numbness, tingling, weakness, and incontinence.

Back Pain from Arthritis

While arthritis is typically associated with the hands and knees, it can target all regions of the body. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a division of the NIH, back pain is a common symptom of spinal stenosis, which can be causes by arthritis.

Of all of the vertebral sections – cervical, thoracic, and lumbar (lower back) – the lumbar region is most prone to arthritis because it bears the brunt of the body’s weight.

Back Pain from Other Areas of the Body

In some cases, the root cause of the lower back pain you feel may not actually be the back. Kidney infections or kidney stones are both known to cause excruciating lower back pain.

When urine becomes concentrated, hard deposits of minerals and salts can form deep within the kidneys, forming a stone. It usually isn’t until the stone passes into your ureter (the tube connecting the kidney and bladder) that you feel side or back pain.

If you are experiencing this type of pain, your physician may refer you to a urologist. If the pain is severe, however, you should go to the emergency room right away.

Treatment for Back Pain

Your specialist will most likely employ a multidimensional approach to treatment of your back pain, including rest, icing the area, and taking anti-inflammatory drugs. However, severe pain, high fever, or loss of bowel control are often indicators of a more serious condition affecting the spinal cord.

For this reason, it’s best to never self-diagnose, and instead seek the advice of an expert.

Who Can Help with My Back Pain?

Spectrum Orthopaedics is Northeast Ohio’s premier center for orthopedic care. Our state-of-the-art medical center offers comprehensive services by top-rated surgeons and specialists.

If you’re seeking expert care to help resolve your back pain, arthritis, and other orthopedic issues, look no further. Call us today at (330) 305-0838 or (844) 469-2663 for more information or to schedule an appointment, or you can fill out our simple online appointment request form now to get started. We look forward to helping you live a more active, enjoyable lifestyle.

Lumbar Strain | Cedars-Sinai

Not what you’re looking for?

What is a lumbar strain?

A lumbar strain is an injury to the
lower back. This leads to damaged tendons and muscles that can spasm and feel sore.
The
lumbar vertebra make up the section of the spine in your lower back.

What causes lumbar strain?

Injury can damage the tendons and
muscles in the lower back. Pushing and pulling sports, such as weight lifting or
football, can lead to a lumbar strain. In addition, sports that require sudden twisting
of the lower back, such as in tennis, basketball, baseball, and golf, can lead to
this
injury.

Certain risk factors can increase
the risk for this injury. The risk factors are:

• Severe lower back curvature
• Forward-tilted pelvis
• Weak back or belly (abdominal) muscles
• Tight hamstrings

What are the symptoms of lumbar strain?

. Each person’s symptoms may be
different. Symptoms may include:

• Sudden lower back pain
• Spasms in the lower back that result
  in more severe pain
• Lower back feels sore to the
  touch

Some of these symptoms may be
caused by other health problems. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a
diagnosis.

How is lumbar strain diagnosed?

In addition to a complete medical
history and physical exam, diagnosing low back pain may include the following. However,
specialized tests aren’t often required.

• X-ray. A diagnostic test that produces images of internal
  tissues, bones, and organs onto film.
• CT scan. This is an imaging test that uses X-rays and a
  computer to make detailed images of the body. It shows details of the bones, muscles,
  fat, and organs.

• MRI.  This test uses a combination of large magnets,
  radiofrequencies, and a computer to make detailed images of organs and structures
  in
  the body.
• Radionuclide bone scan. A nuclear imaging technique that
  uses a very small amount of radioactive material, which is injected into your blood
  to be detected by a scanner. This test shows blood flow to the bone and cell activity
  in the bone.
• Electromyogram (EMG). A test to evaluate nerve and muscle
  function.

How is lumbar strain treated?

Treatment will depend on your symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend
on
how severe the condition is.

Treatment may include:

• Rest
• Ice packs or heat and compression
  applied to the back
• Exercises (to strengthen the abdominal
  muscles)
• Stretching and strengthening exercises
  (for the lower back as it heals)
• Learning how to use and wear
  appropriate protective equipment

Medicines, such as
anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, and spinal injections, may also be used to
ease
pain and inflammation.

When should I call my healthcare provider?

Call your healthcare provider if
you have any of these:

• Can’t stand or walk
• Temperature over 101. 0°F (38.3°C)
• Chills
• Frequent, painful, or bloody
  urination
• Severe belly pain
• Sharp, stabbing pain
• Constant pain
• Pain or numbness in your leg
• Pain in a new area of your back
• The pain isn’t decreasing after more
  than a week

Call your healthcare provider right
away if you have any of these:

• Pain radiating down the leg.
• Pain that is accompanied by fever or
  chills, leg weakness, or loss of control of the bladder or bowels.

Living with lumbar strain

Cold reduces swelling. Both cold and heat can reduce pain. Protect your skin by placing
a towel between your body and the ice or heat source.

• For the first few days, apply an ice
  pack for 15 to 20 minutes.
• After the first few days, try heat for 15 minutes at a time to ease pain. Never sleep
  on a heating pad.
• Over-the-counter medicines can help control pain and swelling. Try aspirin or ibuprofen.

Exercise

Exercise can help your back
heal. It also helps your back get stronger and more flexible, helping prevent
reinjury. Ask your healthcare provider about specific exercises for your back.

Use good posture to prevent reinjury

• When moving, bend at the hips and knees. Don’t bend at the waist or twist around.
• When lifting, keep the object close to your body. Don’t try to lift more than you
  can handle.
• When sitting, keep your lower back supported. Use a rolled-up towel as needed.

Key points about lumbar strain

• Lumbar refers to your lower back.
• Strain can cause damage to the tendons and muscles causing pain and soreness.
• Nonsurgical methods can cure most low back pain.
• Call your healthcare provider if
  symptoms don’t get better over the next few days or if symptoms get worse.

Next steps

Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your health care
provider:

• Know the reason for your visit and what you want to happen.
• Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.
• Bring someone with you to help you ask questions and remember
  what your provider tells you.
• At the visit, write down the name of a new diagnosis, and any
  new medicines, treatments, or tests. Also write down any new instructions your
  provider gives you.
• Know why a new medicine or treatment is prescribed, and how it
  will help you. Also know what the side effects are.
• Ask if your condition can be treated in other ways.
• Know why a test or procedure is recommended and what the results
  could mean.
• Know what to expect if you do not take the medicine or have the
  test or procedure.
• If you have a follow-up appointment, write down the date, time,
  and purpose for that visit.
• Know how you can contact your provider if you have questions.

Medical Reviewer: Thomas N Joseph MD

Medical Reviewer: Raymond Turley Jr PA-C

Medical Reviewer: Stacey Wojcik MBA BSN RN

© 2000-2021 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional’s instructions.

Not what you’re looking for?

Back and Neck Pain | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Back pain can range from a mild, dull, annoying ache, to persistent, severe, disabling pain. Pain in your back can restrict mobility and interfere with normal functioning and quality of life. You should always consult your health care provider if you have persistent pain.

Neck pain occurs in the area of the cervical vertebrae in your neck. Because of its location and range of motion, your neck is often left unprotected and subject to injury.

Pain in your back or neck area can be acute. That means it comes on suddenly and intensely. Chronic pain lasts for weeks, months, or even years. The pain can be continuous or intermittent.

What causes back and neck pain?

Even with today’s technology, the exact cause of back and neck pain is difficult to determine. In most cases, back and neck pain may have many different causes, including any of the following:

• Overuse, strenuous activity, or improper use, such as repetitive or heavy lifting

• Trauma, injury, or fractures

• Degeneration of vertebrae, often caused by stresses on the muscles and ligaments that support your spine, or the effects of aging

• Infection

• Abnormal growth, such as a tumor or bone spur

• Obesity, which places increased weight on your spine, and pressure on your discs

• Poor muscle tone

• Muscle tension or spasm

• Sprain or strain

• Ligament or muscle tears

• Joint problems, such as arthritis

• Smoking

• Protruding or herniated (slipped) disk and pinched nerve

• Osteoporosis and compression fractures

• Congenital (present at birth) abnormalities of your vertebrae and bones

• Abdominal problems, such as an aortic aneurysm 

Where Low Back Pain Begins

Continue Reading

What are the symptoms of back and neck pain?

Symptoms associated with back pain may include:

• Dull, burning, or sharp pain in your back.   The pain can be confined to a single spot or cover a large area

• Leg numbness or tingling above or below your knee

• Stiffness or achiness that occurs anywhere along your spine (from your neck to your tailbone)

• Sharp, shooting pain that radiates from your low back to your buttocks, down the back of  your thigh, and into your calf and toes

• Consistent ache in the middle or lower part of your back, especially after standing or sitting for an extended period

Loss of bladder and bowel control, with weakness in both legs, are symptoms of a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention.

Symptoms associated with neck pain can be:

Pain that occurs suddenly in your back or neck, due to an injury, is considered to be acute pain. Acute pain comes on quickly and may leave sooner than chronic back or neck pain. This type of pain should not last more than 6 weeks.

Pain that may come on quickly or slowly and lingers for weeks, 3 months or greater, is considered to be chronic pain. Chronic pain is less common than acute pain.

How are back and neck pain diagnosed?

