Causes of back pain in the lumbar region

Even children sometimes experience lower back pain. Adults know the problems firsthand. 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 conditions to urgent conditions that require medical attention. Having found the root of the disease, you will understand what to do, you can help yourself or by contacting a doctor.

Factors that cause pain

Low back pain is a common phenomenon, but from the category of "accidentally we go. "It happens unexpectedly and always untimely. There are explanations for everything, consider the probable ones in order.

After sleeping

A person wakes up in the morning, pretends to get up. . . And he can't. Sharp, piercing back pain. The day before, I did not lift weights, I did not put a load on the muscles, where the pain comes from - it is not clear.

Action algorithm:

  1. With any pain, it is important to calm down in order to adequately assess the situation.Panic will not relieve the pain, but it can aggravate it. It doesn't work, we think lying down.
  2. You remember yesterday.If you spent it in the office, and in the evenings in front of the TV or computer, and this is your usual routine, the muscles experience (do not be surprised) overload. Constantly, daily. They don't have time to relax at night. Passive rest does not help the recovery of unstressed muscles. A static load is heavier than a dynamic one. The first (static) - being in the same position - overloads some muscles, leaving others without work. The dynamics (movement) involves many of the muscles.
  3. We keep analyzing.You load the muscles evenly, do a minimum of exercises, do not sit eighteen hours a day, but wake up with pain in the lower back.

    Probable causes:

    • uncomfortable posture during sleep;
    • Excessively hard or excessively soft litter;
    • Manifestation of internal diseases.

    This last circumstance is rarely associated with sleep. A person may feel bad after waking up, because in a dream the body is relaxed, the sensations are dulled. The awakened person's perception sharpens, he moves, the suffering organ reacts.

  4. If you calmed down, analyzed the situation, found out the cause of the pain, take action.When you are convinced - muscle pain, not associated with organ pathology, get up gently. Doesn't work - roll to edge of bed, slide to floor. There you will exercise to relieve muscle spasms, this is your treatment.

Lower back pain after sleep, which manifests itself for the first time, usually occurs for the reasons listed above.The main and deep reason is lack of training, muscle weakness.Weak muscles react to factors that strong ones "do not notice. "Not the hard / soft bed, awkward movement and flaccid muscles give pain.

Orthopedic mattress will prevent the appearance of lower back pain after sleeping

Learn more about sleep comfort. Which bed is better - a controversial question, the answers to which are diametrically opposite. Supporters of a hard bed insist on the use of a protector under the mattress, calling such a bed - orthopedic. It is believed that on a hard bed the spine straightens, which is good for posture.

Opponents of rigidity promote a soft, thick mattress that allows the body to "sink" into the padding. In a semi-suspended state, the muscles and the spine occupy an arbitrary position. Advertisers of "soft sleep" argue: it is more useful, the approach is physiological. The mattress is also called orthopedic.

Low back pain in both women and men occurs after sleeping in any bed. Extremes are not the best solution. Our strong ancestors, peasants, slept on chests or stoves, making beds with feather duvets. intermediate option. The posture was excellent, the pain after waking up was not typical for young and middle-aged people.

To keep the body in shape, muscles - active and regular exercises will help - exercises. Muscle training. How to help yourself "here and immediately" - we will definitely talk about this. When we consider all the probable causes and find out what it could be, why the lower back pain appeared.

You can also feel pain and burning in other cases - with diseases of the spine, injuries. So they are non-specific morning, disturbing regardless of the time of "dream".

After training

Lack of load leads to weakness, muscle atrophy, overload - you will reward pain for diligence. Memo to students: Take the expression "hurry up, slow down" as your catch-up motto. It is not always possible to row strokes of strength and health.Graduality is the key to success.

Calculating the optimal load is not difficult, you need two indicators:

  • HR (heart rate, the number of heartbeats per minute is measured);
  • Blood pressure.

Heart rate measurements are made three times:

  • Before class;
  • At the end of the training;
  • 5 minutes after class.

In a relatively healthy person with an initial pulse rate of 70-72, immediately after exercise, the heart rate can increase with a suitable load up to 120 (no more). After 5 minutes, the pulse should decrease: be below 100 beats. If the heart rate continues to be more frequent, the load is excessive, the muscles will respond with subsequent pain. The lower back is no exception.

Blood pressure should also return to normal within five minutes. This knowledge will tell you what to do so that pain in the lower back muscles does not occur after training.

