The human body often reacts sharply to overload and stress, especially after the age of 30. A feeling of heaviness, sharp back pain in the lumbar region are symptoms of stress or signs of the onset of serious pathologies, so you should not simply ignore them. Why does my back hurt and how to treat it?
Symptoms
The difficulty of a correct diagnosis lies in the fact that many diseases can manifest themselves in this way, and it can also be a reaction of the body to various external and internal irritating factors.
Finding out why the back hurts and making the correct diagnosis will help the correct analysis of the symptoms, which are very diverse.
Where is the waist? This is an area of the back that captures the territory from the tailbone to the ribs, which contains many nerve endings and is divided into 2 halves by the spine.
To make a correct diagnosis, it is necessary to assess the location of unpleasant sensations:
- Above the waist, to the right or to the left - such a symptom may be an indicator of inflammation of the internal organs: the liver (on the right side) and the kidneys (on the right or left, just above the waist). waist). They can also be caused by hepatitis, liver failure, polycystic disease, cancer, pyelonephritis. In case of inflammation of the kidneys, the discomfort can radiate to the abdomen and hypochondrium.
- Below the waist - such symptoms characterize problems with the spine (lumbago, hernia, curvature), menstrual cramps and diseases of the genital organs in women, intestines, inflammation of the appendix and genitourinary system in men.
Important! Unpleasant sensations in the back can act as a result of inflammation in the body and serious problems.
It is also important to assess the nature of painful sensations:
- Shooting is a symptom of a pinched sciatic nerve. With inflammation of this nerve process in the back, a burning, shooting or tingling sensation appears, and its duration and strength may vary. They are especially aggravated by a change in body position, so most of the time a person can stay in only one position.
- Sharp pain in the lower back, most often stabbing. Also, a person experiences pulling sensations in the back area and cannot move normally, choosing a comfortable position. Such sensations can be symptoms of: diseases of the lungs and the genitourinary system, displacement of the intervertebral discs, renal colic, muscle strain.
- Chronic: constant discomfort in the back area, which goes away for a short time after taking pain medicine, but then comes back again. They indicate spondylosis, osteomyelitis, tumors and metabolic disorders.
- Aching pain in the lower back - occurs suddenly, but continues for a long time. Weak painful sensations are symptoms of myositis, overexertion or hypothermia of the muscles;
- Displaced - occurs with diseases of the colon, pelvic organs, pancreas or tumors.
Important! Heaviness in the lower back is also a symptom of the inflammatory process of the internal organs or muscles.
It is urgent to consult a doctor if the back pain is localized in one area, chronic, and at the same time numbness and weakness in the limbs occur.
The reasons
There are several groups of different causes that can cause back pain. They are divided into natural and pathological or acquired.
The natural ones include:
- severe physical exertion - due to the accumulation of lactic acid, muscle tissue loses elasticity and begins to swell;
- sedentary work - due to lack of movement and, as a result, circulatory disorders, heaviness appears in the lower back;
- disturbances in the digestive system, which can radiate to the back;
- a long stay in the cold - low temperature causes the vessels to constrict and slows down the blood flow, which leads to discomfort;
- Stress: With this phenomenon, the muscles of the spine go into spasm, which causes a feeling of tightness and discomfort.
Pathological causes include:
- spinal diseases - negative processes lead to serious diseases, which are accompanied by constant discomfort;
- vascular diseases and heart diseases - if the cramps are concentrated in the region of the shoulder blades and below them, and are also accompanied by a feeling of tightness, pressure drops and shortness of breath, then these are symptoms of atherosclerosis and ischemia;
- inflammation of the sciatic nerve - if there is a sharp pain in the lower back, and a person can only be in one position, then most likely this nerve has a cold;
- inflammation of the genitourinary system - nephritis, colpitis, endometritis and other diseases provoke inflammation of the organs and their tissues in the waist area;
- Muscle inflammation;
- trauma;
- diseases of the bronchopulmonary system.
Important! Due to the different structure and properties of the body in women and men, back pain in men can be a symptom of completely different processes.
Lower back pain in men may be related to:
- pathologies in the kidneys;
- reproductive system problems;
- consequences of trauma.
Low back pain in men over 35 years of age is very common, since at this age they are at risk, therefore, at the slightest symptoms, you should contact the clinic. The risk group also includes men who:
- engage in physical labor;
- lead a sedentary lifestyle;
- they are overweight and have bad habits;
- have weak immunity.
