Back pain: causes and treatment

Almost everyone during a lifetime, at least one long episode of back pain, and one-third of adults these unpleasant sensations occur regularly. The most urgent problem is evidenced by at least the fact that the treatment of back pain every year spent three times more money than the care of cancer patients.

The duration of the episode of pain is usually about 2 weeks, but many patients, residual symptoms persist for months or longer. Is

some of these patients diagnosed with herniated discs, spinal canal disease, disease of the kidneys, ovaries and other internal organs, and sometimes malignant tumors or their metastases.

In our article, we briefly describe the main causes of back pain and their distinctive features that help people understand, that his health problems and it is time to consult a doctor.

The most likely causes of back pain:

• damage to the spine, its ligaments and muscles;
• the denial of roots and other diseases of the spinal cord;
• diseases of the internal organs;
• connective tissue disease;
• depression and psychogenic disorders.

Been proven that back pain often occur in the low physical activity, obesity, Smoking, heavy physical work, stay in an uncomfortable position, prolonged vibration and sharp turns of the torso.

Diseases of the spine, its ligaments and joints

Most people with complaints of back pain they occur because of damage to the intervertebral discs, joints between processes, as well as self bone of the spine of the body. With age the discs between the vertebrae lose water, to reduce their thickness. As a result of increased mobility of individual spinal segments, which irritate pain receptors in the intervertebral joints. It should be said that often even people with pronounced age changes in the spine back pain is not. Often a herniated disc combined with a pain occasionally.

In recent years, a growing importance in the development of constant back pain has been given to the so-called syndrome of the joints with "small faces" — their own form of osteoarthritis that affect the joints of the device to the spine.

Pain syndrome can be unilateral, bilateral, localized close to the spine, most often in the lumbar region, extending to the thigh. Pain often occurs in the morning, but during the day and re-increased after load night. It usually looks when a sharp awkward turns or body. The pain is worse in standing and extension of the back is decreased in the sitting position or lying down, light bending, the use of support. Syndrome the joints of the "small face" often repeated.

Often causes back pain lesions of the spine the following state:

• spondylolisthesis – displacement of vertebrae in relation to each other;
• spinal stenosis;
• ankylosing spondylitis (bechterew's disease);
• osteoporosis fractures of the vertebral bodies (often in the elderly, especially in women);
• a large disc herniation (more than 5 mm);
• disease of the cervical spine.

Lack of exercise during the working day is a feature to work in the office. The lack of movement, long stay in an awkward position, and cause extra stress on the joints and causes pain, discomfort and gradual destruction of the cartilage. Therefore, office workers are advised to regularly do exercises, and they need resources, protecting and regenerating cartilage.

More rare, but dangerous, cause pain syndrome is a tumor, most often it is the metastases to the spine. The risk increases if the patient has cancer (often lung cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer), weight loss, fever, duration of complaints more than a month, the age of 50 years. Metastases most often affect the thoracic spine.

Another cause of back pain related to the cancer myeloma. Rarely, but it is benign and primary malignant tumors of the spine, for example, a benign tumor made of bone tissue, Ewing's sarcoma.

Ankylosing spondylitis should be suspected in young patient age, morning stiffness of the spine and large joints, improves after warm-up. Pain often occurs in the gluteal region. Characterized by its victory to-night, so sick in the morning unable to sleep because of the discomfort.

Back pain occurs with other symptoms, which are observed for the following diseases:

• psoriatic arthritis;

• rheumatic disease;
• juvenile rheumatoid arthritis;
• Crohn's disease, Whipple's disease, ulcerative colitis;
• shigellosis, guardia salmonellosis.