For negative emotions

A person who is prone to feelings or who has fallen into a severe and 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 back pain in the lumbar region lie in the body's response to stress.Nervous tension causes muscle spasms.Jerking muscles signal a malfunction in their work - pain.

This happens not only in the lumbar region, muscle spasm 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 corset" - the prevention of neurological pain.

Spinal diseases

Diseases of the spine itself, dysfunction of the muscles adjacent to it, are more difficult to treat. Main assistants: willpower, perseverance, patience. Diseases have individual triggers. The method of treatment depends on its nature.

injuries

The muscles of the spine are injured for two reasons:

  1. Causing harm to oneself due to ignorance: ignorance of the physiology of one's own body, improper "exploitation" of the body.
  2. External influence (accidents, elements, unforeseen events).

Self-mutilation is not done deliberately (exceptions are rare, we are talking about something else here), injuries occur due to carelessness. The man did not calculate the strength of him, lifted a heavy object and at the same time turned awkwardly. Injury inflicted on the spine in the lumbar region. 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:

  • Movement restriction (bed rest);
  • Powerful injections for lower back and back pain;
  • Warming by 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:

  1. Rest (restriction of movements). The muscles are twitching, tense, some of them are blocked from the wrong load. By depriving the patient of mobility, the doctor involuntarily repairs this blockage: immobility will not relieve the spasm. Muscles become stiff - they lose flexibility and remain tense for a long time. Muscle tissue is rapidly weakened throughout the body deprived of movement. These are the prerequisites for the transition of the disease to a chronic form.
  2. Analgesics. 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 and give side effects. Often used to relieve pain attacks in the lumbosacral spine, a drug from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives causes serious problems in the gastrointestinal tract. Other pain relievers are also not without side effects. And they are used for a long time, courses.
  3. Pain is always swelling. It is visible or hidden, but pain and swelling coexist without fail. Edema is aggravated by warming manipulations. The situation is the same: the pain goes away, the problem remains or progresses.
  4. Physiotherapy for muscle spasms has a similar effect to placebo. In the best case.
  5. Skillful massage will benefit, it will relax the muscles. Careful stroking is useless, use a special massage that relieves spasms. It's painful at first, but it helps with a quick recovery.
  6. Exercise is essential immediately after an injury. through pain Correct movements bring 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 main thing is the development and strengthening, restoration of injured muscles. Drug anesthesia is a temporary measure, recovery is achieved by regular exercises.

osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is called dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs:

  • The cartilaginous tissue of the discs wears out if the muscles adjacent to the spine are underdeveloped, sluggish. The spine is vulnerable without the support of a reliable muscular corset, the load on the discs is uneven.
  • The discs are flattened, the tissues around them lose their elasticity, they contract. The pain reflex is transmitted from the place of compression by the vertebrae of the disc: from the spasmodic muscles through the nerve to the brain.
  • The edges of the vertebrae become deformed, begin to grow, and further damage the muscles.
  • The chronic process is formed gradually, pain sensations are remote from its beginning. Progresses from dull ache and discomfort - 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 sedentary.lack of movement weakens the musculoskeletal system. Staying in one position for a long time overloads some muscle groups without involving others. There is pain in the spine in the lumbar and other segments.

Radicular syndrome in osteochondrosis provokes back pain in the lumbar region

The scheme is the same: muscle spasm, the nerve reads the signal from the pain receptors of the compressed discs, the person feels debilitating pain. It's called "radicular syndrome" (doctors explain it by squeezing the root of the spinal cord). Hypodynamia is to blame along with an irresponsible attitude to health. Muscle tissue is capable of recovering, for this it needs your conscious help. A pinched nerve (the inaccurate second name of the syndrome, since the nerve does not contain pain receptors, it transmits an impulse from the edematous muscles) is not easy to heal. Willpower, patience, time are your allies.

Treatment is performed on an inpatient or outpatient basis, as well as for injuries that do not require surgery. Doctors use painkiller blocks, prescribe anti-inflammatory and analgesic injections.

Full muscle work can only be restored by regular exercise. Thoughtful and competent system of exercises. Choose from a considerable variety of medical author rehabilitation methods that are right for you.

spondylosis

Untreated progressive osteochondrosis against the background of a number of violations in the regime and the body itself can develop into spondylosis. The growth of bone tissue is an adaptive reaction of the body. The muscles of the skeleton, the spine, do not hold. He tries to hold on with his own strength, pushing supports - bone spikes. Processes in advanced cases grow together with neighboring vertebrae. The spine is fixed, becomes rigid, movements in the lower back are blocked.