Which doctor to contact in case of problems? First of all, to the therapist, and he, after receiving the initial data and analyzes, will send the patient to an infectious disease specialist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, urologist, nephrologist, neuropathologist or proctologist.
Women also often have low back pain, but the reasons for this can be completely different from men.
There is no single answer, it could be:
- Premenstrual syndrome or cramps during menstruation: due to delays, hormonal failure, uterine contractions, tension and swelling of the tissues of the genitourinary system, there is tension in the pelvis and back pain in the lumbar region.
- Pregnancy: Due to increased body weight, pressure on a woman's spine increases and this causes strain on the lower back in women. It is worth mentioning that in the early stages, heaviness and pain in the lower back can be a sign of threatened miscarriage, so when it appears, see a doctor immediately;
- After childbirth - if before childbirth the girl had problems with the spine, then after childbirth they do not disappear, but have the peculiarity, on the contrary, of intensifying due to possible displacement of the vertebral discs or their pinching.
- Gynecological diseases - pain in the lower back in women, which accompanies all inflammatory processes in the organs of the genitourinary system, occurs regardless of the load. Due to them, there is heaviness and pain in the lower back. If there is a sharp pain in the lower back, this is a symptom of a ruptured ovary or an ectopic pregnancy.
- Problems with the internal organs and the spine.
The female risk group includes women who:
- have infections of the genitourinary system;
- the intestines are unstable;
- there are tumor diseases;
- sedentary work;
- complications after colds;
- physiological changes;
- excessive physical activity;
- body weight gain;
- experience with epidural anesthesia in the past.
In addition to diseases and inflammatory processes in the body, there are a number of factors that provoke pain in the lower back:
- hypothermia;
- sedentary lifestyle and rare physical activity;
- excessive physical activity;
- Professional sports, bodybuilders, bodybuilders, weightlifters should be especially careful.
If you are in one of the risk groups, you should exercise regularly under the supervision of a qualified trainer, as well as be observed by a doctor, carrying out preventive actions aimed at preventing the occurrence of back problems.
Treatment
If back problems have already arisen, preventive actions will not help. You need to see a doctor, find out the exact cause and start treatment. You can use the methods of traditional medicine, or you can resort to traditional, but any action must be agreed with your doctor. Which doctor should I contact? To begin with, to the therapist, and after discovering the reasons, to a limited specialist.
Home remedies
Traditional medicine involves the use of various methods of struggle:
- Massage – Massaging a stiff back will help relieve tension and swelling. You can do self-massage, or you can contact a specialist, but only a proven one, so that you do not aggravate the problems that have already appeared.
- Physical exercises: Regular exercises and warm-ups are done throughout the day to relax the muscles and relieve tension in the muscles.
- Compresses - to relieve swelling of the tissues, compresses should be made from cabbage, burdock leaves and plantain. After putting them on and wrapping a warm scarf around your back, you should lie down at rest for half an hour.
Traditional medicine can also be used prophylactically to prevent serious problems. But if back pain in the lumbar region increases, and massages, compresses and exercises do not bring relief, you should immediately consult a therapist.
Contact a doctor
If the discomfort and pain in the lower back do not go away, and traditional medicine and massage do not help, how to treat them? First, you need to consult a therapist and find out its cause. For diagnosis, the back is examined in several ways:
- X-rays are taken to check for injuries.
- Ultrasound examinations are carried out to exclude diseases and inflammations of the internal organs. For this purpose, an MRI with computed tomography can also be performed.
- General and biochemical analysis.
- ECG and gastroscopy are performed to rule out heart disease and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
After establishing an accurate diagnosis, the patient is prescribed appropriate treatment measures:
- problems with the spine, joints and muscles are treated with non-steroidal drugs, therapeutic exercise courses and massage;
- cardiovascular diseases are treated by limiting physical activity and prescribing the appropriate medications;
- diseases of the digestive tract imply adherence to a strict diet and courses of drugs that engulf the intestines;
- bronchopulmonary pathologies are treated with antibacterial and antiviral drugs;
- problems of the pelvic organs - antimicrobial agents and physiotherapy.
In addition, you should also take care of prevention:
- do not carry weight;
- always keep your back straight;
- sleep on a hard mattress;
- avoid hypothermia, stress and overeating;
- treat acute illnesses in a timely manner.
Back pain is easily prevented by timely prevention: a proper lifestyle, regular moderate exercise - all this will help prevent back problems and relieve existing ones.