According to medical statistics, acute back pain is the second most common cause of disability. At least 80% of people have suffered from it at least once. They can occur sporadically or be observed with exacerbations of diseases of the spine. But in any case, both acute and chronic back pain require competent treatment and targeted action on the causes of their occurrence.
Acute back pain: causes
Acute pain is pain that persists for less than 6 weeks. For the most part, it goes away within 2 weeks. Although initially it is impossible to predict how long it will last. However, in almost half of cases, similar or more severe seizures recur later and become chronic pain.
The sharp pain may be of different intensity, dull, burning, etc. Sometimes it radiates to the arms, legs, buttocks. The so-called back pain often occurs after hypothermia, excessive physical exertion and as a result of sprains. Several days may elapse between the impact of the traumatic factor and the direct manifestation of the pain syndrome, and it will manifest itself under the influence of light physical exertion, for example, tilting.
They can also be the result of back injury or the first manifestation of spinal diseases, including:
- osteochondrosis
- ;
- intervertebral hernia;
- spondylarthrosis;
- spinal stenosis, etc.
Increase the likelihood of back problems:
- frequent stress;
- increased regular physical activity;
- overweight;
- Frequent and prolonged standing.
In addition to severe back discomfort, there may be headaches, a burning sensation in the legs, and dizziness. All of these symptoms should be reported to the doctor during the appointment.
Whichever anatomical structure was damaged first, it involves a whole chain of successive changes that increase the discomfort. Initially, inflammatory factors form in the lesion, causing swelling and irritation of the nerve fibers. In response to this, muscle spasms often occur, which further aggravates the situation and causes circulatory disturbances in the affected area. This leads to a decrease in the amount of nutrients and oxygen entering the focus of the lesion, as well as the retention of metabolic products.
Treatment of acute back pain
For pain relief, lie on your back on a hard surface. This will allow your back muscles to relax and relieve the stress on your spine. To enhance the effect, orthopedic pillows can be placed under the knees and under the head, but it is important to avoid flexing the back. In case of severe pain, short-term use of drugs from the NSAID group is allowed. In the future, you should definitely contact a neurologist or spine surgeon to determine the cause of the pain syndrome.
As soon as possible, you should consult a doctor if there is no improvement within a week, a recurrence of a seizure or irradiation of pain in the feet or knees, a violation of theurination and defecation. In order to diagnose existing disorders, patients are shown:
- MRI;
- CT;
- radiography;
- biochemical blood test;
- UAC.
Based on the research results and the characteristics of the symptoms, the doctor makes a diagnosis and develops treatment tactics. In case of acute pain that deprives a person of their ability to work, they may be offered to perform a spinal blockage, which relieves the pain syndrome within a few minutes.
Once the discomfort has subsided, it is important not to linger in bed. Moderate physical activity, supplemented by special exercises of medical gymnastics, is the best prevention of the recurrence of such attacks in the future.
When you go to the hospital, you will certainly receive high quality treatment for pain syndrome and its causes. Specialists will be able to develop the most effective treatment tactics and quickly relieve pain with the help of a well-designed and affordable blockade.
Chronic back pain: causes
People suffer from chronic back pain just as often. They can worsen and turn into a sharp pain attack, which completely distracts a person from the usual rhythm. Most often, they are the consequence of:
- A sedentary lifestyle, which leads to a weakening of the muscle corset. This causes an increased load on the spine and compression of the vertebrae. This results in osteochondrosis, protrusion of intervertebral discs and herniation of intervertebral discs, spondylarthrosis.
- Postural disorders. Long-term preservation of any position of the body, in which the natural curves of the spine are disturbed, provokes its curvature and the development of scoliosis or kyphosis. This leads to degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs, redistribution of the load on the muscles and pinching of the nerve roots.
- Weakened abdominal muscles. Since they act as a support for the internal organs and partially relieve the spine, when weak, the load on the lower back increases, which increases lordosis and causes chronic pain. In addition to a sedentary lifestyle, weakened abdominal muscles can be a consequence of pregnancy or obesity.
- Age changes. Over the years, the intervertebral discs gradually become dehydrated, which leads to a decrease in their elasticity, strength and size. The annulus fibrosus surrounding the jelly-shaped nucleus pulposus dries up and becomes more fragile. The loads cause the formation of cracks, which leads to the formation of protrusions and hernias. The resulting protrusion can squeeze blood vessels, nerve roots, and spinal cord, causing pain syndrome to appear.
