Possible causes of back pain, treatment
Possible causes of back pain, treatment
Severe pain between the shoulder blades, in lumbar or sacral spine is a real problem of the 21st century. Therefore, according to the official world statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), the pain syndrome that occurs in the lumbar spine is the number 1 factor among all the reasons that cause the disability of active adults.
Back pain causes
The most important of all the fundamental causes that trigger a back pain is abnormalities in the muscular system that supports the spine. Muscles can support the spine:
- ineffectually;
- asymmetrically; which causes an uneven support of the dorsal spine, and the latter reacts with pain.
The back muscles create a kind of corset that supports the spine. If the muscles lose their tone, they get tired faster than usual, and, as a result, the dorsal spine feels an increased load. In this case, its intervertebral discs, joints, ligaments suffer.
In fact, any muscle disorders and changes in joints and vertebrae may cause a back pain.
If the muscle fibers that support the spine develop asymmetrically, then in this case some muscles are constantly tense, while others, on the contrary, are weakened. Weakened muscles do not receive sufficient load and therefore become even weaker. In the end, we can observe:
- postural disorder (spinal curvature);
- pathologies of individual vertebrae;
- disorders in intervertebral discs.
If wondering why the back hurts in the lumbar region, sacrum or between the shoulder blades, one should remember about the factors that can significantly aggravate pathological changes in the spinal muscles, which are:
- malfunctions of the endocrine system;
- a chronic site of infection in the body;
- back injuries;
- history of major surgeries;
- past and current complicated somatic diseases (such as ischemic heart disease).
Back pains can occur with the following diseases and pathological conditions:
- radicular syndrome, which is the inflammation of the nerve branches that pass through the intervertebral foramens;
- intervertebral hernia, which is the displacement of the nucleus pulposus (central part) of the intervertebral disc in case of a rupture of the annulus fibrosus located around the said nucleus;
- protrusion of intervertebral discs, which is the displacement of the nucleus pulposus, described above, but partial;
- bechterew disease, which is the inflammatory lesion of the joints of the vertebral column, etc.
If a child has a back pain when inhaling, this may indicate diseases of the chest and abdominal organs. Such pains are called reflected pains and are considered a signal of occurrence of problems with liver, biliary tracts, stomach, lungs, etc.
In addition, the back often hurts in women during pregnancy, as the muscles tighten to keep the spine upright.
Plaster for a dull pain in the back and other treatment methods
It should be remembered that back pain is not a disease, but a symptom that can manifest in many diseases of the spine and surrounding tissues. That is why a patient must understand that "miraculous injections for a back pain that radiates to the leg" or "universal pills so that it does not hurt between the shoulder blades" do not exist; the specific cause of the pain syndrome should be identified and eliminated, then the discomfort will disappear.
The treatment of various diseases that cause a back pain is based on the following prescriptions:
- anti-inflammatory agents;
- therapeutic massage;
- various methods of physiotherapy;
- blocks, which mean the introduction of anesthetic drugs at the site of passage of the nerve branches, due to which the pain syndrome is stopped;
- exercise therapy, including exercises on specialized exercise machines.
Some therapeutic methods are symptomatic, that is, they eliminate pain for a while, but not the cause of its occurrence, such as, for example, a plaster for aching back pain.
Treatment methods largely depend on the stage of the disease that provoked the pain syndrome. So, at the stage of acute exacerbation of radicular syndrome (radiculitis pain), exercise therapy is limited, since it may worsen the patient’s condition.
A qualified doctor should do any prescriptions for back pains, even if it is, for example, a symptomatic treatment of a pain in the muscles of the back with ointment containing safe pain medications.
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Back pain prevention
It often takes a lot of time, effort and financial investment to get rid of the diseases that provoke the occurrence of back pains. It is much easier to prevent such diseases. For this, the muscles of the back, which support the spine and ensure its normal musculoskeletal function, must be constantly maintained in proper condition. You should not wait for the moment when problems with the spine make you think about which doctor to consult with in case of an acute back pain.
The first method of such prevention is physical exercise. Exercises are selected individually by an exercise therapy doctor. Physical activities may be as follows:
- morning exercises;
- gymnastics;
- training in the gym on fitness machines;
- swimming, etc.
All the possible causes of back pain are limited to hypodynamia. Therefore, not only regular exercise is good for the spine and its muscles, but also normal daily physical activity is important:
- instead of taking the elevator, it is wiser to climb to the desired floor on foot;
- it is better to walk several stops instead of using public transport;
- under any circumstances, you can find the opportunity to do a 10–15 minute physical drill, whether it is a cabin of an airplane or an office of a company. Therefore, severe pain between the shoulder blades can occur simply due to a stay in a forced sitting position;
- when you are visiting a waterpark, it is more useful not to passively remain in the water but to swim several dozens or, better, hundreds of meters.
The conditions for night rest of a person are important. The bed should not be neither too soft nor too hard (if there is not any doctor’s recommendation to sleep on a hard surface).
You can find more information on the treatment of the disease on our website
Article author: - Pavel Nosulich
Publication date: 26.05.2020
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