A common occurrence among people of different ages and professional affiliations when the back hurts in the lower back. Hypotension in contrast to excessive loads in the gym, drafts, poor posture - all this gives rise to unpleasant and painful sensations in the lumbar region.
When is an analgesic enough to solve the problem and when you need an urgent medical intervention. You need to remember the following: if the lower back constantly hurts, this is a serious reason to consult a specialist.
Why does the lower back hurt?
The causes of pain in the lumbar region can be similar in men and women, or have their own specificities associated with both anatomical characteristics and professional activities and lifestyle.
- A stiff lower back in the morning after sleeping can be the result of a poor quality bedding and indicate spinal problems.
- If the lower back hurts a lot, it is possible to infringe the nerve endings, develop a herniated disc, osteochondrosis.
- When you stand for a long time, a static load acts on the lower back. The lumbar muscles enter a state of hypertonicity and can alter the innervation of the nerve endings.
- When you sit down, your lower back hurts due to poor posture. Many sitting at the table occupy an awkward position of the body, which also leads to overstrain of the muscle corset and infringement of nerve endings.
- When the lower back hurts and pulls the legs, the symptoms may indicate an infringement of the nerve endings in the pelvic area. Often the infringement occurs in the coccyx region, when it hurts below the waist, then the pain is reflected in the lower extremities.
- If the back hurts above the waist, then most likely this is a violation of the nerve fibers in the lumbar region, or the problem comes from the internal organs.
- The situation when the lower back hurts from the side, the feeling is like pulling, and the temperature rises, then here we are talking about a progressive inflammation in the internal organs.
To identify the cause of pain in the lumbar region, you need to undergo a full medical examination and tests that show whether there are inflammatory processes, infringement of the nerve endings, or whether there is a hernia. Only after the diagnosis has been clarified can measures be taken to eliminate the disease.
lower back pain in women
The weaker sex is especially prone to low back pain. The reasons why modern women have back pain in the lower back can be associated with both professional activities and the presence of diseases.
Pain after running can develop due to incorrectly selected shoes without a high-quality shock absorber, when the blows of the heel on the ground without softening are transmitted to the lumbar region. The lower back hurts after walking in very high heels, which not only disturbs the balance, but also causes the woman to strongly arch the spine, which puts additional stress on the lumbar region.
Pain when walking may not be the result of lower back disease, but rather problems with the hip joints, which are subject to excessive friction during exercise. Anxiety at night can cause an uncomfortable mattress for a girl in bed.
If the pain is felt on the right or on the left, closer to the periphery, then this indicates a higher probability of disease of the internal organs. A problem coccyx can be a symptom of injury or strangulation.
Whatever the cause, only a qualified specialist will prescribe the appropriate treatment.
back pain before period
The reasons why women and girls may have low back pain or twitching in the lower abdomen before the onset of menstruation have a very broad aetiology. This can be both a consequence of changes in the hormonal background, and symptoms of a wide range of diseases.
- neoplasms;
- Infections and the consequence of hypothermia;
- Incorrect installation of the intrauterine device;
- Abnormalities in the location of the uterus or ectopic pregnancy;
- Cysts, fibroids, endometriosis.
Given the breadth of the list, a woman with worrying symptoms should see a doctor and establish the cause of the regular discomfort.
Why does the lower back hurt during menstruation?
Pain in the lumbar region during menstruation is often considered the norm, because there is a serious hormonal increase, a large amount of blood flows into the pelvic organs, and increasing, they can put pressure on the nerve endings. The pain subsides as soon as the main outlet occurs.
However, some women continue to feel unwell after menstruation. If such a manifestation is atypical, it is worth considering it as a signal of a possible pathology.
Can the lower back hurt in the absence of visible causes in the form of infections, diseases and the development of pathological processes? Perhaps if the anatomical structure of the uterus is such that it deviates backwards. In this position, the swelling during menstruation will put pressure on the adjacent organs and nerve endings, causing pain in the lower back. A prolapse of the uterus caused by regular weight lifting can also cause a similar symptom.
