Even children sometimes experience lower back pain. Adults know problems first hand. To cope with it, you need to find out: why the lower back hurts, what are the reasons. The range of causes is wide: from benign to acute conditions that require medical attention. Once you have found the root of the disease, you will understand what to do, you can help yourself or by contacting a doctor.
Pain-causing factors
Lower back pain is a common phenomenon, but from the "occurs by accident" category. Occurs unexpectedly and always inappropriately. There are explanations for everything, consider the likely ones in order.
After sleep
A person wakes up in the morning, intends to get up. . . And he can't. Sharp piercing back pain. The day before I did not lift weights, I did not give a load to the muscles where the pain comes from, it is not clear.
Action algorithm:
- With any pain, it is important to calm down in order to adequately assess the situation.Panic will not relieve pain, but it can make it worse. It won't work, we think lying down.
- Remember yesterday.If you used it in the office and in the evening at the TV or computer, and this is your usual routine, the muscles experience (don't be surprised) overload. Constantly, daily. They don't have time to relax during the night. Passive rest does not help restore unloaded muscles. A static load is heavier than a dynamic one. The first (static) - being in the same position - overloads some muscles and leaves others without work. Dynamics (movement) involve many of the muscles.
- We continue to analyze.You load the muscles evenly, do a minimum of exercises, do not sit for eighteen hours a day, but woke up with lower back pain.
Probable causes:
- Uncomfortable position during sleep;
- Excessively hard or excessively soft bed;
- Manifestation of internal diseases.
The latter circumstance is rarely associated with sleep. A person may feel uncomfortable after waking up, because in a dream the body is relaxed, sensations are dulled. The awakened person's perception sharpens, he moves - the suffering organ reacts.
- If you calmed down, analyzed the situation, found out the cause of the pain - act.When you are convinced: muscle pain that is not associated with organ pathology, stand up carefully. It doesn't work - roll to the edge of the bed, slide to the floor. There you will exercise to relieve muscle spasms - this is your treatment.
Pain in the lower back after sleep, which manifested itself for the first time, usually arises from the above reasons.The deep, main reason is detraining, muscle weakness.Weakened muscles respond to factors that strong ones "don't notice". It is not the hardness/softness of the bed, awkward movements and relaxed muscles that cause pain.
Learn more about sleep comfort. Which bed is better: a controversial question where the answers are diametrically opposed. Proponents of a hard bed insist on the use of a shield under the mattress and call such a bed - orthopedic. It is believed that on a hard bed the spine straightens, which is good for posture.
Opponents of stiffness promote a soft thick mattress that allows the body to "sink" into the filler. In a semi-suspended state, the muscles and spine assume an arbitrary position. Advertisers of "soft sleep" claim: it is more useful, the approach is physiological. The mattress is also called orthopedic.
Lower back pain in both women and men occurs after sleeping on any bed. Extremes are not the best solution. Our strong ancestors, farmers, slept on chests or stoves and made beds with feather beds. Middle option. The posture was excellent, pain after awakening was not typical for young and middle-aged people.
To keep the body fit, muscles - active, regular exercises will help: exercises. Muscle training. How to help yourself "here and now" - we will definitely talk about this. When we consider all the probable causes and find out what it could be why lower back pain appeared.
You can also feel pain and burning in other cases, with diseases of the spine, injuries. Then there are the non-specific mornings, disturbing regardless of the "sleepy" time.
After training
Lack of load leads to weakness, muscle atrophy, overload - will reward pain for diligence. Note to trainees: take the phrase "hurry up, slow" as the motto of recovery. It is not always possible to row with arms full of strength and health.Graduality is the key to success.
It is not difficult to calculate the optimal load, you need two indicators:
- HR (heart rate, the number of heartbeats per minute is measured);
- Arterial pressure.
Pulse measurements are performed three times:
- Before class;
- At the end of the workout;
- 5 minutes after class.
In a relatively healthy person with a starting heart rate of 70-72, immediately after training, the heart rate can increase with a sufficient load up to 120 (no more). After 5 minutes, the heart rate should decrease: stay below 100 beats. If the pulse remains more frequent, the load is excessive, the muscles will react with subsequent pain. The lower back is no exception.