If you experience neck or back pain, you should see your health care provider for a medical and physical exam. He or she may also do X-rays of the affected areas, as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This allows a more complete view.  The MRI produces pictures of soft tissues as well, such as ligaments, tendons, and blood vessels. The MRI could lead to a diagnosis of infection, tumor, inflammation, or pressure on your nerve. Sometimes a blood test may help diagnose arthritis, a condition that can cause back and neck pain.

How are back and neck pain treated?

If you experience acute back or neck pain, it may simply improve with some rest. Over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, may also help with the discomfort. You should try to move gently during this period, so that you will not become stiff and lose mobility.

If you have chronic pain of your back and neck, you should try several remedies that may be helpful, before seeking surgical options. These include:

• Hot or cold packs (under your health care provider’s instructions)

• Specific exercises to strengthen muscles and ease pain, such as stretching and flexing. Your health care provider can provide and demonstrate these exercises.

• Aerobic exercise may be permitted and can help with your overall fitness and strength

• Certain anti-inflammatory medications or muscle relaxants may be used, with your health care provider’s supervision

• Braces or corsets for extra support

• Injections for pain relief in the area

• Nerve block, which decreases pain signals from  the affected nerve

• Acupuncture

How are back and neck pain managed?

Acute back pain usually gets better without special treatment. Using acetaminophen or ibuprofen will decrease pain and help you rest. Surgery and special exercises are generally not  used with acute pain.

 For severe, disabling, or chronic back and neck pain, rehabilitation programs can be designed to meet your needs. The type of program will depend on the type and severity of your pain, injury, or disease. Active involvement of the patient and family is vital to the success of rehabilitation programs.   

The goal of back and neck rehabilitation is to help you manage disabling pain, return to your highest level of functioning and independence possible, while improving your overall quality of life. The focus of rehabilitation is on relieving pain and improving mobility (movement).

To help reach these goals, back and neck rehabilitation programs may include the following:

• Exercise programs to improve range of motion, increase muscle strength, improve flexibility and mobility, and increase endurance

• Help with obtaining assistive devices that promote independence

• Patient and family education and counseling

• Pain management techniques

• Smoking cessation counseling

• Gait (walking) and movement retraining

• Stress management

• Nutritional counseling

• Ergonomic assessments and work-related injury prevention programs

• Vocational counseling

What are the complications of neck and back pain?

• Loss or productivity: Back pain is the most common reason for disability in working adults.

• Nerve damage: If your back pain is from a herniated disc, pressure on the spinal nerves may cause a variety of problems, such as weakness, numbness, or severe shooting pain that travels from the back to the leg.

• Depression: Back or neck pain can disrupt all aspects of a person’s life: work, physical exercise, social activities, and sleep. The anxiety and stress caused by the change in mobility and pain can lead to depression.

• Weight gain: Loss of mobility and inability to exercise can lead to weight gain and the loss of muscle strength.

It is a good idea to see a health care provider if you have numbness or tingling, or if your pain is severe and does not improve with medication and rest. If you have difficulty urinating, weakness, pain, or numbness in your legs, fever, or unintentional weight loss, you should call your health care provider right away.

Can I prevent neck and back pain?

The following may help to prevent back and neck pain:

• Practice correct lifting techniques: avoid heavy lifting; when you do lift something, bend your legs, keep your back straight, and then slowly lift your body and the object.

• Properly use telephones, computers, and other equipment.

• Maintain correct posture while sitting, standing, and sleeping.

• Exercise regularly. Learn specific back-strengthening exercises to keep your back muscles strong. Warm up with stretching exercises before doing back exercises.

• Do exercises that improve your balance.

• Avoid smoking.

• Maintain a healthy weight

• Reduce emotional stress, which may cause muscle tension.

• Make sure you have enough Vitamin D and calcium in your diet.

When should I call my health care provider?

See your health care provider if you have:

• Loss of bladder or bowel control, with weakness in both legs.  These symptoms require immediate attention

• Severe back or neck pain that does not decrease with medication and rest

• Pain after an injury or a fall

• Weakness, numbness, or tingling in your legs or arms

• Fever

• Unintentional weight loss

Key points

• Back and neck problems range from minor aches to severe, disabling pain

• Often, the reasons for your pain cannot be identified.

• See a health care provider if you have numbness or tingling, severe  pain that does not improve with medication and rest, difficulty urinating, weakness, pain, or numbness in your legs, fever, unintentional weight loss, or pain after a fall.

• Often, back and neck pain will improve over time. Consult with your health care provider if your pain is not decreasing.

• Use prevention strategies to keep yourself healthy and injury-free.

For severe, disabling, or chronic back pain, consider an individualized rehabilitation program.

Lower Back Pain | Causes, Treatments, Exercises, Back Pain Relief

Peer Reviewed

The Universal Guide to Lower Back Pain: Everything you ever wanted to know, straight from the experts.

In This Article: Lower Back Anatomy   |    How Long Does Lower Back Pain Usually Last?   |    Common Causes   |    Other Causes   |    Home Remedies   |    Nonsurgical Treatments   |    Complementary, Alternative, and Emerging Treatments   |    Surgery    |    When Is Lower Back Pain an Emergency?   |    Lower Back Pain Prevention   |    Sources

If you’ve ever had lower back pain stop you from doing what you want, you’re not alone. Lower back pain is one of the most common medical problems in the world. It is a leading reason why people visit a doctor, affecting more than 80% of adults at some point in their lives.  According to the Global Burden of Disease—a significant study published in the Lancet medical journal—lower back pain is also a leading cause of disability.

While severe lower back pain can cause worry, pain severity is not always an indication something is seriously wrong. Photo Source: Shutterstock.

You may not be able to prevent lower back pain, especially as you age and your back loses some strength and resilience. Fortunately, there are many ways you can get relief, no matter the cause of your back pain.

What Exactly Is the Lower Back, Anyway?

Your lower back is known as the lumbar region of the spine. It has a lot of heavy lifting to do: The lumbar spine carries the weight of your entire upper body, plus biomechanical stresses that occur with movement.

The lumbar spine has five vertebrae—backbones. Each vertebra has a large disc – cushiony gel wrapped in a tough membrane – on its front side that acts as a shock absorber. Each vertebra also has two cartilage-lined facet joints on its back side. Working together, discs and facet joints allow the spine to safely bend and twist.

Your lower back also includes ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Ligaments are strong bands that hold the vertebrae and discs together. Tendons attach muscles to the vertebrae. These structures help limit excessive movement that could harm the spinal cord.

How Long Does Lower Back Pain Usually Last?

Lower back pain can be categorized as acute, subacute or chronic. Acute episodes of lower back pain usually last from a few days to 4 weeks and subacute lower back pain lasts between 4 to 12 weeks. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, about 20 percent of people with acute back pain go on to develop chronic back pain—defined as pain that lasts 12 weeks or longer. Even in these cases, there are many different treatment options to help relieve lower back pain symptoms.

When your back is really killing you, you might worry something is seriously wrong. The same goes for back pain that seems unending. The good news is that while back pain is a major inconvenience, it is rarely an urgent medical issue. In fact, most of the time you don’t have to treat it. Back pain usually resolves on its own – unless you have a major underlying issue.

What Are Some Common Lower Back Pain Causes?

The causes of lower back pain are sometimes viewed as being mechanical, organic or idiopathic. Sometimes spinal conditions are congenital (at birth) or acquired meaning the disorder develops later in life.

• Mechanical lower back pain is often triggered by spinal movement and involves spinal structures, such as the facet joints, intervertebral discs, vertebral bodies (vertebrae), ligaments, muscles or soft tissues.
• Organic lower back pain is attributed to disease, such as spinal cancer.
• Idiopathic refers to an unknown cause.

These are some of the things your doctor might look for – or rule out – when you schedule a visit for back pain.

The common symptoms of lower back pain.

Sprains and strains. Ligament sprains and muscle or tendon strains are the most common causes of lower back pain. They’re often related to overuse.

Degenerative disc disease. While the name sounds worrisome, it just means you have a damaged disc causing pain. Over time, discs become thinner and flatter due to wear and tear. That leaves them less able to cushion the vertebrae and more likely to tear (see below).

Herniated disc. The protective covering on intervertebral discs can tear over time. When this happens, the soft inner disc tissue may push through the outer layer. A disc that bulges or slips out of place is known as a herniated disc, bulging disc, or slipped disc. The herniation may press on nerve roots, leading to symptoms such as pain, tingling, numbness or weakness in the area that the nerve serves

Sciatica. Pain that results from a pinched or irritated sciatic nerve. This nerve runs down your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Sciatica is how laypeople refer to pain that travels down the leg from the lower back, although your doctor may use the term lumbar radiculopathy.

Spondylolisthesis. A vertebra slides forward out of position, disrupting your spine’s alignment and sometimes compressing nerve roots. It is most common in the lumbar region, but can happen anywhere along the spine. This slippage is often caused by either disc degeneration or a fractured vertebra (spondylolysis).

Spinal stenosis. A narrowing of the inside spaces of your spine, most often from a herniated disc but sometimes from bone spurs caused by spinal osteoarthritis. This can result in painful pressure on your spinal nerves. Spinal stenosis can occur in both the upper (cervical) spine and the lumbar spine, but lumbar spinal stenosis is more common.

What Are Some Other Causes of Lower Back Pain?