Chronic back pain includes:
- osteochondrosis
- ;
- spondylarthrosis; osteoporosis
- ;
- intervertebral hernia; facet syndrome
- ;
- ankylosing spondylitis;
- spondylolisthesis;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- oncological and other diseases.
A common cause of chronic pain is deterioration of the facet joints. The cartilages therein are also susceptible to thinning with excessive stress on the spine. As a result, when moving, they cease to perform a shock-absorbing function, which causes the rubbing of bone fragments and the development of inflammation.
Treatment of back pain
Treatment tactics are developed based on the disorders discovered in diagnostic studies. When diseases of the spine are detected, conservative treatment is initially prescribed, including:
- drug treatment
- ; physiotherapy
- ; massage
- ; exercise therapy
- .
Conservative therapy
A holistic and individualized approach is important when treating back pain. Depending on the cause of their occurrence, patients are prescribed a number of medications, including:
- NSAIDs - drugs in this group have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, but with prolonged use they negatively affect the condition of the digestive 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 to eliminate psychological discomfort, which often reduces the effectiveness of conservative therapy;
- stands for topical application - ointments or gels with anti-inflammatory, warming or cooling components can help reduce the severity of pain and cause virtually no side effects;
- chondroprotectors - preparations containing glucosamine and chondroitin have a beneficial effect on the condition of cartilage tissue, increase its elasticity and help restore normal thickness.
In mild cases, oral medication is sufficient. But in more difficult situations, intra-articular injections may be prescribed to patients. In case of severe pain, it is recommended to do the blockages once or in full, which may include up to 10 procedures.
To improve the effectiveness of drug therapy, patients are prescribed massage and physiotherapy sessions. The correct effect on the back muscles helps to activate blood and lymphatic circulation, improve metabolic processes and eliminate muscle spasms. Manual therapy is very effective in deformities of the spine, especially 1 to 2 degree scoliosis. Regular sessions help restore the normal position of the spine and relieve pressure on internal organs.
As part of physiotherapy, patients are assigned sessions:
- UHF; magnetic therapy
- ;
- currents Bernard; laser therapy
- ; electrophoresis
- ;
- UFO;
- balneological treatment.
If it is not possible to improve the condition within six months or there is a risk of complications, patients may be offered surgical treatment for existing diseases.
Surgical treatment
Modern methods of surgical intervention are distinguished by a high level of efficiency and safety. They allow you to quickly eliminate the pathological cause of the development of pain syndrome and often do not require hospitalization. But the majority of minimally invasive and microsurgical methods can only be applied when patients refer to spine surgeons in the early stages of the disease.
The indications for surgical treatment are:
- progressive herniation of the intervertebral discs;
- spinal stenosis;
- sequestered the hernia;
- vertebral fractures;
- grade 3-4 scoliosis;
- severe forms of spondylarthrosis;
- compression of the spinal cord or its nerve roots;
- hemangiomas of the vertebral bodies;
- instability of individual segments of the spine; Cauda Equina Syndrome
- .
The surgeon determines the type of operation based on the severity of the patient's condition. With the same diagnosis, surgical treatment can be carried out in different ways, differing in the degree of invasiveness, effectiveness, duration of rehabilitation and cost.
Recently, minimally invasive surgical treatment methods have become very popular. With their help, treatment of intervertebral protrusions, hernias of intervertebral discs, hemangiomas and several other diseases is carried out. Minimally invasive surgery takes no more than an hour, and once completed, the patient can almost immediately walk and leave the clinic the same day or the next.
The great advantages of the method are good cosmetic effect (in most cases, all necessary surgical instruments are inserted through puncture punctures of soft tissue), ease of rehabilitation and affordability. In the case of intervertebral hernias, only nucleoplasty or cold plasma hydroplasty (hydrodiscectomy) can be considered a more promising method.
In situations where microsurgical techniques cannot be applied, surgeons perform open operations. During these, it is possible to completely eliminate pathologically altered formations, level severe deformities of the spine, replace irrecoverable structures with implants, and achieve normal functioning of the spine by mounting structuresmetallic titanium.
Modern spinal surgery can treat almost any back problem. All the latest methods of surgical treatment of spine diseases are available from many institutions. A team of doctors with different profiles will help you get rid of acute or excruciating chronic back pain as quickly as possible.
Prevention of back pain
Once the seizure is over and the pain dulls, it is recommended to avoid a second episode:
- do not lift heavy objects;
- do not bend over;
- walk more;
- give up heavy physical labor;
- seated, take regular breaks to warm up.