Blood pressure should also return to normal in five minutes. This knowledge will tell you what to do so that pain does not occur in the lower back muscles after training.
Because of negative emotions
A person who is prone to feeling emotions or who has fallen into a severe prolonged stressful situation may experience pain of varying intensity in the lower back. They are not associated with an organic lesion of the spine. The causes of lower back pain lie in the body's reaction to stress.Nervous tension causes muscle spasms.Spastic muscles signal a malfunction in their work - pain.
This doesn't just happen in the lower back, muscle spasms can occur anywhere. Such a symptom in medicine is called psychosomatic pain.
Regular exercises aimed at strengthening and developing muscles, the formation of a "muscle cross" - prevention of neurological pain.
Diseases of the spine
Diseases of the spine itself, dysfunction of the muscles next to it, are more difficult to treat. Main assistants: willpower, endurance, patience. Diseases have individual triggers. The method of treatment depends on its nature.
Injuries
The muscles of the spine are damaged for two reasons:
- Causing harm to oneself through ignorance: ignorance of the physiology of one's own body, improper "use" of the body.
- External impact (accidents, elements, unforeseen circumstances).
Self-mutilation is not intentionally engaged in (exceptions are rare, we're talking about something else here), injuries occur due to carelessness. The man did not calculate his strength, he lifted a heavy object and turned awkwardly at the same time. Inflicted damage to the spine in the lower back. The pain is sharp, sharp, does not allow to move.
More often this happens in men: they work more with weights.Standard recommendations from doctors:
- Restriction of movements (bed rest);
- Powerful injections for pain in the back and lower back;
- Warming rubbing, ointments, compresses, heating;
- Physiotherapy procedures;
- Massage;
- Exercise therapy - after a decrease in intensity, attenuation of symptoms and during remission.
Let's take a closer look at the essence of medical prescriptions:
- Rest (restriction of movements). The muscles are spasmodic, tense, some of them are blocked by the wrong load. By depriving the patient of mobility, the doctor involuntarily resolves this blockage: immobility will not relieve the spasm. Muscles become stiff - lose flexibility, remain tense for a long time. Muscle tissue quickly weakens throughout the body without movement. These are the prerequisites for the transition of the disease to a chronic form.
- Painkiller. The injections "suppress" the symptoms, it is easier for the patient. But there is no therapeutic effect. The reason remains, the person simply feels less pain for two to three hours. Strong drugs are also strong, which causes side effects. Often used to relieve pain attacks in the lumbosacral spine, a drug from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives causes serious problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Other painkillers are not without side effects either. And they are used for a long time, courses.
- Pain is always swelling. It is visible or hidden, but tenderness and swelling exist without fail. Edema is aggravated by warming manipulations. The situation is the same: the pain is dulled, the problem remains or progresses.
- Physiotherapy for spastic muscles is close to placebo. Best case scenario.
- Skilled massage will benefit, relax the muscles. Careful stroking is useless, use a special massage that relieves spasms. It is painful at first, but helps with a quick recovery.
- Exercise is important immediately after an injury. Through the pain Correct movements bring the muscles back to normal without medication. It is necessary to know the exact diagnosis, focusing on it, choose a set of exercises. Leave the diagnosis to the doctor.
Serious injuries (soft tissue tears, fractures) require hospitalization, sometimes surgery. But in rehabilitation, the most important thing is development and strengthening, recovery of damaged muscles. Drug anesthesia is a temporary measure, recovery is achieved by regular exercises.
Osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is called dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs:
- The cartilage tissue of the discs wears out if the muscles that give the spine adjacent to it are poorly developed, sluggish. The spine is vulnerable without the support of a reliable muscular cross, the load on the discs is uneven.
- The discs flatten, the tissues around them lose their elasticity, spasms. The pain reflex is transmitted from the point of compression of the vertebrae of the disc: from the spastic muscles through the nerve to the brain.