The shape of your spine, and well as spinal diseases, are other culprits in lower back pain. Depending on a range of factors, your doctor may look for:

Abnormal spinal curvature. A normal spine resembles a gently curved letter S when seen from the side. Abnormal curves include:

• Lordosis, in which the spine curves too far inward at the lower back
• Kyphosis, in which the spine is abnormally rounded in the upper back
• Scoliosis, in which the spine curves from side to side, often in a C shape

Normal and abnormal curves of the spineArthritis. There are more than 100 types of arthritis, many of which can cause lower back pain. The most common types include osteoarthritis (the most common by far; in the back it’s known as spondylosis), rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.

Cauda equina syndrome (CES). Compression of the bundle of nerves that forms below the spinal cord in the lumbar spine. It is a rare but serious disorder that requires immediate medical attention and possibly emergency surgery. CES got its name from the fact that the fanned-out bundle of nerves resembles the base of a horse’s tail.

Discitis or osteomyelitis.Both infections of discs (discitis) and bone (osteomyelitis) can cause severe pain and require prompt medical attention.

Osteoporosis. Your bones lose mass faster than it can be replaced, making them brittle. They can even fracture with little or no warning. These fractures are especially common in the spine, where they’re called vertebral compression fractures. Both men and women lose bone mass as they age, but postmenopausal women lose it much faster and so are more at risk for osteoporosis.

Spinal tumors. When cells divide and multiply unchecked, the result is a tumor. Both benign and malignant tumors can cause lower back pain. They can either originate in the spine or metastasize there, meaning they’ve spread from somewhere else in the body.

What Home Remedies for Lower Back Pain Actually Work?

Unless you’ve had a major injury, such as a fall or car accident, you probably don’t need to rush to the doctor for back pain. You may want to try these simple self-care strategies first.

Avoid bed rest. When lower back pain strikes, people often think complete rest will relieve back pain. However, a review of many clinical studies found that patients who retreated to bed actually experienced more pain – and recovered more slowly ­– than patients who stayed fairly active

Use ice and/or heat. Many people find that using ice or cold packs for periods of up to 20 minutes at a time helps reduce pain and swelling. Always wrap ice or a cold pack in a thin towel before putting it on your body so you don’t injure your skin. You may also find that heat, such as a heating pad or warm bath, eases pain. Ice is recommended in the first 48 hours after injury; then you can try a combo of ice and heat. 

Try over-the-counter (OTC) remedies. Short-term use of OTC pain relievers, such as the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ibuprofen and naproxen, may ease your lower back pain. Also consider OTC creams, gels, patches, or sprays applied to the skin. They stimulate the nerves in the skin to provide feelings of warmth or cold in order to dull the sensation of pain.

What Are Some Less Invasive or Noninvasive Back Pain Treatments?

Your doctor has a wide range of treatments that may help your lower back pain. In general, expect your doctor to take a stepped care approach. That means starting with simple, low-cost treatments and moving to more aggressive approaches later. Keep in mind that many treatments take time to reach their full effect.

Medications. When over-the-counter pills and topicals don’t do enough to relieve back pain, your doctor may recommend a prescription drug. Examples include:

• Antiseizure medication, such gabapentin or pregabalin, for nerve-related pain
• Muscle relaxants, such as baclofen or carisoprodol

• Prescription NSAIDs, such as celecoxib, diclofenac, or fenoprofen
• Opioids, such as oxycodone or hydrocodone, on a short-term basis. (For a variety of reasons, opioids aren’t good long-term options for lower back pain.)

Physical therapy (PT). PT for lower back pain involves passive and active therapies to help the patient build core muscle strength, improve spinal flexibility and range of motion, correct posture and more. Your physical therapy sessions may include:

Injections. An epidural steroid injection or a selective nerve block may provide short-term pain relief when lower back pain causes sciatica symptoms, such as leg pain.

What Are Some Complementary, Alternative, and Emerging Treatments for Lower Back Pain?

In some cases, doctors suggest therapies that are not considered “standard of care.” They probably won’t be covered by insurance, but they may be worth considering. Examples include:

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP). PRP treatments use a small sample of your own blood that has concentrated amounts of blood building blocks known as platelets. Your doctor then injects the PRP directly into a damaged disc. The theory is that PRP injections use your own healing system to accelerate improvement of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. PRP treatment has a longer track record in knee osteoarthritis, but a recent review article in the Journal of Spine Surgery suggests it may have a useful role for back pain, too. PRP needs a lot more research before it can be considered a proven technique.

Stem cells. In this emerging treatment, your doctor injects stem cells harvested from your hip into the intervertebral disc or discs causing your pain. Doing so may lessen pain and the degenerative effects of aging, though, like PRP, more research is needed before stem cells for lower back pain could eventually become the standard of care.

Acupuncture. Your doctor probably doesn’t perform acupuncture (some do), but may support you trying it as a complementary therapy. Acupuncture involves careful insertion of fine, sterile needles into specific points on your body. This may stimulate the release of your natural pain-killing chemicals.

Chiropractic care. More than 50 percent of people with acute lower back pain see a chiropractor, a healthcare provider who specializes in spinal manipulation. Look for one that uses evidence-based techniques.

What Are the Most Common Lower Back Surgery Procedures?

Spine surgery is not necessary for most people who have lower back pain. If you do need it, your doctor will recommend an appropriate procedure to address your specific symptoms and medical situation. Common spine surgeries include:

Spinal Fusion. Two or more vertebrae are permanently fused together to limit excess spinal motion. Your surgeon will use a combination of bone, bonelike material, screws, plates and rods to hold the vertebrae together so they can heal into a single unit. Spinal fusion may be done to correct spinal deformities or to increase the spine’s stability in severe cases of spinal osteoarthritis or herniated discs.

Laminectomy and laminotomy. Laminectomy is a surgery in which your surgeon removes the back portion of one or more vertebrae to create more space for the spinal cord or other nerves. In people with severe arthritis, bone spurs within the spinal canal can grow large enough to press on the spinal cord, causing pain and limiting mobility. In a similar surgery known as laminotomy, your surgeon will remove a small piece of bone called the lamina from the back of the vertebra. 

Discectomy and microdiscectomy. When a herniated disc in the lower back is causing severe symptoms like pain or loss of sensation, your surgeon might operate to remove a portion of the damaged disc. When the surgeon operates through standard incisions in your back, the surgery is known as a discectomy. When the surgeon uses a minimally invasive technique and small incisions, the surgery is called a microdiscectomy. Discectomies are rarely performed anymore due to the safety, effectiveness, ease and low rate of complications that microdiscectomy brings to the table.

When Is Lower Back Pain an Emergency?

Most episodes of lower back pain eventually resolve on their own, but there are times when you should seek urgent medical attention. Some of these situations include:

• Patient is a child
• Accident, injury, other trauma
• Fever or nausea
• Weakness, numbness and/or tingling sensations develop in the legs and/or feet
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Pain is severe, constant, suddenly or progressively worsens, and/or doesn’t go away
• Pain interrupts sleep

While some situations may warrant immediate intervention, most cases are not urgent and can be scheduled at a time convenient for the patient.

How Can You Prevent Lower Back Pain?

While you can’t stop aging or change your genetic makeup, lifestyle changes can help manage and prevent lower back pain. Having a healthy lifestyle may make you less likely to suffer an accidental injury, too.

Improve your physical fitness. People who are not physically fit are more likely to develop lower back pain because strong core muscles help support the lower back.

Stay active. People who lead sedentary lives may be more likely to injure themselves when they do exert themselves. As far as back health is concerned, it’s better to do a smaller amount of physical activity most days of the week than to sit all week and over-exert yourself on the weekends.

Lose weight if necessary. The more you weigh, the more pressure you have on your lumbar vertebrae. Being overweight or obese can put stress on the back and lead to lower back pain.

Lift heavy objects the right way. Be sure to squat while lifting so that your hips and knees do much of the work. Keep the load close to your chest while you lift.

Your legs, not your lower back, should be the main driver when you’re lifting something heavy.Make your workspace as ergonomic as possible. If you sit at a desk, make sure your chair has plenty of low-back support and your hips are at a right angle to the floor.

Manage your mental health. People who have anxiety and depression, or face excessive stress, may be more likely to experience back pain over time. And, let’s face it, living with lower back pain can be difficult, too. Making your mental health a priority can help reduce your risk of lower back pain.

Don’t use tobacco products. In addition to all the other health problems tobacco use causes, it can restrict blood flow and oxygen to the discs, causing them to degenerate faster.

Make common-sense choices to reduce injury. Wear your seatbelt at all times while in a moving vehicle. Don’t carry (or allow your child to carry) very heavy backpacks. And, while it should go without saying, don’t spend a weekend doing heavy gardening or in a tennis match if you’ve been sedentary for a few months.

