Back pain in the lumbar area may be related to excessive pressure on muscles, ligaments and tendons. But in most cases, the appearance of such clinical symptoms indicates that the spine tissue and other parts of the musculoskeletal system have undergone serious pathological changes.
This article describes the causes of waist and waist injuries, you should contact your doctor for a comprehensive differential diagnosis, and what you should do at home.
To understand the underlying causes of the development of this clinical syndrome, it is important to understand how a part of the body (usually called the back) is arranged and functions. The waist usually refers to the lower back. Therefore, in our understanding, the back is the chest, lower back and bones. There are two shoulder cap bones near the sternum, and the shoulder a bone participates in the formation of the shoulder joint with the help of the acromion.
As you can see, the spine is divided into three parts, each with its own anatomical features:
- Rib-vertebral joints are used to anchor the costal arch in the chest area, and there are other processes in the vertebral body;
- The waist area is composed of five huge vertebrae, which bear the greatest amortized load during various movements of the human body.
- s bone-five vertebrae fused into a single bone, responsible for fixing the lower limbs through the formation of the lio bone joint.
The intervertebral disc is located between the vertebral bodies. They only do not exist between the vertebrae. Inside the spine is the spinal cord, surrounded by dura mater. It is also subdivided into chest, waist and part. Each of them is responsible for the innervation of a certain part of the body. In order to innervate the nerves from the structure of the spinal cord, the paired nerves exit through the side hole opening of the vertebral body. The radial nerve branches out to form a nerve plexus. The greater nerve leaves the lumbar s plexus, such as the sciatic nerve, femoral nerve, and inguinal nerve.
The mobility and flexibility of the human body are provided by the muscle frame. The paravertebral muscles also provide dispersed nutrients to the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral disc. The intervertebral disc does not have its own circulatory system. If the paravertebral muscles are damaged, the entire load will fall on the endplate that separates the annulus from the vertebral body.
The stability of the vertebral body position is provided by a complex mechanism. It includes:
- Intervertebral joints-they provide a certain degree of mobility and stability of the vertebral bodies relative to each other;
- The longitudinal (long) and transverse (short) ligaments of the spine;
- Intervertebral disc-to ensure the uniformity of the height of the space between the vertebral bodies, to compensate for the shock-absorbing load and to protect the nerve root and nerve from compression.
In addition, the most important structural parts of the back and lower back are blood and lymph vessels. They provide tissue nutrition and remove toxins and cell debris.
After understanding the structure and physiology of this part of the musculoskeletal system of the human body, you can continue to study the underlying causes of pain. At the same time, an important practical suggestion. If you have low back pain, it is recommended that you seek medical attention immediately. It is best to treat pathologies of the musculoskeletal system (spine and joints) and autonomic nervous system (spine, root nerves and their branches) in a manual treatment clinic.
Causes of back injuries in the waist area
There are many reasons for waist and back injuries, which can be physiological factors or pathological changes in tissues. First, you should always exclude the possibility of trauma:
- Back soft tissue abrasions after a blow or fall;
- Stretching the ligaments and tendon devices of the spine (may occur due to awkward movement, falling, lifting abnormal weight, etc. );
- Spinous process cracks and vertebral fractures (young people lead an active lifestyle, and the elderly are at risk of osteoporosis);
- Spinal cord injury and development of dural hematoma (this may cause compression and cause many accompanying neurological manifestations).
Moreover, due to trauma, vertebral body displacement, intervertebral disc rupture, and joint dislocation or subluxation between individual vertebrae can be observed. In order to eliminate the possibility of such negative consequences after injury, it is necessary to see a trauma doctor as soon as possible. He will perform an X-ray examination and make an accurate diagnosis.
The second common cause of low back pain is degenerative dystrophic changes in the cartilage tissue of the musculoskeletal system:
- Intervertebral hernia-the rupture of the annulus of the intervertebral disc and the exit of a part of the nucleus pulposus outward;
- Destroy the cartilage synovial layer in the intervertebral joints-deformable spondyloarthritis;
- I-bone joint deformity;
It does include X-ray images of the spine, i. e. bone-joints. In order to detect degenerative dystrophy diseases of the spine and joints, MRI is required.
If you experience back pain in the lumbar area, it is recommended to see a vertebral orthopedist or neurologist. If you were injured the day before, please go to a surgeon. Local therapists usually do not have enough professional skills to make accurate diagnoses and prescribe effective treatments.
Severe lower back pain-what to do?
If your back is injured in the waist area, the first thing to do is to stop any physical activity on it. The cause of the pain may be damage to muscles, ligaments or tendon devices. Fibromyalgia syndrome usually occurs in young people with active lifestyles. This is a pathology related to impairing the transmission of nerve impulses to muscle cells. As a result, some cells are impulsive to contract or relax prematurely, while others are delayed. Chaotic muscle contractions occur. This leads to a rather intense pain syndrome.
Secondly, the pain may be caused by excessive strain on the back muscles for compensation purposes in the context of compensating for a herniated disc. In this case, stopping muscle fiber spasms is extremely dangerous. In some cases, patients with a herniated disc may have a larger hernia after taking muscle relaxants.
Severe back pain in the waist area may be a clinical symptom of the development of sciatica or low back pain. Therefore, independent diagnosis and treatment are not worthwhile. You need to provide peace to yourself and try to relax tense muscles without using drugs. See a neurologist or vertebral surgeon as soon as possible. These experts can already diagnose and provide necessary assistance during the initial examination to eliminate severe pain.
Do not take any painkillers before going to the doctor. It will be difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. It is also recommended not to use external painkillers (ointments, plasters, dressings). For the first three days after osteochondrosis worsens, no warm-ups, including bathing and saunas, are allowed.
Treatment of back pain in the lumbar region
After the differential diagnosis, if the back is injured in the lumbar area, treatment must be started. The fact is that pain syndrome is not an independent disease. Without treatment of the underlying pathology, it is impossible to treat pain effectively and safely. Pain always indicates changes in tissue. Therefore, it is important to detect these pathological changes and eliminate them if possible. Only this method of getting rid of pain syndrome is considered effective and safe.
For example, in the context of long-term osteochondrosis, the reduction (herniation) of the disc height can cause back pain in the lumbar region. During the manual examination, an experienced vertebral surgeon will find that the muscle fibers are too tight and the height of the intervertebral space is reduced.
To provide first aid in this situation, you can use manual spine stretching procedures. After 2-3 treatments, the patient will relieve pain and restore natural mobility. But you cannot stop at this stage. If you do not undergo rehabilitation, the pain may return after a few months.
The following exposure methods are recommended for further treatment of back pain in the lumbar region:
- Massage can increase the elasticity and permeability of all soft tissues in the back and lower back;
- Bone disease-accelerate the microcirculation process of blood and lymph fluid, which provides complete nutrition for all tissues and starts to regenerate;
- Reflexology-the impact on the body's biological activity points by activating the body's hidden reserves to stimulate the recovery process of damaged tissues;
- Physiotherapy-Improve the metabolic process at the cellular level and accelerate recovery;
- Therapeutic gymnastics and exercise therapy to increase muscle tone and initiate the disordered process of diffuse nutrition of the intervertebral disc cartilage tissue;
- Laser action can restore and activate the cell regeneration process.
Please note that the treatment process is always individually formulated with strict consideration of all the characteristics of the patient’s health status. It also includes your doctor’s advice on lifestyle changes. For example, if you continue to live a sedentary lifestyle without changing your exercise pattern, then even the most effective treatment can help restore the spine.
If you have low back pain, you should find a manual therapy clinic before treatment, and then go there to seek the advice of a vertebral surgeon or neurologist.