If a woman has pain in the stomach and lower back, it is strongly recommended to visit a gynecologist to identify the cause of such ailment. Symptoms may indicate the development of polycystic disease, inflammation of the appendages, endometriosis, infectious and sexually transmitted diseases. The cause may be a poorly installed intrauterine device or, in the opposite case, the development of an ectopic pregnancy.
lower back pain during pregnancy
A common complaint of women during pregnancy is an indication of back pain. There can be quite a few reasons why pregnant women experience lower back pain, given that the body is undergoing major restructuring, weight gain and imbalance due to an enlarged belly.
In the early stages of pregnancy, discomfort can begin from the moment when the fertilized egg gets stronger in the walls of the uterus. After childbirth, pregnant women are prone to diseases of the urogenital area - cystitis and pyelonephritis, which can also be reflected in pain in this area.
Why a pregnant woman can begin to feel great discomfort in the second trimester. This is due to the active growth of the fetus and the increased volume of the future mother's abdomen - the internal organs begin to shrink, including the nerve endings that pass in the pelvic area. A woman may experience radiating pain in the buttock region or in her legs.
A woman can feel her pulling on her lower abdomen. In the later stages, when the baby's head begins to drop, the pain runs down her lower back to her sacrum. Between 21 and 40 weeks of pregnancy, a woman may experience lower back pain due to an increased level of relaxin. This provokes the development of symphysiopathy - an inflammatory process in the pubic joint.
The lower back hurts and gives way in the leg.
A frequent occurrence in people over 35 years of age are complaints of pain in the lower back with return to the leg or gluteal muscle. What can be associated with such a pathology? For some people, the pain radiates to the right leg, for others, the pain radiates to the left leg, although the lower back feels the same. Here the point may be that different nerve roots are pinched, because there are exits on both the right and left sides of the vertebra.
The pain will shoot up in the buttock and leg with osteochondrosis, scoliosis, herniated discs and a whole list of other diseases associated with damage to the neurons of the spinal cord.
When pinched, the lower back hurts a lot. An uncomfortable movement can have such a serious consequence that the pain syndrome will have to be eliminated with an injection. Since inflammation develops immediately due to injury, additional pressure is exerted on the nerve ending.
The problem will resolve itself after a course of steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and decongestants, which will allow the patient to relax and relieve muscle tension in the affected area.
Also common causes of such irradiation can be neuralgia and more serious pathologies associated with neoplasms in the lumbar region, which will exert pressure or cause inflammation.
Why does the lower back hurt in men?
Treatment of pain in the lumbar region in men is often associated with neglected cases, because the representative of the stronger sex prefers to endure "until the spear in the back does not interfere with sleep. "It is then that the pain becomes the cause of chronic lack of sleep, the man decides to go to the doctor.
Lower back pain in the case of a representative of the stronger sex may be associated with:
- With high physical activity - professional, sports;
- Problems with the spine due to physical inactivity, prolonged driving.
- Internal organ problems - kidneys or prostate.
Treatment of the lower back at home for acute painful attacks will be ineffective, especially if folk remedies are used. Since men tend to trigger the disease, sometimes the pain must be blocked with the help of injections of powerful drugs - painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs.
back pain after sleeping
Have you ever had lower back pain in the morning? Such a reaction of the body is quite understandable if the day before you overdo the training or, having started a general cleaning, vigorously moved the furniture. If it is an injury, then you should definitely visit a doctor to make sure that there are no serious consequences.
And if there were no injuries and you do not abuse sports, but after sleeping you feel pain in the lower back. One of the causes of pain in the morning is the development of osteochondrosis. With the developing pathology, the bones and parts of the spine become much more sensitive to the static position of the body at night. What will pass inconsequentially in a healthy person, for a patient with osteochondrosis, will provoke a part of acute painful sensations upon awakening.
In addition, the pain can be caused by an abnormally curved spine that is too curved in the supine position. This is due to the habit of sleeping, lying on your back, stretching your legs. The lumbar region receives an excessive load and in the morning it can have very overloaded muscles.
If the pain in the morning is chronic, it should be examined by a doctor, since this state of affairs can be a signal from the body about disorders or a reaction to stress, illness or excess weight. It is very important to find out the reason.