Bumps (growths) on the edges of the spinal segments constantly injure adjacent tissues.

Stop the disease in time, or better, prevent it.Do not allow the transition from osteochondrosis to spondylosis - the second is more difficult to treat.

At least half an hour - forty minutes of simple exercises (remember gradual) daily. Add regularity to gradualness: don't skip classes. The result in two to four weeks will be tangible. The time for a complete cure depends on the initial state: how far the disease has gone.

Proper gymnastics will definitely improve your well-being, but it will only relieve the neglected stage, not heal it. The disease is serious. Spondylosis operations are ineffective. Treatment is symptomatic. Anesthetize with ointments, injections.

The use of drugs is advised if the pain in the lumbosacral region is unbearable. Dose and frequency - adjust.For muscles strengthened by the exercises, the need for anesthesia disappears.The pain will lessen. Prevention will serve as a guarantee of its non-return: gymnastics for muscles, joints and the whole body. At the same time, the body is completely healed.

spondyloarthrosis

Pain in the lumbosacral spine is pronounced in spondyloarthrosis. The pain may radiate to the buttocks and thighs.

The disease is characterized by damage to the joints located between the bodies of the spine. The cartilage of the joint is destroyed, the bone tissue is broken. Nearby muscles and ligaments are inflamed and tense. Mobility is reduced. The disease progresses, occurs in the elderly, young people rarely suffer - with congenital anomalies of the spine.

Factors provoking spondyloarthrosis:

  • Advanced age:
  • Flat;
  • Obesity;
  • Heavy physical labor in the past;
  • Power sports (barre);
  • injuries;
  • genetic predisposition.

In women, spondyloarthrosis occurs twice as often. This fact is associated with metabolic disorders (fluctuations in the level and composition of hormones - pregnancy, menopause). It affects the statistics and the difference in the average life expectancy of the different sexes. The age bar for spondyloarthrosis is high, women exceed it more often.

The doctor decides how to treat, operations are not indicated. The procedures are intended to reduce pain. The doctor will prescribe feasible medications and 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 adjacent to the spine along the spine. Pain in the lower back that aches, pulling, radiating 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 intensity of the pain. Pain radiates to the leg and with other spinal health conditions, see a doctor:high-quality diagnosis is half the success in treatment.

Radiculitis in the absence of competent treatment leads to a curvature of the spine. A frequent complication of the disease is a vertebral herniation, a bulge of a disc that is compressed by the vertebrae. With a hernia of the lumbar spine, the pain is constant, this is a serious consequence of sciatica.

For the diagnosis of pain in the lumbar region, you should consult a doctor.

The appearance of radiculitis, like osteochondrosis, has similar causes:

  • Violation of posture;
  • Muscle detraining;
  • flatfoot;
  • The habit of incorrectly "holding the back" when walking, sitting, working and resting;
  • Violation of metabolic processes.

If osteochondrosis develops, pain and burning appear in the back, treat the problem immediately. Until she got worse.

Radiculitis is treated with the same method as osteochondrosis:

  • Eliminate pain - apply ointments, gels, medicines;
  • relieve inflammation;
  • Strengthen the muscular system with exercises.

tuberculous process

The infectious disease tuberculosis can cause inflammation of the muscles of any location. If the muscles of the lower back are inflamed, pain is felt there. The tuberculous process in the bone tissue of the vertebrae is due to the penetration of tuberculosis-specific bacteria into the vertebral tissue with the blood flow. This causes the development of tuberculous spondylitis or osteomyelitis (bacteria infect the bone marrow of the spine).

Diseases of 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. Delaying treatment is dangerous: the spine is gradually deformed: the vertebrae are destroyed, a hump is formed.

The treatment is long, antibacterial, sometimes surgical. It is recommended to limit the load. Medical supervision 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 complete examination and treatment is vital.The symptoms may resemble a pinched nerve, sciatica, or spinal hernia. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor, establishing a reliable diagnosis.

The diagnosis is difficult due to the similarity of the symptoms with other diseases. Night and morning pains are characteristic. A tumor involving the spinal cord is the most serious from a prognostic standpoint.

Benign tumors are treated surgically, they are removed. Malignant ones are most often formed by metastases from other organs, it is difficult to cure them. You need to contact an oncologist, he will plan and carry out 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 blood circulation of the brain. Failure of most bodily 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.

