According to medical statistics, acute back pain is the second most common cause of disability.At least 80% of people have had them at least once.They can occur sporadically or be observed during exacerbations of spinal disease.But in all cases, acute and chronic back pain require appropriate treatment and targeted action to find their cause.
Acute back pain: causes
Acute pain is defined as pain that lasts less than 6 weeks.For most it will go away within 2 weeks.Although it is initially impossible to predict how long it will last.However, in nearly half of cases, similar or more severe pain will recur in the future and become chronic.
Acute pain can be of varying intensity, dull, burning, etc.Sometimes it spreads to the arms, legs, and buttocks.The so-called back pain in the back often occurs after hypothermia, overexertion and due to sprains.A few days may pass between the impact of the traumatic factor and the immediate manifestation of the pain syndrome, and it will manifest itself under the influence of minor physical exertion, such as bending over.
They can also be the result of a back injury or the first manifestation of spinal diseases, including:
- osteoarthritis;
- intervertebral hernia;
- spinal degeneration;
- spinal stenosis, etc
Increased likelihood of back problems:
- frequent stress;
- increase regular physical activity;
- overweight;
- Stand frequently and for prolonged periods.
In addition to severe back discomfort, headaches, burning sensations in the legs and dizziness may occur.All of these symptoms must be reported to your doctor at your appointment.
Regardless of which anatomical structure is damaged first, this entails a series of sequential changes that increase discomfort.Initially, inflammatory factors are formed in the lesion, causing swelling and irritation of nerve fibers.In response to this, muscle spasms often occur, which further aggravates the situation and causes poor circulation in the affected area.This leads to a decrease in the amount of nutrients and oxygen supplied to the lesion, as well as the retention of metabolic products in it.
Treatment of acute back pain
To relieve pain, lie on your back on a hard surface.This will allow the back muscles to relax and reduce stress on the spine.To improve effectiveness, you can place orthopedic pillows under your knees and head, but it is important to avoid arching your lower back.For severe pain, short-term use of NSAIDs is allowed.In the future, you should definitely contact a neurologist or spine surgeon to determine the cause of the pain syndrome.
You should see your doctor as soon as possible if there is no improvement within a week, a recurrence or pain radiating to the foot or knee, or problems with urination and bowel movements.To diagnose existing disorders, the patient is shown:
- MRI;
- CT;
- X-rays;
- biochemical blood test;
- UAC.
Based on the results of research and symptoms, the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes treatment tactics.In cases where acute pain incapacitates a person from work, he may be offered a spinal blockade, which relieves the pain syndrome in a few minutes.
After the discomfort subsides, it is important not to linger in bed.Moderate physical activity, supplemented with special therapeutic exercises, is the best way to prevent the recurrence of such attacks in the future.
Coming to the hospital, you will definitely receive high-quality treatment for your pain and its cause.Specialists will be able to develop the most effective treatment tactics and quickly relieve pain with the help of a well-made, affordable blockade.
Chronic back pain: causes
People often suffer from chronic, persistent back pain.They can worsen and turn into acute pain, causing a person to completely lose his usual rhythm of life.Usually it is a consequence of:
- A sedentary lifestyle, leads to weakening of the corset.This causes an increase in the load on the spine and compression of the vertebrae.The result is cartilage degeneration, disc protrusion and disc herniation, and vertebral osteoarthritis.
- Postural disorders.Long-term maintenance of any body position in which the natural curves of the spine are disrupted will cause its curvature and the development of scoliosis or kyphosis.This entails degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs, redistributing the load on the muscles and compressing the nerve roots.
- Weakness of abdominal muscles.Because they serve as support for internal organs and partially soothe the spine, when they weaken, the load on the lower back increases, increasing back curvature and causing chronic pain.In addition to a sedentary lifestyle, weak abdominal muscles can be a result of pregnancy or obesity.
- Age-related changes.Over the years, intervertebral discs gradually lose water, causing their elasticity, strength and size to decrease.The fibrous ring surrounding the jelly-like nucleus dries out and becomes more fragile.Loads provoke the formation of cracks in it, which leads to the formation of protrusions and hernias.The protrusion can compress nearby blood vessels, nerve roots, and spinal cord, causing pain.
Conditions associated with chronic back pain include:
- osteoarthritis;
- spinal degeneration;
- osteoporosis;
- intervertebral hernia;
- facet syndrome;
- Bekhterev's disease;
- spondylolisthesis;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- cancer and other diseases.