Continue Reading … Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Sources

Prevalence: National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. (Updated April 30, 2020.) “Back Pain.” https://medlineplus.gov/backpain.html

Anatomy: Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.) “Lower Back Pain: What Could It Be?” https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/back-pain/lower-back-pain-what-could-it-be

Duration: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (April 27, 2020). “Low Back Pain Fact Sheet.” https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Low-Back-Pain-Fact-Sheet

Common causes: Cedars-Sinai.org. (n.d.) “Degenerative Disc Disease.” https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/d/degenerative-disc-disease.html

American Association of Neurological Surgeons. (n.d.) “Low Back Strain and Sprain.” https://www.aans.org/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Low-Back-Strain-and-Sprain

Mayo Clinic. (August 1, 2020.) “Sciatica.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/symptoms-causes/syc-20377435

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (n.d.) “Adult Spondylolisthesis in the Low Back.” https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/adult-spondylolisthesis-in-the-low-back/

Mayo Clinic. (n.d.) “Spinal stenosis.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-stenosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352961

Arthritis Foundation. (n.d.) “When Back Pain May Mean Arthritis.” https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/about-arthritis/where-it-hurts/when-back-pain-may-mean-arthritis

Arthritis Foundation. (n.d.) “Osteoporosis.” https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/osteoporosis

American Association of Neurological Surgeons (n.d.) “Spinal Tumors.” https://www.aans.org/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Spinal-Tumors

Treatments: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. (2010.) “Advice to rest in bed versus advice to stay active for acute low-back pain and sciatica.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20556780/

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2016.) “Acupuncture: In Depth.” https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-in-depth

Journal of the American Medical Association. (2018.) “Effect of Opioid vs Nonopioid Medications on Pain-Related Function in Patients With Chronic Back Pain or Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis Pain The SPACE Randomized Clinical Trial.” https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2673971

Spine Journal. (2015.) “Can patient characteristics predict benefit from epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbar spinal stenosis symptoms?” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26096484/

Hospital for Special Surgery. (n.d.) “Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections.” https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_prp-injections.asp#:~:text=Platelet%2Drich%20plasma%20(PRP)%20therapy%20uses%20injections%20of%20a,system%20to%20improve%20musculoskeletal%20problems

Journal of Spine Surgery. (2018.) “Platelet-rich plasma injections: an emerging therapy for chronic discogenic low back pain.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5911760/#:~:text=The%20clinical%20studies%20that%20used,not%20cause%20any%20major%20complications.

Current Pain and Headache Report. (July 29, 2019.) Stem Cell Therapies for Treatment of Discogenic Low Back Pain: a Comprehensive Review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31359164/

Prevention: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (April 27, 2020). “Low Back Pain Fact Sheet.” https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Low-Back-Pain-Fact-Sheet

Vos T, Flaxman AD, Naghavi M, et al. Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 of 289 diseases and injuries 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012 Dec 15;380(9859):2163-96. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61729-2.

Chou R. Subacute and chronic low back pain. Nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment. UpToDate. June 9, 2019. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/subacute-and-chronic-low-back-pain-nonpharmacologic-and-pharmacologic-treatment?search=low%20back%20pain&source=search_result&selectedTitle=4~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=4. Accessed July 24, 2019.

Low Back Pain Sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). National Institutes of Health (NIH). Last modified: May 14, 2019. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Low-Back-Pain-Fact-Sheet. Accessed July 24, 2019.

Dahm KT, Brurberg KG, Jamtvedt G, Hagen KB. Advice to rest in bed versus advice to stay active for acute low back pain and sciatica. Cochrane Library. Cochrane Database Sys Rev. 2010.

Turner JA, Comstock BA, Standaert CJ, et al. Can patient characteristics predict benefit from epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbar spinal stenosis symptoms? Spine J. 2015;15(11):2319-31.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Acupuncture: In depth. January 2016. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/introduction. Accessed July 24, 2019.

Updated on: 03/30/21

9 Causes and Treatment Options

• The most common cause of low back pain on the left side is a muscle strain. 
• Other causes of lower left back pain include a kidney infection, herniated disc, and pregnancy. 
• To treat lower left back pain, take OTC pain relievers, improve your posture, and apply heat.
• Visit Insider’s Health Reference library for more advice.

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A stabbing or throbbing pain on the lower left side of your back can sideline you from exercise and basic activities for days. The good news is that it’s probably because you’ve strained some of your back muscles or ligaments, which will heal over time.

But in some cases, unilateral back pain, like on just the left side, signals a serious issue like an infection or injury that needs medical care.

Here are nine potential causes of pain on the left side of your lower back, when to consult a doctor, and how you can treat it yourself.

1. Muscle strain

The most common cause of lower left back pain is an injury to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments supporting the spine such as: 

• A fall or other accident causing back trauma
• A sudden twisting movement 
• An uneven distribution of weight, such as when you’re carrying a heavy bag on one shoulder
• Poor posture

Signs your back pain is due to a muscle strain is if you feel sore, stiff, experience a stabbing pain, or have muscle spasms, says Michael Rosner, MD, a neurosurgeon at George Washington University’s School of Medical and Health Sciences. 

2. Infection 

An advanced bladder infection or left kidney infection can cause a constant, aching pain that radiates through your left lower back.

If you have other symptoms such as burning urination, fever, or chills, see your doctor as soon as possible to check for an infection, says Anthony Chiodo, MD, clinical director of Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at the University of Michigan.

3. Kidney stones

Related

The major causes and risk factors for kidney stones

Kidney stones, which are mineral build ups in your urinary tract, can cause sharp, intense pain through the lower left side of your back as well as pain in the lower abdomen, groin, and below the ribs. Another common symptom is bloody urine. 

Smaller stones can pass through the urinary tract without treatment, but a urologist may need to remove larger stones via surgery or by using shock waves to break them up.

4. Endometriosis

Related

Symptoms of endometriosis and how you can manage the pain

Endometriosis is a condition where painful lesions grow on the outside of a person’s uterus. It can cause low left back pain, along with intense cramping during menstruation and pain during intercourse.

5. Stress fracture

Overtime repeated physical activity, such as lifting weights or playing sports like tennis, rowing, and gymnastics can strain the spine, resulting in a stress fracture. 

The area may hurt when you touch it, and the pain may be too severe to respond to over-the-counter treatments. Most cases heal on their own in six to eight weeks, but the only way to get a proper diagnosis is through medical attention.

6. Pregnancy

More than two-thirds of pregnant women experience lower back pain, most often in the form of what is called posterior pelvic pain. 

Posterior pelvic pain is a deep, throbbing pain that you either experience on one or both sides of your lower back.

You will also probably experience general muscle soreness in your back as the baby grows larger. That’s because the baby’s weight can throw off your center of gravity, which may require you to compensate by working different muscles in your back.

7. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is when the joint that connects the hip bones to the lower part of the spine moves abnormally, becoming inflamed.

Inflammation in the left hip joint can cause a dull, aching pain in the left lower back, often accompanied by pain in the buttocks, or in the back of the left upper thigh. 

The condition can be chronic or a result of temporary stress. Risk factors include pregnancy, uneven leg length, or impact from an accident like a fall.   

8. Herniated disc 

Lumbar disks, the cushion of tissue between each vertebrae in the lower spine, can bulge or compress under stress, causing a herniated disc.

Most people have no symptoms from a herniated disc, but some develop pain and numbness on one side of their lower back, depending on where the disc is located. In rare cases, disks break or rupture, causing severe pain and requiring surgery to prevent permanent nerve damage. 

“If you have radiating leg pain or increasing leg weakness, or bowel or bladder dysfunction, go to the emergency room,” Chiodo says.

9. Tumor

While rare, spinal cancer or a spinal tumor can cause back pain on the left or right side of the back.

Other symptoms may include unexplained

weight loss
, fever, numbness, weakness, or difficulty walking. However, it’s important to note that this is a rare cause of back pain. 

How to treat low back pain

• Over-the-counter pain medications such as acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen to relieve pain and inflammation. 
• Prescription drugs like muscle relaxants or pain relievers can provide short-term relief.
• Over-the-counter topical creams, gels, patches, or sprays with lidocaine, menthol, or capsaicin stimulate nerves in the skin, dulling pain. They can be particularly helpful for localized pain due to sore muscles. 
• Hot or cold pads may help ease pain, reduce inflammation, and improve mobility.
• Core exercises that strengthen your abs and muscles lining the spine may help take the stress off the back, Rosner says. Check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program to make sure the exercises are right for your condition. 
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), an eight-week program of meditation and gentle yoga, can improve chronic lower back pain. 

Insider’s takeaway 

Pain on the lower left backside is a common ailment and is usually the result of a soft tissue injury. Most back pain can be treated at home and should go away in a matter of weeks.

Having additional symptoms like fever or severe pain that persists for more than a few days may be a sign of a more serious underlying cause, such as a disk rupture, fracture, or an infection. 

Consult your doctor as soon as possible if your arm or leg feels numb, you have problems walking or standing, or if you lose control of your bladder or bowels. 

90,000 Low Back Pain Treatment – New Hospital

Pain, lumbago, constant heaviness, are you familiar with such sensations in the back?

Harmless pulling pain is often a sign of a dangerous illness. In our article, we will analyze all the causes of the disease.

Reading time 7 minutes, devote them to your health.

Reasons

1. Diseases of the spine and pelvic bones.

• Osteochondrosis (damage to intervertebral discs (protrusion, herniated discs)
• Spondylitis (inflammatory disease of the spine)
• Spondyloarthrosis (arthrosis of the intervertebral joints)
• Spondylosis (bone growths)
• Spondyloarthritis (inflammation in the intervertebral joints)
• Myositis (muscle inflammation)
• Osteoprosis (decreased bone density) with compression fractures of the vertebrae and other bone structures
• Injury of the spine and pelvic bones (fractures, cracks)
• Sacroiliitis (inflammation in the sacroiliac joints)
• Tumors of bone structures and soft tissues

2.Reflected pain in the lumbar spine , associated with diseases of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis (inflammatory diseases and tumors), this pain is often accompanied by abdominal pain.

