A common occurrence among people of different ages and professional affiliations when the back hurts the lower back. Hypotension in contrast to excessive loads in the gym, drafts, poor posture - all this causes unpleasant and painful sensations in the lumbar region.
When is a painkiller enough to solve the problem and when do you need 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 the lower back hurts
The causes of pain in the lumbar region can either be similar in men and women, or have their own specifics associated with both anatomical features, professional activities and lifestyle.
- A stiff lower back in the morning after sleep can be the result of both a poor quality bed and an indication of spinal problems.
- If the lower back hurts badly, it is possible to impinge on the nerve endings, to 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 hypertonia and can disrupt the innervation of nerve endings.
- When you sit, your lower back hurts due to poor posture. Many sitting at the table occupy an awkward position of the body, which also leads to an overload of the muscle corset and damage to the nerve endings.
- When the lower back hurts and pulls the legs, the symptoms may indicate damage to the nerve endings in the pelvic region. Often the infraction 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 it is a violation of the nerve fibers in the lumbar region, or the problem is in the internal organs.
- The situation when the lower back hurts to the side, the feeling is like pulling and the temperature rises, so here we are talking about a gradual inflammation of the internal organs.
To identify the cause of pain in the lumbar region, you need to undergo a thorough medical examination and take tests that will show whether there are inflammatory processes, a violation of nerve endings or 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 particularly prone to lower 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 improperly selected shoes without high-quality shock absorbers, when the heel strikes on the ground without softening are transmitted to the lumbar region. The lower back hurts after walking while wearing very high heels, which not only disturbs the balance, but also causes the woman to arch the spine sharply, which puts additional pressure on the lumbar region.
Pain when walking may not be the result of lower back disease, but of problems with the hip joints, which are subject to excessive friction during exercise. Nighttime anxiety 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, this indicates a greater likelihood of disease of the internal organs. A troubling coccyx can be a symptom of injury or strangulation.
Whatever the cause, only a qualified specialist will prescribe adequate treatment.
Lower back pain before period
There is a very broad etiology of why women and girls may experience lower back pain or pulling the lower abdomen before menstruation begins. It can be both a consequence of changes in the hormonal background, and symptoms of a whole 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 disturbing symptoms should consult a doctor and establish the cause of regular malaise.
Why does the lower back hurt during menstruation?
Pain in the lumbar region during menstruation is often considered the norm, since there is a severe hormonal surge, a large amount of blood flows to the pelvic organs and, increasing, they can put pressure on the nerve endings. The pain subsides as soon as the main discharge occurs.
However, some women continue to feel unwell after menstruation. If such a manifestation is atypical, then it is worth considering it as a sign of a possible pathology.
Can the lower back hurt in the absence of visible causes in the form of infectious diseases and the development of pathological processes? Perhaps if the anatomical structure of the uterus is such that it deviates backwards. In this position, swelling during menstruation will put pressure on adjacent organs and nerve endings, which will cause pain in the lumbar region. A prolapsed uterus caused by regular weight lifting can also cause a similar symptom.
If a woman has pain in her stomach and lower back, it is strongly recommended to consult 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 an incorrectly installed intrauterine device or the opposite - 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 several reasons why pregnant women experience lower back pain as the body undergoes major restructuring, weight gain and imbalance due to an enlarged belly.
At the beginning of pregnancy, pulling discomfort can begin from the moment the fertilized egg strengthens on the walls of the uterus. After childbirth, pregnant women are prone to diseases of the urogenital area - cystitis and pyelonephritis, which can also manifest as pain in this area.
Why a pregnant woman may begin to feel great discomfort in the second trimester. This is due to the active growth of the fetus and the increase in the volume of the abdomen of the future mother - the internal organs begin to squeeze, including the nerve endings that pass into the pelvic region. A woman may feel pain radiating to the buttocks or legs.
A woman can feel how her lower abdomen is pulled, in the final stages when the baby's head begins to fall, the pain descends from the lower back to the 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 a symphysiopathy - an inflammatory process in the pubic joint.
The lower back hurts and gives way in the leg
A frequent occurrence in people after 35 years are complaints of pain in the lumbar region with a 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, as there are exits from both the right and left side of the vertebra.