A common cause of chronic pain is wear and tear of the facet joints.The cartilage located there is also susceptible to thinning under too much pressure on the spine.As a result, when moving, they no longer perform the function of shock absorption, causing friction of bone fragments and the development of inflammation.
Back pain treatment
Treatment tactics are developed based on the disorders detected during diagnostic studies.When detecting diseases of the spine, initial conservative therapy is prescribed, including:
- drug treatment;
- physical therapy;
- massage;
- Exercise therapy.
Conservation therapy
When treating back pain, a comprehensive individual approach is important.Depending on the cause of the occurrence, the patient is prescribed a number of medications, specifically:
- NSAIDs - drugs of this group have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, but with long-term use they negatively affect the condition of the gastrointestinal tract;
- corticosteroids – drugs with pronounced anti-inflammatory properties, prescribed in moderate to severe cases;
- muscle relaxants – help eliminate increased muscle tone and spasms;
- Antidepressants – help eliminate psychological discomfort, which often reduces the effectiveness of conservative therapy;
- topical preparations - ointments or gels containing anti-inflammatory, warming or cooling ingredients that can help reduce the severity of pain and practically do not cause side effects;
- chondroprotectors – preparations containing glucosamine and chondroitin have a beneficial effect on the condition of cartilage tissue, increasing elasticity and helping to restore normal thickness.
In mild cases, oral medication is enough.But in more complicated situations, the patient may be prescribed intra-articular injections.For severe pain, it is recommended to carry out a one-time block or a full course, which can include up to 10 procedures.
To increase the effectiveness of drug treatment, patients are prescribed massage and physiotherapy sessions.Proper impact on the back muscles helps activate blood and lymph flow, improve metabolism and eliminate muscle spasms.Manual therapy is very effective in cases of spinal deformities, especially grade 1-2 scoliosis.Regular exercise sessions help restore the normal position of the spine and remove pressure on internal organs.
As part of physiotherapy treatment, patients are prescribed sessions:
- UHF;
- magnetic therapy;
- Bernard flow;
- laser therapy;
- electrophoresis;
- Ural Federal District;
- balneological treatment.
If within six months the condition cannot be improved or there is a risk of complications, the patient may be offered surgical treatment of existing diseases.
Surgical treatment
Modern methods of surgical intervention are characterized by a high level of effectiveness and safety.They allow you to quickly eliminate the medical cause of pain and often do not require hospitalization.But most minimally invasive and microsurgery methods can only be used when a patient sees a spine surgeon in the early stages of the disease.
Indications for surgical treatment are:
- progressive herniated disc;
- spinal stenosis;
- isolated hernia;
- spinal fractures;
- Scoliosis grade 3–4;
- severe forms of spondylosis;
- compression of the spinal cord or its nerve roots;
- hemangioma of the vertebral body;
- instability of individual spinal segments;
- cauda equina compression syndrome.
The surgeon determines the type of surgery based on the severity of the patient's condition.For the same diagnosis, surgical treatment can be performed in many different ways, varying in invasiveness, effectiveness, recovery time, and cost.
Recently, minimally invasive surgical treatments have become very popular.With their help, intervertebral protrusions, herniated discs, hemangiomas and a number of other diseases will be treated.Minimally invasive surgery takes no more than an hour and after the procedure, the patient can walk almost immediately and leave the clinic the same day or the next day.
The huge advantages of this method are good cosmetic effect (in most cases, all necessary surgical instruments are inserted through precise punctures of soft tissue), ease of rehabilitation and affordable price.In the case of intervertebral hernia, only cold plasma nucleoplasty or hydrosurgery (hydraulicectomy) can be considered a more promising method.
In situations where microsurgical techniques cannot be used, surgeons will perform open surgeries.During that time, it will be possible to completely remove pathologically altered structures, eliminate severe deformations of the spine, replace irreversible structures with implants, and achieve normal function of the spine by attaching metallic titanium structures.
Modern spine surgery can treat almost any back problem.All the latest surgical treatments for spinal diseases are available at many facilities.Our team of doctors with different qualifications will help you get rid of acute or painful chronic back pain in the shortest possible time.
Prevent back pain
After the attack ends and the pain has subsided, to avoid recurrence, you should:
- Do not lift objects that are too heavy;
- don't bend down;
- walk more;
- refuse to do heavy manual labor;
- When working sedentarily, take frequent breaks to warm up.