The nature of the pain can be different:

• Acute is pain that occurs quickly, suddenly
• Chronic – pain for more than 2 months, occurs with the progression of diseases of the spine
• For inflammatory pathologies of the genitourinary system, abdominal organs (for chronic gastritis, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, enterocolitis)

Pain intensity

from discomfort to severe pain syndrome

In case of acute and intense abdominal pain radiating to the lumbar spine, it is always necessary to exclude surgical pathology that requires urgent surgical intervention (gastrointestinal bleeding, appendicitis, peritonitis, etc.).

Intense pain in the lumbar spine
May be reflex (muscle spasm caused by irritation of receptors in the paravertebral muscles). It hurts a person to cough, sneeze, all movements are accompanied by pain. When the nerve root is compressed (disc protrusion, disc herniation), the pain spreads to the lower extremities, often from one side.

Myofascial syndrome
It is caused by irritation of pain receptors in muscles and fascia.Triggers (pain nodes) are formed in the muscles, pain syndrome is chronic, often recurrent.

Any trauma to soft tissues or bone structures is also accompanied by intense pain syndrome.

When do I need to see a doctor?

Any case of lumbar pain requires medical attention.
This will help identify the cause of the pain and take action.

Pain in men, women

With diseases of the reproductive system, pain syndrome differs in males and females.

For men with prostate pathology, a pulling, aching pain is characteristic, often accompanied by a violation of urination.
In women, the symptom is more often acute, pronounced. With ovarian apoplexy or ectopic pregnancy, the pain is unbearable. Usually the syndrome is more intense on the affected side.

With endometriosis, uterine myoma – aching sensations, pulling.
If pain is associated with a pathology of the spine, the intensity of pain does not depend on gender. It is noticed that men go to the doctor later.

Expert examination

• vertebroneurologist
• gastroenterologist
• neurosurgeon
• surgeon
• gynecologist
• urologist
• rheumatologist
• Oncologist

Laboratory Methods

• general blood test (to exclude the inflammatory process, the level of leukocytes, ESR), exclusion of anemia (hemoglobin level)
• general urine analysis: exclusion of the inflammatory process in the bladder, kidneys (bacteria, leukocytes, erythrocytes)
• fecal occult blood test
• blood biochemistry: rheumatological tests to exclude systemic inflammation (CRP, RF, uric acid), assessment of liver function (alt ast bilirubin), assessment of renal function (creatinine urea), pancreatic function (amylase), etc.

Instrumental research methods

• X-ray of the lumbar spine and pelvic bones Plain X-ray of the abdominal cavity (excluding intestinal obstruction)
• Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis
• FGDS
• colonoscopy
• MRI (CT) of the lumbar spine, MRI (CT) of the lumbar spine with contrast
• MRI (CT) of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis, MRI (CT) of the abdominal cavity and small pelvis with contrast

Treatment

When a tumor is detected, depending on the location and nature of the tumor, the tactics of treatment, surgery, or others are determined.(observation and treatment in a neurosurgical, surgical hospital, oncological dispensary)

Drug treatment

Diseases of the spine (more often within the framework of osteochondrosis):

• NSAID
• muscle relaxants
• opioid analgesics
• diuretics
• vascular preparations
• antibacterial drugs
• medicinal blockade with novocaine, lidocaine and diprospan

Non-drug methods

Mainly used in the treatment of diseases of the spine

• physiotherapy (magnetic laser, magnetotherapy, CMT with novocaine, etc.)
• acupuncture
• Hardware traction of the lumbar spine
• manual therapy
• massage
• balneotherapy (mud applications, ozokerite)
• exercise therapy

Prevention for diseases of the spine (within the framework of osteochondrosis) all of the above methods (except physiotherapy)
Prevention of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: diet, diet, work and rest.

If you have pain in the lumbar spine, contact the multidisciplinary clinic “New Hospital”. We will help you identify the cause and choose a treatment strategy.

In our hospital there are all the specialists and all the diagnostic methods presented in this article. There are also inpatient departments: a gastroenterological department and a city vertebrological center.
All methods of treatment are used except surgical. You can be monitored, examined and treated on an outpatient basis, that is, outside the hospital.

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Our specialists

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Leonid Fedorovich
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Physician – neurologist

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90,000 Anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of acute low back pain

Review question

We investigated the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as diclofenac, ibuprofen and naproxen in people with acute low back pain.Acute low back pain is defined as having pain in the back, below the ribs and above the buttocks, for up to 12 weeks. We compared NSAIDs with placebo, paracetamol, other NSAIDs, other drugs, and non-drug treatments.

Relevance

Acute low back pain is a common condition with pain and disability. Doctors often prescribe NSAIDs to treat acute low back pain. There are various types of NSAIDs available, both over-the-counter and prescription.

Research characteristics

We searched for randomized controlled trials that were published or registered before January 7, 2020. We included 32 trials with 5356 participants. The participants in the trials were people between 16 and 78 years old with acute lower back pain. The duration of the studies ranged from one day to six months. Research has been carried out in many different countries. More than half of the studies were conducted in Europe and North America.

Main results

NSAIDs were slightly more effective than placebo in reducing pain in the first three weeks. On average, pain intensity decreased by 7.3 points on a 100-point scale. This means that there were small differences between the two treatments, but they were not clinically significant. People who received NSAIDs had scores on a 24-point disability scale 2 points better than those who received placebo.This can hardly be considered a tangible benefit. A similar number of side effects were observed in people who received NSAIDs and people who received placebo. However, the type of studies we looked at was not designed to look for side effects. Therefore, we must be careful when drawing conclusions based on these results.

We also compared two different types of NSAIDs; non-selective NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors. We found no clear differences in performance. There were also similar reports of side effects from the digestive system, such as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, or stomach symptoms.

Quality of evidence

There is moderate quality evidence that NSAIDs are slightly more effective than placebo in reducing short-term pain, and there is high quality evidence that they are slightly more effective than placebo in reducing disability in acute low back pain. The magnitude of the effect is extremely small.

Back Pain: How to Become a Chronicle | Articles

Headache, back problems, joint discomfort – everyone at least once in their life experienced this on themselves.However, there are people who are quite healthy who suffer from pain all their lives. A neurologist, associate professor of the Department of Nervous Diseases and Neurosurgery of the Faculty of Medicine of the First Moscow State Medical University named after M.V. I. M. Sechenova, member of the board of the European Federation of Pain Maxim Churyukanov.

– People who all the time seem to be complaining for no reason that something hurts them, are they not making it up? Is there really such a phenomenon – pain as a chronic disease?

– Of course, and the prevalence of this problem is very high.In Europe, officially one in five, 20% of the population, 75 million people, suffer from chronic non-cancer pain. This is pain that has been present for more than three to six months. There is such a strange term, a concept that has been talked about for a long time – “painful disease”. That is, at present, chronic non-oncological pain is considered not as a symptom, but as an independent disease.

– Is there such a diagnosis?

– In 2022, a new international classification of diseases will appear.It has already been adopted by the World Health Organization, and sometime until 2022 we will work to adapt it to the Russian language and translate it. There is already a heading “Chronic pain as a diagnosis”. It is important that such a diagnosis can only be made by a doctor after a reasonable thorough examination and examination of the patient and the correct interpretation of the results of the examination.

Photo: Depositphotos

– How is chronic pain different from acute pain?

– In principle, these are two completely different states.There is a concept of physiological pain, that is, good, if I may say so, when it is a signal of some kind of danger. When there is damage, there is a signal and the person does something to save himself. And this is the correct physiological response. But when pain exists for a long time, it loses its physiological features and becomes pathological. That is, bad pain that does not carry a danger signal. It already brings suffering on its own – the tissue heals, the damage is repaired, and it continues to hurt.

– How to determine when it shouldn’t hurt anymore, where is this line?

– It is impossible to say what this line is, for this it is necessary to examine the patient. For example, his back hurts. We now know which pathological changes can really give pain as a symptom, and which cannot. If earlier, for example, it was believed that osteochondrosis is the cause of all back pain, now views are changing, and we understand that not osteochondrosis itself, but other reasons can lead to this.Acute pain is a signal, chronic pain is pain that already exists outside the area of ​​damage. These are peculiar, complex mechanisms already inside the nervous system, they are wrong, they are broken. So we have to identify them and influence them.

– What is the mechanism of pain in trauma?

– When a person gets damaged, he is perceived by receptors that are located in the surface tissues. They fix this damage, and the signal is transmitted through the peripheral nerve to the spinal cord, then enters certain parts of the brain, which are responsible for the perception of this information.Based on previous experience, the nervous system analyzes whether it is dangerous or not, it all takes milliseconds. And if it is dangerous, it gives a signal in order to avoid this damage. Therefore, we pull back our hand if, for example, we are burned or pricked – that’s it, the nervous system realized that this is dangerous and it doesn’t need to be done. This is a reaction to acute pain.

– What about chronic pain?

– Everything is different here. If this signal, which initially appeared, comes to the nervous system, which does not quite adequately perceive it…

– … why?

– This is a very difficult question. As a rule, this depends on many factors: how a person understands the danger of one or another injury, what is his previous painful experience, cultural traditions, how he was brought up in the family, how his parents reacted to his first steps and falls. This is all that determines the formation of the cognitive components of pain. This is how the nervous system is prepared to receive a signal.If he comes to a place where not everything is set up correctly or a person has received inadequate information about pain that is happening, then everything begins.