The pain will spread to the buttock and leg with osteochondrosis, scoliosis, herniated discs and a whole list of other diseases associated with damage to neurons in the spinal cord.
When pinched, the lower back hurts a lot. Clumsy movement can lead to such a serious consequence that the pain syndrome will have to be eliminated by injection. Since inflammation develops immediately due to injury, additional pressure is put on the nerve ending.
The problem will be resolved after a course of steroidal anti-inflammatories and decongestants, which will allow the patient to relax and relieve muscle tension in the affected area.
Common causes of such irradiation can also 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 very often associated with neglected cases, since the representative of the stronger sex prefers to endure "until the spear in the back does not interfere with sleep. "It was then that the pain became the cause of chronic lack of sleep, the man decided to go to the doctor.
Low back pain in a representative of the stronger sex can be associated with:
- With high physical activity - professional, sports;
- Spinal problems due to physical inactivity, prolonged driving.
- Internal organ problems - kidneys or prostate.
Treatment of the lower back at home for acute pain attacks will be ineffective, especially if folk remedies are used. Since men tend to trigger the disease, the pain must sometimes be blocked with the help of injections of strong drugs - analgesics and anti-inflammatories.
back pain after sleep
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 it in training or, after starting a general cleaning, vigorously move the furniture. If it is an injury, you should definitely consult 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 morning pain 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 happen without consequences in a healthy person, for a patient with osteochondrosis will cause part of the acute painful sensations after waking up.
In addition, the pain can be caused by an abnormally curved spine that is too curved when lying down. 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 you can have very strained muscles.
If the morning pain is chronic, you need to 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 the reason.
How to understand if the kidneys or lower back hurt
Pain in the lumbar region can be caused by both spine 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 observe the localization. The spine, pinched nerve endings and spasmodic muscles are painfully felt closer to the middle part of the back, the axis of the spine. And if the kidneys hurt, it gives the lower back closer to the periphery, to the side.
At the same time, pain in the spine can vary: it can be stronger in the morning, after waking up, and in the late afternoon at the end of the day. Pain in 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 it is the back. The pain of the internal organs will not give a debilitating reaction to the local application of warming ointments and will not allow you to relax, regardless of the position you adopt.
The child has back pain
Low back pain in children is often caused by poor posture or a poor quality workplace. The onset of pain has no clear relationship with 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 constant sitting at a table or computer - up to 80% of cases.
- The development of scoliosis requires prompt intervention, as children's spines can become deformed very quickly.
- Injuries or bruises.
- Diseases of internal organs - 20% of requests.
If a child has a fever and pain in the lower back, this can 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 consult a doctor arises, the patient wonders which doctor can help him. Everything here will depend on the reasons that caused the pain.
To start, it is recommended to consult a local therapist or a general practitioner. To establish the source of the problem, you will need an examination, x-ray of the spine, ultrasound of the pelvis, general blood and urine tests.
After the examination, the therapist recommends the specialist to contact for further treatment aimed at the cause. As such, a specialist may 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.
Prompt contact with a specialist will help eliminate the cause of lower back pain at the initial stage. Advanced cases can lead to serious consequences, which may include surgery.
Back pain exercises
When eliminating an acute pain attack, the doctor after drug therapy in most cases prescribes exercise therapy, that is, exercise. Effective exercises help relieve tension in the muscle corset, strengthen it, eliminate spasms inside the fibers, which can cause pain.
The rehabilitation system prescribes doing all exercises slowly, without sharp turns or lunges. If you do not follow this rule, you may suffer additional injuries.
Stretching exercises are recommended for pain relief. For muscle fibers, such a load allows you to get rid of hypertonicity, clamps are removed. An exercise focused on a problematic muscle group or the spine. It improves blood circulation in the problem area, improves microcirculation in muscle and cartilage cells, contributing to increased nutrition and the elimination of decay products.
The necessary set of exercises is selected by the attending physician or a physiotherapist who will conduct exercise therapy classes. After the task of the patient is to independently maintain and consolidate the result by doing exercises at home.
How to coat the lower back in pain
When the lower back starts to hurt, the first thought that arises is how to coat how to treat. You can not grab the first creams and ointments that have the inscription "analgesic". It is important to understand what caused the pain and 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 needed.
- In case of hypothermia, to activate blood microcirculation in the muscles, warming 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 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 them can cause 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.