Low back pain is familiar to almost everyone. It is difficult to find a person who has never experienced this extremely unpleasant symptom at least once. Sometimes it is enough to sit in an awkward position for a while to cause discomfort in the lumbar region of the spine. But this is not a serious problem, but simply a consequence of being in an awkward position for a long time.
But severe back pain almost always has specific causes and is a reason to go to the doctor. The diagnosis will not always be expected, because osteochondrosis is just one of the possible problems, back pain.
Why it hurts the lower back and what to do in such a situation is not difficult to guess. The doctor will diagnose and identify the cause of the pain, after which you will need to start treatment.
Pain syndrome - primary and secondary
Understanding why the lower back hurts, we must not forget that the causes of such pain are counted in the dozens and a layman will never be able to determine the true source of problems.
In general, the medical classification divides primary and secondary pain syndromes that can affect the lumbar region.
The syndrome of primary low back pain occurs as a result of musculoskeletal changes of a morphofunctional nature. It is the cause of the majority of cases of back pain in the lumbar region. The most significant of the causes are degenerative-dystrophic changes occurring in different parts of the spine:
- osteochondrosis, which is a lesion of bone and cartilage tissue, this disease has a dystrophic nature. When it affects the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae, spondylosis begins to develop.
- Spondyloarthritis is a form of osteoarthritis in which the disease affects the intervertebral joints, which are responsible for the mobility of the spine or synovial joints.
Secondary pain syndrome has many different causes of pain:
- scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine, as well as some other growth diseases;
- various inflammations of non-infectious nature. For example, rheumatoid arthritis, Reiter's syndrome;
- a tumor located on the vertebrae, in the spinal cord itself or in the retroperitoneal space, whether primary or caused by metastases;
- fracture of one or more vertebrae. This is perhaps one of the most serious causes of back pain;
- various infectious diseases that lead to damage to the vertebrae and intervertebral discs (tuberculosis, brucellosis, epidural abscess);
- stroke conditions in which there is a serious disturbance in the blood supply to the spinal cord. In this case, there may be a feeling that the lower back hurts;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, acute appendicitis with an atypical course, intestinal obstruction;
- often back pain is reflected. A similar problem can occur with some diseases of the pelvic organs. For example, renal colic, sexually transmitted diseases (gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, chlamydia, ureaplasmosis and endesitis - all these diseases cause reflected back pain).
What are acute and chronic pain
Low back pain is also divided into acute and chronic, which can be caused by various problems and diseases, both of the nerve endings and of the spine itself.
Displaced pain is also common - there is a translation of pain from other organs that are located much deeper. In other words, a person's lower back seems to hurt, even though the problem is actually in a completely different part of the body. But most often the pain from the pelvic organs, pancreas, kidneys, colon or tumors located behind the peritoneum is projected in the lumbar region.
Usually people do not know what to do if their lower back hurts. But it is clear what you should not do - this is self-medication. The causes of pain are varied, only a specialist can make the correct diagnosis, and the constant use of painkillers (which many consider a treatment) can do even more harm.
The specialist, in turn, makes a diagnosis based on data obtained from additional tests, such as MRI diagnosis of the spine.
Causes of acute pain
Before deciding what to do when the lower back hurts badly, any serious doctor will first determine the cause of the pain. The reasons may be different, but most of them are somehow related to the spine.
One of the simplest and harmless causes of pain is acute muscle tension. In this case, spasmodic long muscles are the source of pain. In this problem, the pain is rarely "radiated" to other parts of the body, but rather severely restricts a person's mobility. This reason is very common, common to athletes and people whose work involves various physical activities.
Another common but much more serious source of pain is a fracture of the spine, especially when it comes to compression fractures of the vertebrae. This most often happens with unsuccessful falls and other back injuries. But if a person has hyperparathyroidism, osteoporosis, Paget's disease or has tumors in the spinal region, then a fracture can occur and go unnoticed by the patient, as they say "suddenly. " In addition, one will not even know when this fracture occurred. .
An equally unpleasant situation, in case of acute low back pain, is the displacement of the intervertebral discs in the lumbar spine. The symptoms of this problem are severe, sharp pain in the lower back that severely restricts mobility. Most often the pain occurs due to compression of the nerve roots. Signs of such compression are:
- sensitivity disorders;
- disappearance or significant reduction of the Achilles reflex;
- absence or decrease in the intensity of the knee reflex;
- unilateral radicular pain.
One of the unpleasant tendencies of this problem is that such a displacement can cause pathology of the lower vertebrae. As a result, pain appears below the lumbar region and the functions of the rectum and bladder may be impaired. In some cases, localization of low back pain is possible.
Acute back pain can also occur as a result of facet syndrome. In this case, the cause of the pain is compression of the root at the exit of the spinal canal, while the intervertebral disc itself remains intact. This syndrome is usually the result of widening of the upper and lower side of the intervertebral joint, which leads to narrowing of the intervertebral foramen.
Epidural abscess is one of the most serious diseases that cause severe back pain. This disease requires urgent diagnosis and immediate treatment and all highly effective measures are recommended, up to surgery, the main thing is the rapid removal of spinal cord compression.
Hip diseases are also often the cause of sharp pain in the lower back. They are characterized by pain radiating to the lower back, to the legs to the level of the knee.
Causes of chronic low back pain
One of the causes of chronic pain is spondylosis deformity. In this disease there is a dystrophic change in the vertebrae of the lumbar spine, the ligament apparatus weakens and bone growth occurs. As a result, the spinal canal narrows and bone growths begin to compress the nerve roots. Painful pain may be accompanied by numbness and weakness in the legs, as well as other neurological symptoms. In any case, a full examination will be needed, according to the results of which the final diagnosis will be established.
Bechterew's disease, also called ankylosing spondylitis, can also cause chronic pain. It is manifested by pulling pain in the lower back, a curvature of the spine in the chest area appears and develops rapidly. The first symptoms are limited mobility and reduced chest movement when breathing.
Cancer and metabolic disorders often cause low back pain. But even benign tumors can cause chronic pain that will not be accompanied by neurological symptoms.
Osteomyelitis can also cause lower back pain, which can be very long lasting.
Conclusion
As you can see, back pain can occur as a result of many diseases. At the same time, quite often a person does not even expect that the problem will not be where it hurts. So even if your lower back hurts not constantly, but from time to time - do not pull, consult a doctor. It is easier to deal with any disease at an early stage than when it is neglected and will lead to many complications along with it.