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– For example?

– A prime example is back pain. Now on the Internet everyone is frightened with hernias, protrusions in the spine, they write that this is the cause of back pain, it is very dangerous, that it always needs to be urgently treated, and if not treated, it will certainly lead to something terrible.Some medical organizations even deliberately create fear in their patients. If, after reading this, his back suddenly starts to hurt, subconsciously there is a feeling that this may be associated with some dangerous condition. And if he does not understand this immediately, then on the basis of the alleged danger, this insignificant signal will begin to persist for a long, long time in the nervous system. And then, in order to break this vicious circle, a person will need not just treatment in the form of painkillers or massage, but cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy.Abroad, this is one of the main methods of treating such conditions.

– And can this help?

– And it helps!

– That is, just a person read something, made up his mind and got sick?

– For example, a situation when a patient comes to the doctor and is told: look, according to the results of the examination there is no evidence that you have any serious problem there. You just do not have enough physical activity – you are sitting in the car, you have the wrong seat, let’s increase the activity a little, and you will feel good.”Is that all?” The patient asks. “Yes all”. He leaves, his situation returns to normal in his head, he realizes that he can easily cope with the problem. Another situation, if he comes, and they tell him: take sick leave, don’t go anywhere for two weeks, after that you don’t need to move, if you start playing sports now, it will get even worse … That’s it, the person starts to move less, his weight increases , he becomes overgrown with an even greater complex of problems if he does not understand where all this is coming from.

– You said that the occurrence of chronic pain depends on upbringing, on cultural characteristics. How should a child be raised to protect him from chronic pain?

– It is necessary to educate adequately. We did research, and there was a problem – chronic headache. And we looked at when these patients were children, whether there were cases of chronic headache in the family, how often, how adults dealt with it. And most importantly, was there any overprotection on the part of the parents.It turned out that overprotection in childhood was directly associated with the occurrence of chronic headache in adults. We are not talking about genetic predisposition, but we are talking about upbringing. They recalled that in childhood they often observed: tired parents come home, they have a headache, everyone gathers around them, put some cool rag on their foreheads.

When a child often has to see such an attentive attitude to pain, this will most likely contribute to the fact that if he already has a pain in adulthood, this information will come to the nervous system, which has remembered: pain is something which makes it possible to get attention.This is one of the mechanisms for the formation of the situation when emotional experiences cause pain in a person. This is a defensive reaction, a desire to protect oneself, an unconscious desire to receive some kind of attention, help, support. This is laid down in childhood, and then transforms into pain in an adult state.

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– But children often do this when they lack attention. Can it really turn into a chronic problem in the future?

– Of course.A child, for example, when he takes his first steps, does not yet know what pain is, what danger is. Suddenly he falls, he is surprised, he may even laugh. But sometimes it causes a very violent reaction from those around him: he sees that his mother is running with her eyes round with fear. He understands that something has happened. And this little emotional shock will be associated with danger. After all, he learns emotions, it will be fixed with him, and during his life he will then face it.

– What a horror!

– This is not horror, this is physiology. Somewhere there should be guardianship, but somewhere this exaggerated emotionality can harm the child, because then he will have a reaction to any insignificant emotional shock in the form of pain in the head, back or somewhere else. He will suffer throughout his life, and it will be very difficult to cope with it.

– There are cases when private medical centers, in an effort to survive and earn money, find something that does not exist in reality, for the sake of an expensive examination, for example.Here, after all, for the patient the question arises not even of financial losses …

– Unfortunately, yes. Therefore, we often encounter a situation when a patient comes to our consultation with a very large list of examinations, consultations of specialists, the methods of treatment used that do not help. And the more advice he gets, the more worried he becomes. Moreover, all examinations differ – the conclusion of the neurologist from the conclusion of the surgeon, the conclusion of the surgeon from the conclusion of the therapist, and so on.He has five diagnoses, and he does not understand, what is the problem with him?

– What should he do, where to run if he is completely disoriented?

– For this, there is a system of training specialists abroad who are specialized in the treatment of pain syndromes. There is the concept of pain medicine, the concept of postgraduate training of specialists who, having already received some kind of education, being neurologists, therapists or surgeons, receive advanced training specifically on the problem of pain.And people have the opportunity, if traditional treatment does not help, turn to this specialist for help.

– What about us?

– Not yet.

– Planned?

– There is the Russian Interregional Society for the Study of Pain. It is an official subdivision of the International Association for the Study of Pain and the European Pain Federation, which is represented in 37 countries of the Eurasian continent. This organization is working to bring the principles of pain medicine to those countries where it is not yet developed.And we have repeatedly raised this issue within the framework of the conferences that we held and signed resolutions. Last year we had a very large meeting, there was a representative from the State Duma Committee on Health Protection and it was decided that this direction will gradually develop.

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– The problem of pain relief has been actively discussed in our country lately.

– When people talk about pain relief, it is most often associated with palliative care, with cancer patients and providing them with opioid analgesics.This is a very important issue, but it is not the only one. As for the rest of patients with chronic non-oncological pain, very little has been done in this direction. In Russia, now mostly private centers are opening, which are engaged in this, they are usually called the “Pain Center” or “Pain Clinic”. Some of them are purely commercial, and some are working on the right principles for commercial purposes. They turn to us, we give them recommendations, interact with them.In Russia, I think there are already about 20 such centers.

– Isn’t that enough?

– This is very small. If we consider, for example, Belgium with its small population, then there are 40 centers. And we still have 20 for the whole huge country, and there will be about 10 good and correct ones.

– What prevents us from opening more? What do you think the state should do in this direction?

– First, we must convey to the public the urgency of the problem.The idea that pain is a symptom of osteochondrosis or something else is still very strong. The problem will be solved when a system of pain relief is created in the country. The solution is very simple, we have already proposed to create a system of several levels. First, we give primary care specialists – therapists, general practitioners – the knowledge they need to understand the problem correctly, and they solve it in 90% of cases.

10% of patients remain where the problem is not immediately clear.They must move on to the next stage – these are pain clinics, which can be located on the basis of city hospitals. Several rates are allocated there, literally several beds, this practically does not require costs. There are already some opportunities for examining the patient. But if he was not helped there, then there is the concept of a tertiary level. This is where 1–2% of patients with the most complex pain syndromes come to. This can be done on a university basis. Each city has a large medical university, on the basis of which an appropriate center can be organized.When a person has been helped at the level of this center, he returns to his therapist, and he continues the treatment according to the recommendations. This is such a system, it allows you to solve this problem.

– And what is the benefit for the state?

– In terms of economic benefit, it is enormous if we address chronic pain, and it has been proven in the United States and Europe. We do not need high-tech equipment to solve this issue, only very small changes in the education system and training of specialists.The costs are minimal, the economic efficiency is very high. Because the cost of treating pain is enormous. In Europe, it is estimated that it is billions annually, with only a few percent spent on treatment and examination of patients. The vast majority are indirect economic losses.

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– What are they?

– A person with chronic pain cannot work normally. If someone is suffering from migraines, try asking them if they can work during the attack.And if the attack lasts longer? And after it, a person cannot work normally. And if these attacks become frequent, the migraine becomes chronic, then this is more than 15 days a month. And if such a person tries to work, then the result of his work is close to zero. He has to give him a certificate of incapacity for work, pay for sick leave …

– How will you treat this, cheaply and effectively, except for correcting your lifestyle?

– First of all, this is a correctly selected pharmacotherapy, that is, the prescription of drugs.For pain, we often prescribe the wrong drugs that need to be prescribed.

– Why?

– Because different types of pain are very different in their mechanisms of occurrence. The pain that develops as a result of trauma is one pain, nerve damage is another, neuropathic, there is also dysfunctional, psychogenic pain. There are at least four types, and each of them needs its own approach. Without this knowledge, the specialist cannot correctly prescribe the treatment to the patient.In addition, the 10-15 minutes available at the therapist’s appointment are not enough.

Usually a person comes, for example, says that his knee hurts. He is prescribed an anesthetic, but what is the mechanism of pain, what causes it, the doctor has neither the knowledge nor the ability to decide. Therefore, a drug is prescribed that may not help. If it doesn’t help, then we are wasting time. A person takes this treatment, it takes a week or two. He comes back and says: it didn’t help. He is prescribed another drug – another two weeks.And now more than three months have passed, and chronic pain is forming, which is difficult to cope with.

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– Okay, the right drugs, what else?

– The second task is to resolve issues of the use of non-drug treatment methods. Correct approaches to motor rehabilitation for pain syndromes are very important. It would seem that it sounds corny: physiotherapy exercises, so that a person learns to move correctly, perform exercises correctly and, most importantly, do it.

Also massage, if required, manual therapy, reflexology. Yes, they do not have proven effectiveness according to modern principles of medicine, but in some cases they help. Physiotherapy approaches can also be used, but again they are not included in modern international recommendations, because a lot depends on the individual response, on the mood of the person. That is, if he is in the mood for a certain treatment, it helps. If he believes that only leeches help and nothing else, they will help him, and this is great, we will not figure out whether this is a placebo or not a placebo.

– And something new, modern, high technology?