An important part of holistic treatment is the effectiveness of medications, whose purpose is to maintain and improve the condition of joints and cartilage. The injection is given the greatest possible bioavailability and speed of drug, which helps stop the progression of the destruction of the cartilage, reduces inflammation and stimulates the synthesis of hyaluronic acid. Because of the rapid onset of effect, do not need long courses of the drug-a total of 20 injections 2 times a year. Complement the treatment of back pain can help to reduce the dosage and duration of use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Osteomyelitis of the spine or the spine must assume, prolonged fever, intravenous medications or drugs, previous infectious disease or injury, the administration of immunosuppressants. Inflammatory diseases of the spine can be a special character, which is derived from syphilis, tuberculosis.

Defined the so-called indicators of serious problems requiring a thorough examination of the patient:

• suddenly, for the first time, born in pain;
• very severe pain;
• no correlation between the pain the position of the body;
• the pain is stronger at night than during the day;
• patient's age less than 20 and over 55 years of age;
• recent back injury;
• the probability of infection (inflammation of the urogenital tract, immunosuppressive agents, acquired immune deficiency syndrome);
• changed cancer;
• unexplained weight loss and fever;
• weakness;
• incontinence of urine and feces;
• gait disturbance;
• progressive neurological disorders.

Lose muscle

Lose the back muscles can be secondary: diseases of the spine, the muscles tense, to create a "protective system", which keeps our spine, but constant tension and spasm are the cause of the pain. Often a muscle spasm occurs initially, for example, during a long stay in an uncomfortable position or increased anxiety. This pain syndrome is a relatively benign course and responds well to medical therapy.

Some systemic diseases of the muscles is also present with back pain. These are:

• rheumatic polymyalgia;
• fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a fairly common disease, which often occurs in middle-aged women. It is characterized by diffuse pain in the muscles of the body, weakness, sleep disturbances, changes in skin sensation, anxiety, unstable chair.

Pathology of the spinal cord and its roots

Compression of the spinal roots emerging through the holes between the vertebrae, is more rare cause of the pain which 10. patients. However, this pain syndrome stronger and longer, and the treatment lasts about 2 months.

Compression (compression) root cause:

• hernia. the intervertebral disc;
• hypertrophy of the yellow ligament;
• bone growth;
• narrowing of the spinal canal (eg, due to injury).

The image of the destruction of the roots (radiculopathy): the sharp "shooting" pain, disorders of sensation in the area of innervation of the spine, decreased reflexes, weakness of the corresponding muscles. If the compression of the spine proven by modern research methods and treatment is ineffective, sometimes resort to surgery.

Diseases of the internal organs

Back pain occurs not only in diseases of the spine or spinal cord, but also involved in many diseases of internal organs:

b

• heart disease (myocardial infarction, stable and unstable angina, infective endocarditis, aortic aneurysm);
• lung disease (pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, pleurisy);
• pathology of the esophagus and the stomach (peptic ulcer, esophageal spasm, esophageal inflammation);
• inflammatory processes in the kidneys, liver, pancreas, gall bladder.

Usually distinguish these diseases allow for two things:

• a sudden and very strong back pain;
• signs of damage to the relevant authorities (shortness of breath, rales in the lungs, pain on palpation of the abdomen, and so on).

Back pain, in particular, which are caused by abruptly and is not accompanied by signs of disease of the spine, it is always necessary to register an electrocardiogram to exclude acute myocardial infarction. In particular, this atypical localization of pain in ischemic heart disease typical of the elderly.

Psychogenic disorders

The transition from pain in the chronic form, it contributes to social and behavioral factors related to:

• financial difficulties;
• mental stress;
• confidence in the inevitability of pain, because of his obvious connection to everyday work;
• thoughts of a possible serious illness and disability;
• depression;
• dependence on other people;
• strategy to avoid disease, where the patient, having nothing to diagnose and treat the condition.

To what doctor to address

So the causes of back pain are varied. Often they are associated with diseases of the spine and spinal cord, when they occur, you should consult a neurologist. In addition, you may need to consult other specialists: neurosurgeon, oncologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, surgeon, school counselor and psychologist. Choose the right expert, you can first contact the therapist after the initial research to confirm the preliminary diagnosis.