Urgent call for an ambulance paramedic.

atypical acute appendicitis

The pain occurs in places uncharacteristic of 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 advancement of a kidney stone cause pain in the lower back and lower abdomen of variable intensity, from painful to sharp and unbearable.

Call an ambulance.

Intestinal obstruction.

Life-threatening acute condition: retention of stool and gas, 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 occur in the lower back.

Emergency hospitalization.

reflected pain

Give them:

  • diseases of the pancreas;
  • Pathology of the pelvic organs;
  • Intestinal diseases.

Examination by a doctor, examination, diagnosis, followed by the appointment of adequate treatment.

women's issues

The causes of pain are not always pathologies, if we talk about women. Sometimes they are found in purely female physiology.

During pregnancy

Aching pains in the lumbar region in pregnant women can be conditionally attributed to pain. This is a natural feeling of heaviness: the child grows, the stomach increases, the weight in the pelvic region is greater. This gives a greater load on the spine in the lumbar region. Imagine that you have a bag attached to your belt, a bucket or 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 every way. A pregnant woman can be disturbed by pain in the lumbar region. In the early stages, the body begins to rebuild itself, it feels.

A healthy woman does not perceive the desired "excess weight" as a nuisance.Normally developed muscles, gymnastics for pregnant women neutralizes the feeling of heaviness.If the pain is severe, the lower abdomen and lower back hurt, tell the doctor carrying the pregnancy. The doctor will help find out what it could be. Multiple pregnancy can increase the severity - the load is greater than usual. Exacerbation of diseases that existed before pregnancy is not ruled out, 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 pain may occur. Then the internal mucous membranes that line the uterus are rejected; pain can be too. If the pain is unbearable, consult a doctor, he will tell you how to normalize menstruation. Irregular cycle may indicate hormonal disorders.

How to relieve pain

Acute muscular back pain that is not associated with organ damage may be relieved on its own, quickly, and without medication.

  1. Intense exhalation (deep, from the abdomen) activates the diaphragm, activates blood circulation, and the condition is relieved.

    • Lying on your back, we place a cold object under the lower back (a heating pad with ice, a bag of frozen vegetables, etc. ), the cold also anesthetizes the edematous muscles.
    • We bend the legs slightly at the knees.
    • We put our hands to our ears, on exhalation we raise our head, shoulders and lower it on inhalation.

    The cold relieves swelling, activating blood flow to the lower back. The pain recedes.

  2. Lie on the floor on all fours, stretch your muscles by walking on your palms and knees. 5-20 minutes is the optimal duration of the exercise. The edema resolves, anesthesia occurs.

  3. Lie on your back, feet on a bench (sofa, other comfortable support). Under the lower back - a heating pad with ice. Hands behind the head. As you exhale, raise your shoulder part, trying to reach your knees with your elbows. Perform 20 times or more, if possible. Muscles develop, swelling and spasms are eliminated, pain disappears.

There is a complex of exercises that strengthen the muscles of the lower back, here are the main ones that quickly relieve pain. Something like an ambulance. The exercises are safe, the initial pain 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.

Pain relievers of a medicinal nature provide temporary relief, but do not eliminate the problem.Apply, if it is unbearable, ointment, folk remedies (salt lotions, herbal baths), but the emphasis is on exercises.

Alternate reasonably between work and rest, allow yourself a good night's sleep.

Don't be cheeky: work your muscles proactively. Practice movements that eliminate muscle stagnation. They are a dynamic organ. Applying reasonable sets of exercises, do not force. Have patience. The work of the muscles is controlled by the mind, its ability to regenerate (recover) is amazing. Under load, new pathways are innervated, bypassing damaged ones, and temporarily lost functions of muscles affected by disease or external influence are restored.

The anatomical changes concern only the pathways. Health, well-being, mobility - are restored.

There is no better investment than investing in your own health. It's about investing effort: exercising as part of a lifestyle. To make it a habit, every day, like brushing your teeth.

Taking care of 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 so desired in case of pain) is the antithesis of life. Eternal peace, with any degree of laziness, few people are interested, so you have to tease sick muscles. through pain Illnesses are loved when they are pampered (bed rest, a minimum of movement, warming up and other indulgent indulgences). Butdiseases recede before the brave, overcoming the fear of experiencing pain and through himself. Overcoming self-pity: it is an excuse for laziness and fear. A little courage, regular light work and you will forget about back pain.