Back pain is reported by 85% of people. How to treat it correctly and is it possible to get rid of pain once and for all?
Does your back hurt? You are not alone! Data from sociological research shows that back pain is the second reason for disability of the adult population after viral infections. It is born with us (according to neonatologists, 80-90% of babies suffer spinal injuries at birth) and sooner or later outdo everyone. This is believed to be a payback for standing walking. As a person grows, the load on the "spine" increases, existing spinal problems become stronger and stress, anxiety, obesity, overload, a sedentary lifestyle aggravate existing problems - and back pain. it can also occur at an early age.
What hurts there?
The vast majority (about 95%) of pain is associated with muscles, ligaments and joints. This is commonly called pulling back. These pains are unpleasant, but not dangerous, and in most cases they go away on their own in 2-3 days.
3-4% of the pain is associated with radiculopathy (radiculitis) - a spinal root injury. It is usually damaged by a hernia. The pains disappear when the swelling caused by the squeezing passes.
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 cannot hesitate
The main indicator that you need medical attention is the regularity of the pain. If you get lightheaded from time to time, most likely, there is nothing wrong with it. If pain of low or moderate intensity haunts you relentlessly, you cannot hesitate. An urgent need to see a doctor if pain is accompanied by a rise in temperature or the pain syndrome increases during treatment.
At home
The most effective remedy is oral anti-inflammatory drugs. Just don't overdo it - I'm only safe the first time. With prolonged use, these drugs can cause ulcers and bleeding in the stomach lining. Traditional home treatments - non-steroidal ointments - can only be used as an additional measure. They are harmless, but ineffective. Wearing a corset also gives relief: fixation relieves the spine, relieves spasms and limits sudden movements. Only the corset should be normal: elastic, not heating.
If the treatment has not been effective within three days, you should see a doctor who will block with anti-inflammatory injections. By relieving the spasms and relaxing the muscles, the pain disappears immediately and often forever.
Prohibited!
Bath and massageunder the strictest prohibition. They make swelling and pain worse.
Contact chiropractors for newspaper advertisements.Manual therapy is an area where there are three hundred quacks for each specialist. If you really want to find a good doctor, you should contact certified clinics where certified specialists work.
It is important to immediately correctly determine the tactics of treatment. This should be done by a neurologist or neurosurgeon. It is dangerous to heal your back on your own. 30% of patients in the neurosurgery ward tried home care methods and then went to a hospital bed.
Cut or not?
Until recently, a person diagnosed with a hernia was immediately given a referral for surgery. Today the operation is carried out only if there are indications:
- persistent pain that cannot be relieved by any pill;
- disturbance of pelvic functions - incomplete emptying of the bladder;
- weakness and numbness in the leg.
All these symptoms make the operation inevitable, because without it the patient can become disabled.
What we risk
The risk of surgery, due to which it is postponed or abandoned altogether, is considered by many patients to be grossly exaggerated. In neurosurgery there are technologies that allow you to accurately calculate the effectiveness of the operation and which symptoms will disappear after it and which will remain.
The probability of pain relapse after surgery does not exceed 1-1. 5%. Hernias may actually appear in other places, but this is not a complication, but a spread of the disease, which is often found in unruly young patients. As soon as the pain passes, they return to their usual way of life: getting behind the wheel, resuming workouts. And this is absolutely impossible to do.
Is osteochondrosis the cause of everything?
Osteochondrosis is a chronic degenerative-dystrophic change in the intervertebral space. All people over 25 have signs of osteochondrosis. It is impossible to avoid osteochondrosis, but you can save yourself from its complications, which cause back pain.