Back pain is a very common symptom in people of all ages. Most often, it indicates a failure of various systems - musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive. When back pain, do not self-medicate. Only a doctor can quickly determine the cause and treatment tactics.
Backache
Back pain is very different. It may involve eating or coughing, psycho-emotional experiences. The causes of this symptom are gastritis and cholecystitis, bronchitis and pneumonia, angina pectoris and acute coronary syndrome. However, these diseases are often accompanied by other characteristic complaints, allowing the physician to make an accurate differential diagnosis.
Often, back pain is a sign of damage to the musculoskeletal system. It occurs in such diseases:
- Osteochondrosis (thoracic, lumbar or common).
- Scoliosis.
- The protrusion.
- Disc herniation.
- narrowing of the spinal canal.
These degenerative diseases themselves rarely present with pain. However, as the disease progresses, nerve roots and fibers become involved. Their encroachment, compression leads to the appearance of neurological symptoms:
- Back pain, chest, waist.
- Unusual sensations - burning, tingling, numbness.
- Movement disorder.
Back pain can be chronic or acute. As a rule, in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, there is a clear relationship of discomfort with physical activity, movement or breathing. To get rid of them, doctors have to prescribe ointments, pills and pain relievers.
The treatment
Injecting drugs for back pain and knee fatigue is a highly effective treatment method. Often, with them, pain syndrome therapy begins, especially if the patient's discomfort is very pronounced.
Sometimes, in addition to injections, other forms of anti-inflammatory drugs are used:
- Gels and ointments.
- Tablets, capsules, powder.
- Rectal suppositories.
Very often the same drug is available in different forms. And the doctor chooses the optimal option for the patient, reducing pain, taking into account its characteristics, tolerability and comorbidities. Some people can't stand the injection for fear of pain, and just the sight of a sharp needle can cause them to panic. In contrast, others distrust local forms, considering them ineffective enough.
More commonly, however, injections to relieve pain in the lower back or chest are the most popular and best-selling drugs.
Injections
Local anesthetics for back pain are used for moderate to severe diseases of the musculoskeletal system. They are also prescribed as needed for very rapid or long-lasting, stable effects.
Some anti-inflammatory injections are prescribed after surgery as a pain reliever. The following medicines are available in injectable form:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs or NSAIDs).
- Steroid hormones.
- Muscle relaxants.
- Vitamin.
NSAIDs
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are a broad class of drugs and are very popular among doctors of different specialties. NSAIDs are widely used in the following medical fields:
- Rheumatism;
- injury
- orthopedic;
- therapy.
The most common signs for their appointment are:
- bone necrosis;
- protrusion and herniated disc;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- various radiculopathy;
- bruises and sprains.
steroid hormones
Steroid hormones are a special class of drugs. They have a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. But there are many side effects of these drugs.
Hormonal injections are used to treat low back pain associated with hernia, rheumatoid arthritis, and Bechterew's disease, an etiologic disease. The main signs for their appointment are:
- Severe pain syndrome.
- A strong inflammatory process, especially of autoimmune and allergic origin.
- The need for a stable analgesic effect.
Hormones can be produced in the form of tablets, but for cases of pain in the spine, back, and joints, people are prescribed intramuscular and intravenous injection. This allows you to quickly relieve pain and eliminate inflammation.
Steroid hormones can be prescribed along with NSAIDs, but this combination requires careful monitoring of the patient's health.
Muscle relaxants
Muscle relaxants in the treatment of back pain began to be used relatively recently. However, due to their high efficiency, they have made a name in the list of doctors' prescriptions for degenerative diseases, musculoskeletal degeneration.
The mechanism of action of muscle relaxants is completely different from that of NSAIDs. They do not affect the inflammatory process in any way, do not eliminate pathological edema and accompanying pain.
These drugs, as the name implies, help relax the muscles. The mechanism of back pain is quite complex. It distinguishes not only the neuropathic component associated with the invasion of the nerve roots. Of great practical importance is muscle spasm, which occurs as a reflex response to degenerative processes in the spine and joints. It is not only accompanied by severe pain in itself, but also aggravates the inflammation in the lesion.
