Back pain is reported by 85% of people. How to treat it correctly and is it possible to get rid of the pain once and for all?
Does your back hurt? You are not alone! Sociological research shows that back pain after viral infections is the second cause of disability in the adult population. It is born here (according to neonatologists, 80–90% of children suffer spinal injuries at birth) and sooner or later overtakes them all. This is believed to be a payback for walking upright. Because as a person grows, the burden on the "backbone" increases, the existing problems of the spine become stronger and stress, fear, obesity, overload, a sedentary lifestyle exacerbate existing problems - and back pain can occur at a young age.
What hurts there
The vast majority (approximately 95%) of pain is related to muscles, ligaments, and joints. This is popularly known as pulling back. This pain is uncomfortable but not dangerous and in most cases goes away on its own in 2-3 days.
3-4% of pain is associated with radiculopathy (radiculitis) - a lesion of the root of the spine. It is usually damaged by a hernia. The pain will go away when the swelling caused by squeezing has passed.
1-2% of back pain is caused by trauma or inflammatory diseases of the spine, cancer, diseases of the cardiovascular system or the gastrointestinal tract, in which the pain syndrome can spread to the back. This is the most dangerous type of back pain. To exclude such pathologies, be sure to consult a doctor.
You can't hesitate
The main indicator that you need medical attention is the regularity of the pain. If you twist yourself from time to time, most likely nothing is wrong. If you are relentlessly afflicted with low or moderate intensity pain, do not hesitate. An urgent need to consult a doctor if the pain is accompanied by an increase in temperature or the pain syndrome increases during treatment.
At home
The most effective means are oral anti-inflammatory drugs. Just don't overdo it - you're only safe the first time. With prolonged use, these drugs can cause ulcers and bleeding in the lining of the stomach. Traditional home treatments - nonsteroidal ointments - can only be used as an additional measure. They are harmless but ineffective. Wearing a corset also provides relief - the fixation relieves the spine, relieves cramps and limits sudden movements. Only the corset should be normal - elastic, not warming up.
If treatment has not been effective within three days, you should see a doctor who will block with anti-inflammatory injections. By relieving cramps and relaxing the muscles, the pain disappears instantly and often forever.
Forbidden!
Bath and massageunder the strictest prohibition. They make swelling and pain worse.
Apply to chiropractors for newspaper ads.Manual therapy is an area where there are three hundred charlatans for every specialist. If you really want to find a good doctor, you should turn to certified clinics that have certified specialists.
It is important to immediately correctly determine the treatment tactics. This should be done by a neurologist or neurosurgeon. It is dangerous to heal your back on your own. 30% of the patients in the neurosurgery department have tried treatment methods at home and thus went to the hospital bed themselves.
Cut or not?
Until recently, a person diagnosed with a hernia would receive an immediate referral for surgery. Today the operation is only performed if there are indications:
- persistent pain that no pills can relieve;
- disruption of pelvic functions - incomplete emptying of the bladder;
- Weakness and numbness in the leg.
All of these symptoms make the operation inevitable, as without it the patient can be handicapped.
What we risk
Many patients consider the risk of an operation to be postponed or abandoned entirely to be immeasurably exaggerated. In neurosurgery, there are technologies that allow you to accurately calculate the effectiveness of the operation and which symptoms will go away and which will remain afterwards.
The probability of renewed pain after the operation is no more than 1–1, 5%. While hernias in other locations can occur, this is not a complication, rather it is a spread of the disease that is often found in young, undisciplined patients. As soon as the pain subsides, they return to their usual way of life: get behind the wheel, resume training. And that is absolutely impossible.
Is osteochondrosis to blame for everything?
Osteochondrosis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic change in the intervertebral space. All people over 25 have signs of osteochondrosis. Avoiding osteochondrosis is impossible, but you can protect yourself from complications that cause back pain.