- The edges of the vertebrae are deformed, begin to grow and also damage the muscles.
- The chronic process is formed gradually, pain sensations are distant from the beginning. Progress from discomfort and dull pain - to growing, intense. It often leads to disability.
Osteochondrosis often occurs in men who are forced to lift weights. The disease often develops in women. Women tend to be more sedentarylack of movement weakens the musculoskeletal system. Staying in one position for a long time overexerts some muscle groups without engaging others. There is pain in the lumbar spine and other segments.
The order is the same: muscle spasms, the signal from the pain receptors from the compressed discs is read by the nerve, the person feels debilitating pain. It is called "radicular syndrome" (doctors explain this by pinching the root of the spinal cord). Hypodynamia is to blame in tandem with an irresponsible attitude to health. Muscle tissue is able to recover, for this it needs your conscious help. A pinched nerve (the second, inaccurate name of the syndrome, since the nerve does not contain pain receptors, it transmits an impulse from edematous muscles) is not easy to heal. Willpower, patience, time are your allies.
The treatment is carried out on an inpatient or outpatient basis, as well as for injuries that do not require surgery. Doctors use analgesic blockades, prescribe anti-inflammatory and analgesic injections.
Full muscle work can only be restored by regular training. Thoughtful, competent system of exercises. Choose from a large selection of medical author methods of rehabilitation - suitable for you.
Spondylosis
Untreated, progressive osteochondrosis against the background of a number of violations in the course and the body itself can develop into spondylosis. The growth of bone tissue is an adaptive response of the body. The muscles of the skeleton, the spine, do not hold. He tries to hold on with his own strength and pushes out supports - bone spikes. The processes in advanced cases grow together with neighboring vortices. The spine is fixed, it becomes rigid, movements in the lower back are blocked.
Protrusions (growths) on the edges of the segments of the spine constantly damage adjacent tissue.
Stop the disease in time, or better, prevent it.Do not allow the transition of osteochondrosis to spondylosis: the second is more difficult to deal with.
At least half an hour - forty minutes of simple (remember gradual) exercises daily. Add regularity to gradualness: don't skip classes. The result in two to four weeks, they will show tangible. The time for a complete recovery depends on the initial condition: how far the disease has progressed.
Proper gymnastics will certainly improve your well-being, but it will only ease the neglected stage, not cure it. The disease is serious. Surgeries for spondylosis are ineffective. The treatment is symptomatic. Anesthetize with ointments, injections.
The use of drugs is advisable if the pain in the lumbosacral region is unbearable. Dosage and frequency - adjust.For muscles that are strengthened by exercises, the need for anesthesia disappears.The pain will subside. Prevention will serve as a guarantee of their non-return: gymnastics for muscles, joints and the whole body. At the same time, the body heals completely.
Spondylarthrosis
Pain in the lumbosacral spine is pronounced in spondylarthrosis. The pain can radiate to the buttocks and thighs.
The disease is characterized by damage to the joints located between the bodies of the spine. The cartilage in the joint is destroyed, the bone tissue is broken. Nearby muscles and ligaments are inflamed and tense. Mobility is reduced. The disease progresses, it occurs in the elderly, young people rarely suffer - with congenital anomalies of the spine.
Factors that provoke spondylarthrosis:
- Older age:
- Floor;
- Obesity;
- Heavy physical work in the past;
- Power sports (barbell);
- Damages;
- genetic predisposition.
In women, spondylarthrosis occurs twice as often. This fact is associated with metabolic disorders (fluctuations in the level and composition of hormones - pregnancy, menopause). Affects the statistics and the difference in the average life expectancy of different sexes. The age limit for spondylarthrosis is high, women overcome it more often.
The doctor decides how to treat, operations are not indicated. Procedures are aimed at reducing pain. The doctor will prescribe medication and possible exercises.