That is why the administration of muscle relaxants along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs allows you to stop the pain syndrome in a shorter time. What types of muscle relaxant injections are usually prescribed by doctors?
vitamin
By themselves, vitamin preparations are not analgesics. However, therapists and neurosurgeons almost always prescribe them for back pain. What are the reasons for these recommendations?
The fact that pain in the chest or back - between the shoulder blades and in the lower back - with degenerative lesions is always associated with the involvement of nerve roots in this process. It is their encroachment that leads to the appearance of unpleasant symptoms. However, compression of the nerve fibers not only causes pain, but their sheath is also affected. As the process progresses, the nerves themselves are destroyed, and manifestations of radiculopathy increase.
The B vitamins have comparable properties in relation to nerve fibers.
Group B
Vitamins of this group are available in the form of tablets, injections, and injections. In the acute period, neurologists often prescribe injections according to an established regimen - as a rule, for a period of 10 days, and in the future they recommend switching to an oral form. They will be done within a month.
Previously, such vitamins existed in three separate injections - B1, B6, B12. Given that each injection itself is painful, the use of such a cocktail has caused a great deal of suffering for the patient.
However, today pharmacies offer a huge selection of combination preparations, one tube of which already contains all the necessary B vitamins.
Today, vitamin B is an essential component of established treatment regimens for various neurological and radiculopathies. That's why these injections are always on the list of prescriptions for acute back pain along with NSAIDs and muscle relaxants.
Gels and ointments
Although anesthetic injections provide quick and effective relief of discomfort, many patients prefer the topical formulation. These include gels, creams, and ointments.
These products require no special skills to use - even a child can apply the gel to the affected area. In addition, topical forms are safer, since the active ingredient is practically not absorbed through the skin. This means that the risk of systemic side effects of the drug is minimized.
This is especially true for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which have an impressive list of toxic effects.
Ointments, gels, and creams often help relieve back pain when the condition is mild. They are also preferred in the following cases:
- In children and elderly patients.
- With bruises and sprains of the ligamentous apparatus.
- With concomitant pathology - diseases of the blood coagulation system, gastrointestinal tract, with bleeding hemorrhoids.
The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointments and gels rarely leads to the development of complications, even if their use is not controlled. This is often the fault of elderly patients with chronic pain and severe forgetfulness. In this case, the safest anti-inflammatory drugs become the drug of choice.
Tablets, capsules, powder
Tablets and capsules are a great alternative to injections for back pain. The drug name may be the same or different.
Most nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are available in oral and injectable forms. In addition, there are a large number of medicinal analogues. That's why you shouldn't replace the drug yourself if it suddenly doesn't work, as there is always the possibility of buying a drug with the same active ingredient, but in injection form or under a different name.
Tablets are the most common form of oral anti-inflammatory medication. Almost every non-steroidal drug is available, including in tablet form. They are easy to use, dispense and dose. Tablets are suitable for patients of all ages, except children under 4-6 years of age who may choke.
Oral forms of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are preferred for the treatment of diseases of the spine, as they are much more convenient to use.
Also, some drugs are sometimes just as strong as injections.
Rectal suppositories
Rectal suppositories with anti-inflammatory drugs in the composition are widely represented in any pharmacy. They serve as an alternative to both the oral and injectable forms used to treat back pain.
This release form provides faster pain relief than tablets and capsules. This is due to the rapid absorption of the pain reliever in the rectum. However, at the same time, their effect develops more slowly than with intramuscular and intravenous administration. Although the mobility of rectal suppositories is much better.
As a rule, doctors prescribe this form for mild and moderate forms of spinal cord injury, after surgery, to obtain an anesthetic effect.
Due to the nature of application, rectal suppositories are not suitable for all patients, however, they continue to be a safe, effective, and popular remedy for pain relief.
The choice of medication form for back pain syndrome is the prerogative of the physician. It is he who decides the matter in favor of injections or pills, gels or suppositories - depending on the specific disease of the patient and comorbidities. Usually, therapy is carried out according to a certain plan - injections in the first days of illness for acute pain relief and pills or other forms - at the stage of recovery.