– When it comes to chronic pain that does not respond to any treatment methods, the technology of installing neurostimulators is used. That is, a stimulator is placed, electrodes are placed on the spinal cord or brain, they provide an electrical stimulus. There are certain parts of the nervous system that can be stimulated to relieve pain. And this can be done continuously. But these are severe pain syndromes, such as resistant neuropathic, phantom pain.

– Can it last long?

– And if it is not treated, it will not end, it becomes permanent, chronic. And for such pain, approaches such as neurostimulation are warranted. The neurostimulator is installed for life.

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– Is it possible to simulate, in each case, acute pain turns into chronic?

– I think not, because this is determined by many factors and not only and not so much by the degree of injury, its nature, duration, but by the state of the human nervous system at the moment.

– What is the relationship here?

– There is an English saying: “No brain – no pain”. That is, if there is no head and the brain does not perceive it, then there will be no pain in a person.

– Where is chronic pain most often localized?

– Most often this is what is called musculoskeletal pain, joints, back, then headache comes.

– Even joints? That is, nothing can happen there, everything is born in the head?

– Minor changes may occur, but even these give signals.If the signal arrives and is assessed as harmless, then everything is fine, there will be no pain, the body itself will regulate that it is not dangerous. But if this minimal signal comes to the nervous system and is perceived there as dangerous, with exaggeration, then it will hurt for a very long time. Any pain is associated with the head, without the reaction of the nervous system, pain does not exist. Everything is determined by the adequacy of the reaction of the nervous system to the signal that comes to it.

– That is, any doctor, to whom a patient comes to an appointment, needs to be very careful in his statements?

– Very neat.Moreover, he must understand and correctly interpret the results of modern research methods. You can now go to any center and say: give me a tomogram of the spine, I will not wait for a referral from the clinic, now I will deal with my pain myself. The conclusions are very large, none of them will say: everything is in order. There will be written five or six lines, there will be protrusions, spondyloarthritis, osteochondrosis and other words that are difficult to pronounce. And the fact that in 90% of cases out of 100 these words that are written there have no clinical meaning, the doctor must explain this.It matters only in 5% of patients. In most cases, this does not need to be treated, this is normal. Unfortunately, the body is so arranged that it does not get younger over the years, and after 20 years the changes begin to be noticeable in a person. And with the current organization of labor, this happens sometimes even earlier.

– And future doctors in universities are taught the rules for treating patients, they are aware of what can be said and what is not?

– Regarding the problem of pain, there is no special course in student education.Here, at the First Medical University, in our department, there is a course on pain medicine, it is author’s, it is not for all students. In addition, there are optional disciplines, I teach “Neurogenic Pain Syndromes”, where about 20 lectures on this topic are read. But this is still selective: 15 students studied with me, another 100 students attended lectures, and thousands of students study at the university. And tens of thousands of future doctors are studying in the country, who, unfortunately, do not receive this knowledge.

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– That is, if the doctor said that “everything is fine, do not worry” or “what do you want at your age”, then you can relax and forget, it will pass faster? After all, many people think: this is a bad doctor, I will go to another.

– Here you come and say: it hurts. He looks at you and says: forget, nothing hurts you. This is not a good doctor. It’s another matter if the doctor listened to you carefully, examined you, if required, prescribed additional examination methods. And then he says: yes, you have a pain here, but we conducted such and such a survey, which is the most informative here, such and such a study, and based on the results of these examinations and analyzes, we do not see any obvious reasons, let’s figure out what everything is. – so your pain may be related.The doctor must explain everything to you, show and argue why he thinks so.

– Are there any risk groups that are predisposed to developing chronic pain syndrome?

– We have the concept of “yellow flags”, these are signals or signs that potentially pain can become chronic. As a rule, this is due to the duration of the pain syndrome. If a person has pain and before that there were already some other problems, then he is at risk.If a person has signs of psychoemotional disorders in the form of anxiety, depression, concomitant diseases – diabetes mellitus, hypertension. Analyzing the psycho-emotional state and concomitant diseases, one can understand whether this pain will become chronic or not. Guess at least.

– If a person is a skeptic in life, then nothing can help him?

– Nothing may help. In this case, we are treating not just a patient, but a person. A person who has his own ideas about pain, about what can get rid of it, and we must understand this.If a patient comes to us who is not disposed to treatment with pills and is very skeptical about it, then it is useless to prescribe pills to him. Because in addition to the placebo effect, which helps, there is the opposite effect – nocebo. That is, a person knows that pills will not help, has read all the possible side effects, and he will get these side effects. Therefore, it is useless to prescribe something to a person who says: you know, I think that it will not help me – this will make me sick here, it will make me worse.If at the same time he says that they put needles for me, or did a massage, and it all helps me great, of course, we will treat him with what has already helped him. He has an attitude, his nervous system is already ready for the fact that this will help. And let it help him, there is no need to persuade him.

– There are people who don’t like everything. What to do with them?

– If a person has something in pain and if he wants to get rid of the pain, then he will look for methods and will be tuned in to the method that will help.If he came and said: it hurts and nothing will help me, then either he has a deep depression, then it is necessary to consult a psychiatrist, or he is already inventing something.

READ ALSO

Back pain: causes and possible diseases

The most common cause of back pain is osteochondrosis.

A person suffering from sciatica experiences sharp shooting pains.

Muscle back pain is another type of pain that affects a large number of people.

With a herniated mesovertebral disc, back pain radiates to the extremities, becomes stronger with movement and even with a deep breath, especially during physical exertion.

Other causes of back pain include: tuberculosis, ankylosing spondylitis, shingles, various diseases of the internal organs.

Back pain with osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is the most common cause of back pain. It all depends on the area of ​​the spine in which the patient has osteochondrosis.Often, back pain in osteochondrosis is of a chronic nature and is localized in the lumbar region, neck, and less often the chest.

Observing certain rules, it is quite possible to reduce the risk of such back pain, as well as osteochondrosis in general. So, for example: you need to sit correctly, namely, keep your back straight, leaning on a solid vertical back. If a person leads a predominantly sedentary lifestyle due to the nature of the work, then it is necessary to get up every 15-20 minutes, do a warm-up and change the position of the legs while sitting at the table.Compliance with these rules will provide unloading of the muscles of the back and spine, which will significantly reduce the likelihood of osteochondrosis formation.

More details about the courses and prices for the treatment of osteochondrosis.

Back pain with sciatica

A person suffering from sciatica experiences sharp shooting pains in the back, radiating to the extremities, which disrupts his usual way of life. Feeling numbness of the arm or leg, decreased tendon reflexes, weakness in the muscles.How to avoid sciatica: you should not lift heavy things, hypothermia, exercise with increased stress.

Muscle back pain

Muscle back pain is another type of pain that affects a large number of people. First of all, office workers who lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle are susceptible to them. An uncomfortable work chair, improper position at the table, staying in a static position at the workplace for a long time are the main reasons for overextension of the muscles that support the spine and, therefore, chronic back pain.In medicine, this means the term myofascial syndrome. The presence of this disease can be detected by clicking on certain points, in the area of ​​which the constantly tightened muscles are located.

Myofascial syndrome is not associated with mobility, but physical activity can increase its effect. The complex of treatment is selected for each patient individually, but, as a rule, it includes medicines that improve blood circulation and warming compresses.

Back pain with herniated disc

An intervertebral hernia can occur as a complication of osteochondrosis untreated in time or as a result of severe bruises and injuries.It is very difficult to determine an intervertebral hernia by the nature of back pain, since the symptoms are extremely extensive. However, there are several features that are inherent only in an intervertebral hernia: Back pain radiates to the extremities, pain becomes stronger when moving and even with a deep breath, especially during physical exertion.

Back pain usually goes away when the cause is eliminated, the intervertebral hernia is removed. Drug treatment is also possible. The final set of measures to solve the problem is chosen by the doctor, depending on the specific case.

Other reasons

Other causes of back pain include: tuberculosis, ankylosing spondylitis, shingles, various diseases of the internal organs. There are a lot of reasons for back pain, therefore, if any, it is extremely important to seek medical advice and in no case resort to self-medication. The wrong method of treatment can lead to irreversible consequences.

How to treat back pain after coronavirus

After suffering from coronavirus, many patients face back pain.Often, pain occurs in the lumbar region, spine and shoulder blades, between the ribs. How to get rid of this condition and restore your body?

Rehabilitation of postcoid patients confuses many doctors, since the new infection that caused the pandemic has not yet been fully understood. The situation is aggravated by the emergence of new strains that cause complications in the human body. After a successful cure from the virus, people cannot recover for a long time and complain of discomfort in the back.

Causes of complications after coronavirus

Virologists claim that COVID-19 negatively affects the nerve endings of the human body, exacerbates chronic diseases and reduces immunity. As a result, unpleasant sensations appear, often fixed in one area. In particular, doctors note the following complaints in patients:

• Systematic tingling sensation in the region of the heart.
• Pain in the chest and spine.
• Shortness of breath and unusual fatigue.
• Excessive sweating.
• Regular increase in body temperature.
• Nasal congestion.
• Respiratory failure.
• Loss of smell and taste.

Another of the most popular consequences of Covid-19 is back pain, and the cause must be identified before treatment can begin.

These and other unpleasant sensations occur in many people after suffering a coronavirus infection. The body takes a long time to completely rebuild and recover.During this period, the instructions of the attending physician should be strictly observed.