Radiculitis
If you do not cure osteochondrosis, it can be complicated by sciatica. The symptoms are similar, but the disease is more serious. Nerve fibers are affected - bundles located in the muscles next to the spine along the spine. Pain in the lower back that hurts, pulls, radiates to the buttock and left leg, may indicate sciatica, osteochondrosis, spinal hernia. The pain also radiates to the right leg, less often it is bilateral. With sciatica, it is difficult to find a position that relieves the pain intensity. Pain radiates to the leg and with other health disorders in the spine, contact a doctor:High-quality diagnostics are half the success of treatment.
Radiculitis in the absence of competent treatment leads to a curvature of the spine. A frequent complication of the disease is a vertebral hernia, a protrusion of a disc compressed by the vertebrae. With a herniated lumbar spine, the pain is constant, this is a serious consequence of sciatica.
The onset of radiculitis, like osteochondrosis, has similar causes:
- Violation of posture;
- Training of muscles;
- flat feet;
- The habit of incorrectly "holding your back" when walking, sitting, working and resting;
- Violation of metabolic processes.
If osteochondrosis develops, pain and burning occurs in the back, you must immediately deal with the problem. Until she got worse.
Radiculitis is treated in the same way as osteochondrosis:
- Eliminate pain - apply ointments, gels, drugs;
- relieve inflammation;
- Strengthen the muscular system with exercises.
tuberculous process
The infectious disease tuberculosis can cause inflammation of the muscles of any localization. If the muscles in the lower back are inflamed, pain is felt. The tuberculous process in the bone tissue of the vertebrae is due to specific tuberculosis bacteria penetrating the vertebral tissue with the blood flow. This provokes the development of tuberculous spondylitis or osteomyelitis (bacteria infect the bone marrow of the spine).
Diseases of the lumbar tuberculous etiology are accompanied by severe pain in the advanced stage.
What to do if spinal tuberculosis is diagnosed? Follow the instructions of an experienced doctor. It is dangerous to delay treatment: the spine is gradually deformed: the vertebrae are destroyed, a hump is formed.
The treatment is long, antibacterial, sometimes surgical. Load limitation is recommended. Medical monitoring is necessary even after achieving remission.
Tumor
Tumor processes in the lumbar spine and adjacent tissues cause pain, which increases with the growth of the neoplasm. Unpleasant sensations give tumors of any kind: benign and malignant.
If a tumor is suspected, a thorough examination and treatment is essential.Symptoms may resemble a pinched nerve, sciatica or spina bifida. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor to establish a reliable diagnosis.
Diagnosis is difficult due to the similarity of the symptoms to other diseases. Night and morning pains are characteristic. A tumor involving the spinal cord is the most serious prognostically.
Benign tumors are treated surgically, they are removed. Malignant are more often formed by metastases from other organs, it is difficult to cure them. You should contact an oncologist, he will plan and carry out the treatment. Treatment tactics: anesthesia, supportive therapy, if necessary - surgery.
Diseases of the internal organs
disease, symptoms |
Why does the lower back hurt |
Necessary actions |
|---|---|---|
A stroke is a violation of the brain's blood circulation. Failure of most body functions - speech, motor, mental. |
Acute circulatory failure due to rupture or narrowing of a vessel can affect the spinal cord. Its functions are disturbed, hypoxia occurs. This causes pain. |
Emergency call for ambulance ambulance. |
Atypical acute appendicitis |
Pain occurs in uncharacteristic places for this disease - epigastrium, left side or lower back. |
Call an ambulance, hospitalization and surgery are possible. |
Pyelonephritis, ICD (kidney disease) |
The inflammatory process (pyelonephritis) or the development of a kidney stone causes pain in the lower back and abdomen of varying intensity - from painful to acute, unbearable. |
Call an ambulance. |
Intestinal obstruction. Acute life-threatening condition: retention of feces and gases, vomiting, nausea, food masses do not move through the intestines. Cold sweat, rapid pulse, drop in blood pressure. |
Pain in the form of contractions can be given to the lower back. |
Emergency admission. |
Reflected pain |
Give them:
|
Examination by a doctor, examination, diagnosis, followed by the appointment of appropriate treatment. |
women's issues
The causes of pain are not always pathology if we are talking about women. Sometimes they lie in purely female physiology.