How to understand if the kidneys or lower back hurt
Pain in the lower back can be caused by both spinal problems and internal organ problems.
How to understand where the signal comes from? To determine what hurts - the kidneys or the lower back, you need to look at the localization. The spine, pinched nerve endings and spasmodic muscles are painfully felt closer to the middle of the back, the axis of the spine. And if the kidneys hurt, give the lower back closer to the periphery, to the side.
At the same time, the pain in the spine can vary: it can be stronger in the morning, after waking up, and in the evening at the end of the day. The pain of the internal organs is more permanent and may be accompanied by signs of inflammation: fever, vomiting.
In a simple way, we determine: the lower back or the kidneys. If the pain is weaker with physical inactivity and disappears after rubbing with ointment, then this is the back. The pain of the internal organs will not give a debilitating reaction to the local application of hot ointments and will not allow you to relax, no matter what position you take.
The boy has back pain
Low back pain in children is often caused by poor posture or a poor quality workplace. The onset of pain is not clearly related to age: it can hurt both a preschooler and a teenager. Why does the lower back hurt in childhood? A vertebrologist can tell after a detailed examination.
- Muscle tension due to a heavy backpack or constantly sitting at a table or computer, in up to 80% of cases.
- The development of scoliosis requires prompt intervention, as children's spines can deform very quickly.
- Injuries or bruises.
- Diseases of internal organs - 20% of applications.
If a child has a fever and pain in the lower back, this may be a symptom of an extremely unpleasant disease of osteomyelitis. The pathological process of a purulent-necrotic nature affects the bone marrow and bones.
Which doctor to contact
When the lower back hurts and the need to visit a doctor is looming, the patient wonders which doctor can help. Everything here will depend on the reasons that caused the pain.
To start with, it is recommended to visit a local therapist or a general practitioner. To establish the origin of the problem, you will need an examination, an X-ray of the spine, an ultrasound of the pelvis, general blood and urine tests.
After the examination, the therapist recommends which specialist to contact to continue treatment directed at the cause. As such a specialist can be recommended:
- Neurologist – to examine the spine, back muscles, and nerves.
- Urologist: if there are problems in the urogenital area.
- A gynecologist is a female specialist who will help identify the cause of pain in the female reproductive system.
Timely contact with a specialist will help eliminate the cause of low back pain at the initial stage. Advanced cases can have serious consequences, which may include surgical intervention.
exercises for back pain
When eliminating an attack of acute pain, the doctor after drug therapy in most cases prescribes exercise therapy, that is, exercise. Effective exercises help relieve tension from the muscle corset, strengthen it and eliminate spasms within the fibers, which can cause pain.
The rehabilitation system prescribes doing all exercises slowly, without sudden turns or lunges. If you do not follow this rule, you may suffer additional injuries.
Stretching exercises are recommended to relieve pain. For muscle fibers, such a load makes it possible to eliminate hypertonicity, the clamps are removed. An exercise focused on a problem muscle group or the spine. It improves blood circulation in the problem area, improves microcirculation in muscle and cartilage cells, which contributes to increased nutrition and removal of decay products.
The necessary set of exercises is selected by the attending physician or a physical therapist who will conduct exercise therapy classes. After the patient's task is to independently maintain and consolidate the result by doing exercises at home.
How to smear the lower back with pain.
When the lower back begins to hurt, the first thought that comes to mind is how to spread how to treat. You can not grab the first creams and ointments that appear with the inscription "painkiller". It is important to understand what caused the pain, and only then apply the appropriate medication.
- If the pain is associated with osteochondrosis, pinched nerve endings, inflammation of the nerve roots, NSAIDs and corticosteroids may be required.
- In case of hypothermia, to activate blood microcirculation in the muscles, hot ointments with an irritating effect are suitable.
- There are also homeopathic preparations and balms.
It must be remembered that ointments will not help if the cause of the pain lies in the internal organs. If the pain is caused by diseases of the kidneys, organs of the female or male genitourinary system, anesthetic ointments can lubricate the clinical picture, and warming ones can provoke an intensive development of inflammation.
That is why it is also necessary to use folk remedies only after consulting a doctor, so as not to aggravate your own condition with unjustified treatment.