Back pain as a symptom of the postcoid period

During infection with a coronavirus infection, the patient takes a huge number of drugs that effectively fight the virus receptors, but have many side effects. To exclude possible consequences, the patient must consult a doctor and undergo an appropriate medical examination.

To understand how to treat back pain after coronavirus, you need to pay close attention to existing diseases.COVID-19 exacerbates a number of chronic diseases present in the human body before infection:

• Spine injuries, hernias, osteochondrosis.
• Cancer tumors.
• Cardiological pathologies.
• Gastritis or stomach ulcer.
• Tuberculosis.

Muscular dysfunction and neuralgia are the most common causes of back discomfort after coronavirus. A person experiences sharp or aching pain in the spine, in the lumbar region and kidneys.Sometimes there is a tingling sensation in the neck. Such symptoms are most often manifested in people suffering from joint diseases.

How to get rid of back pain after COVID-19

Treatment of the back after covid includes undergoing examination by an immunologist, pulmonologist, virologist and orthopedist. After the full conclusion of the doctors, the patient is recommended to visit a therapist who will draw up an optimal treatment plan and prescribe the necessary medications.

A complex of medications that reduce post-coccygeal syndrome includes the use of anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antiviral drugs.It is also necessary to use vitamins and muscle relaxants, which reduce muscle soreness.

Magnetotherapy is a unique method of back treatment after covid. Apparatus manufactured by “Solnyshko” are considered to be one of the best medical devices for relieving painful symptoms. The devices act on the body using a low-frequency magnetic field, which brings tangible benefits to humans:

• Relieves acute symptoms causing body pain.
• Prevents the development of diseases of the heart, stomach and other organs.
• Relaxes muscles by generating heat flow to painful areas.
• Increases blood circulation impaired after infection.
• Sterilizes air by killing harmful bacteria.

The device “Solnyshko” with a low-frequency alternating magnetic field is used in various medical institutions and sanatoriums. The magnetotherapy method helps people to relieve pain and feel good. The heat penetrating the body with the help of a magnetic field warms up the nerve endings and increases the blood flow to the sore spot.The device helps to reduce muscle tension and completely relieve back pain.

Treatment of pain while sitting – OSTEOMED network of clinics

Surprisingly, while sitting, the spine is more loaded than when we are standing! For many hours we have to sit in the most harmful position – leaning forward. In this position, the edges of the vertebrae come together and pinch the intervertebral disc from the cartilaginous tissue. In general, this fabric is remarkable for its elasticity, allowing it to successfully resist compression.However, it should be borne in mind that when sitting, the force of pressure on the outer edge of the disc increases 11 times.

Reasons

1. Coccygeal pain. The disease consists mainly of severe pain felt in the coccygeal region, that is, in the lowest spine. The pain is worse when sitting, walking, straining the abdominal muscles, and often extends to the perineum, thighs and lower abdomen.

2. Sciatica – pain with inflammation of the sciatic nerve.The sciatic nerve extends from the spine to the lower extremities. When sitting on a hard chair or using a tight belt, compression of the upper parts of the nerve and the appearance of sudden sharp pain in the lower legs, along the nerve, in the legs.

3. Acute back pain of varying intensity is observed in 80-100% of the population. 20% of adults have recurrent, recurrent back pain lasting 3 days or more. It was found that the pressure between the intervertebral discs increases by 200% when the body position changes from a recumbent position to an upright position and by 400% when sitting in a comfortable chair.

4. Lumbodynia occurs after significant physical exertion, prolonged uncomfortable posture, shaking driving, hypothermia. Clinically accompanied by a dull aching pain, aggravated by a change in body position (bending, sitting, walking). The pain can spread to the buttock and leg. Statics changes are less pronounced than with lumbago. Movement in the lumbar spine is difficult, but the restriction is insignificant. Soreness is determined when palpating the spinous processes and interspinous ligaments at the level of the lesion.When leaning back, the pain disappears, when leaning forward, there is a sharp tension in the muscles of the back. Knee reflexes and reflexes from the heel tendons are preserved. The process is often subacute or chronic.

5. During squatting and deep bending of the knees, an extremely strong load is placed on the joints. As a result, tears of the cartilage and tendons of the quadriceps femoris can occur. For some people, when squatting for a long time, this is why joint pains occur that last a very long time.

6. Patellofemoral pain – pain in the knee joint.
Patellofemoral pain refers to the development of pain along the anterior surface of the knee joint, which increases with additional stress on the knee-patellar joint (the joint formed by the patella (patella) and the underlying part of the femur – femur).
When this pain is accompanied by a change in the tissue (cartilage) of the inner surface of the patella, the term patellar chondromalacia is used.
Typical symptoms are pain along the front of the knee that gets worse with exertion such as running, climbing or descending stairs, squatting, or jumping. The pain is also worse when sitting with bent legs.

7. A common symptom of prostatitis is lower back pain. Pain in prostatitis is so persistent or severe that it does not allow sleep, interfere with sexual activity, creating a lot of inconvenience every minute. The pain of prostatitis can increase during urination, while sitting, during sexual abstinence, or, conversely, during sexual intercourse – in general, there is not a single “pain-free” moment in life.

Pain in the coccyx when sitting

From prolonged and improper sitting, especially in the absence of normal daily physical activity, pain in the tailbone can occur. As a result of hypodynamia – limitation of motor activity – muscles atrophy, organs and systems do not receive normal nutrition and sufficient oxygen.

However, quite active people also complain that the tailbone hurts when sitting, in particular, cyclists and equestrian sports fans – and in these cases, you also have to sit a lot and load the “fifth point”.In this case, microtraumas may occur, which the sensitive coccyx will sooner or later certainly let you know about.

Stagnation of blood circulation can cause salt deposition and subsequent stiffness of any joint, including the articulation of the sacrum and coccyx. In this case, pain in the affected area is an absolutely natural reaction of the nervous system.

Another category of patients who complain that their tailbone hurts when they sit are women who have undergone a difficult birth, as a result of which there was an excessive extension of the joint.Many of them courageously endure pain, which is not worth doing – after all, the deformation of the coccyx negatively affects all other structures of the body.

An experienced osteopath can find out the exact cause of the pain symptom and painlessly eliminate it, who treats both the smallest and elderly patients. Sensitive hands, “running” through your body, will surely find in what place and what exactly causes discomfort.

Back pain left and right

Many people whose activities are associated with sedentary or, conversely, with constantly standing work, complain of back pain .Indeed, pain in various areas of the back can manifest itself due to a person’s lifestyle, but sometimes they signal various diseases that require treatment of pain and its causes.

In this article, we will consider cases when back pain under the ribs , when back pain on the right and left .

Back pain on the right

Often causes of back pain on the right are poor posture, which is caused by systematic abnormal body posture.In this case, the back muscles receive an uneven load. However, a more serious disease can also occur – displacement of the intervertebral discs.

Another common reason has a backache on the right is various kidney diseases such as kidney stones or impaired urine flow. The cause of back pain on the right in women can be diseases of the reproductive system. These reflected pains are very dangerous, as the person thinks that they have arisen from back problems as a result of lifting weights, sedentary work, etc.Thus, the real illness goes unnoticed until other symptoms appear.

If back hurts on the right from above, then diseases of the respiratory system can become the cause of the pain. In this case, discomfort is also felt in the chest.

Like many diseases of the musculoskeletal system, back pain on the right can be caused by excess weight. The pain goes away as soon as the weight returns to normal.

Back pain on the left

The origin of left back pain is similar to right back pain , but there are some distinctive points.

For example, back pain on the left may indicate diseases of the heart and vascular system – myocardial infarction of the posterior wall and angina pectoris, aortic aneurysm, pericarditis. Such diseases are also accompanied by lumbago in the chest, pain in the left shoulder.

If you experience back pain on the left , you should immediately consult a doctor – self-medication will not help here, and the problem can be very serious, especially if it is directly accompanied by pain in the heart, neck and dizziness.

Also, as with back pain on the right , back pain on the left can be caused by diseases of the urinary tract, respiratory system, spine, digestive system.

Causes of back pain under the ribs

Back pain in the ribs is considered difficult to diagnose, as it can be symptoms of a wide variety of diseases of the internal organs and the musculoskeletal system.

We list the main causes of back pain under the ribs :

• Intercostal neuralgia resulting from compression of the intercostal nerves and is accompanied by acute pain. Osteochondrosis can also be the cause of back pain under the ribs .

• Back pain in the ribs can also cause the following diseases of the internal organs: diseases of the intestines and stomach – gastritis, ulcers, liver diseases – cirrhosis, hepatitis; various diseases of the spleen; myocardial infarction; disorders in the lungs; diseases and infections of the urinary system.

• All of these organs can be susceptible to a variety of diseases.First of all, it is necessary to determine the location and nature of back pain under the ribs .

• The pain can occur with sudden movements, sneezing, tension, it can have the character of lumbago, aching, sharp, etc. each type of pain depends on a specific problem.

• Girdle pain under the ribs is a symptom of pancreatitis. Acute back pain under the rib on the right, radiating to the shoulder and even to the neck is a symptom of acute cholecystitis or hepatic colic, in the second case, the pain is accompanied by vomiting and nausea.

It can be concluded that back pain under the ribs are caused by serious diseases of the liver, spleen, stomach, kidneys and respiratory tract.

As you can see, not even severe back pain is a good enough reason to get tested.