During pregnancy
Lower back pain in expectant mothers can be conditionally attributed to pain. This is a natural feeling of heaviness: the child grows, the belly increases, the weight on the pelvic region is greatest. This causes an increased load on the spine in the lower back. Imagine that you have a bag attached to your belt, a bucket or a bucket and a half of water is poured into it. After walking with such a load for several hours, even a man will feel tired, his lower back will ache. Carrying a child is not an easy joy in any sense. 
In the early stages, the body begins to rebuild, it is felt.
A healthy woman does not perceive the desired "overweight" as discomfort.Normally developed muscles, gymnastics for pregnant women neutralizes the feeling of heaviness.If the pain is intense, hurts the lower abdomen and lower back, tell the doctor who is managing the pregnancy. The doctor will help find out what it might be. Multiple pregnancy can increase the severity – the load is greater than usual. Exacerbation of diseases that existed before pregnancy is not excluded, a doctor's consultation will reveal this.
Period
Normal process showing: the woman is healthy. At the beginning of menstruation, the cervix opens slightly and pulling pains may occur. Then the inner mucous membranes in the uterus are rejected - soreness can also be that. If the pain is unbearable - see a doctor, he will tell you how to normalize menstruation. Irregular cycle can indicate hormonal disorders.
How to relieve the pain
Acute muscular back pain that is not associated with organ damage can be relieved on its own, quickly and without medication.
Intense exhalation (deep, from the stomach) activates the diaphragm, activates blood circulation, and the condition is relieved.
- Lying on the back, we place a cold object under the lower back (a heating pad with ice, a bag of frozen vegetables, etc. ), the cold also numbs the edematous muscles.
- We bend the legs a little at the knees.
- We put our hands to the ears, on the exhalation we raise the head, shoulders, and on the inhalation lower it.
Cold relieves swelling, activates blood flow to the lower back. The pain subsides.
Get down on all fours, stretch your muscles by walking with support on your palms and knees. 5-20 minutes is the optimal duration of the exercise. The edema disappears, anesthesia occurs.
Lie on your back, feet on a bench (sofa, other comfortable support). Under the lower back - a heating pad with ice. Hands behind head. As you exhale, lift the shoulder part and try to reach your knees with your elbows. Perform 20 reps or more if possible. Muscles develop, swelling and spasms are removed, pain goes away.
There is a complex of exercises that strengthen the muscles of the lower back, here are the most important ones that relieve pain quickly. A bit like an ambulance. Exercises are safe, the first soreness is natural. If you start performing these movements immediately, as soon as a person feels discomfort, "pulls" the muscles, it is possible to relieve the pain syndrome in one or two sessions.
Medical grade pain relievers bring temporary relief but do not eliminate the problem.If it is unbearable, apply ointment, folk remedies (salt lotions, herbal baths), but the emphasis is on exercises.
Alternate between work and rest reasonably, allow yourself a good night's sleep.
Don't be flippant: work your muscles proactively. Practice movements that eliminate muscle stagnation. They are a dynamic body. Use reasonable sets of exercises, do not force. Have patience. The work of the muscles is controlled by the mind, their ability to regenerate (restoration) is amazing. During stress, new pathways are innervated, bypassing the damaged ones, and temporarily lost functions in the muscles affected by the disease or external influence are restored.
Anatomical changes concern only roads. Health, well-being, mobility - are restored.
There is no better investment than investing in your own health. It's about investing effort: exercise as part of a lifestyle. To make it a habit - every day, like brushing your teeth.
Nursing the disease is not an option. The desire to find a comfortable position for the body that relieves pain is understandable. But if "movement is life, " then peace (which is desired in the case of pain) is the opposite of life. Eternal peace - with some degree of laziness - few are interested, so you have to disturb the ailing muscles. Through the pain Diseases are loved when they are pampered (bed rest, a minimum of movements, heating and other pampering). Butsufferings abate before the brave, to step over the fear of experiencing pain and through it itself. Overcome self-pity: it is an excuse for laziness and fear. A little courage, regular light work and you will forget about lower back pain.