Backache

Back pain is one of the most common complaints among people over 25-30 years of age. They can arise not only as a result of overwork, but also act as a symptom of diseases of the spine or internal organs. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to your health and not ignore the problems. However, if back pain is triggered by the appearance of pathological changes in the spine, they can eventually lead to serious complications and even disability.

Reason

In some cases, the back hurts for natural reasons: after exhausting physical work, hard work, walking in high-heeled shoes, and so on. In such situations, the pain is caused by the formation of lactic acid on the muscles, and in very difficult cases, and microotype tears, sprains. Therefore, to get rid of it, you must rest for a few days.

Pregnancy is a common cause of back pain. Because the body undergoes many changes, especially in the late stages of pregnancy, it can respond to pain in the lower back. If they are not acute and are not associated with discomfort in the lower abdomen or the appearance of unusual discharge, this is considered a normal variant. But at the same time, the changes that occur, the shift of the center of gravity and the weight gain of women during pregnancy can lead to an increase in chronic disease or cause the development of degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spine.

Because during pregnancy, the load on a woman's body doubles, it is very important to clean the spine. Our clinic has developed and provided a comprehensive program of comprehensive screening and treatment for pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy.

This is a degenerative-dystrophic process, as well as other spinal pathologies, most often causing back pain in women and men over 30 years of age. With them, the pain can be localized in any part of the back (neck, between the shoulder blades, in the lower back) and applied to the head, shoulders, arms, back, legs, and more. It can be varying severity, acute, shooting, pulling, pain, present all the time or occur after physical exercise. All of these are important signs that help determine the cause of the development of pain syndrome, and therefore, find an effective method to get rid of it.

The most common diseases associated with back pain are:

• osteochondrosis, protrusion and intervertebral hernia;
• curvature of the spine (kyphosis, scoliosis, lordosis and its combination);
• myofascial syndrome.

Quite rarely, back pain is caused by a fracture of the spine (especially for the elderly or people with injuries, falls from heights, accidents), the development of ankylosing spondylitis, spondylosis, spondylolisthesis and other diseases of the spine.

Also, pain in different parts of the back can be caused by disturbances in the work of internal organs. For example, pain in the neck can accompany thyroid gland pathology, inflammation of the lymph nodes, blood vessel disease, and back pain can indicate pathology of the kidneys, pelvic organs and gastrointestinal tract. Discomfort in the middle of the back, in the shoulder blade area is relatively rare, but also occurs. Its appearance, in addition to spinal diseases, may be present in disorders of heart function, etc.

But the essence of the problem lies in the fact that any disease of internal organsdoes not arise suddenly. They are almost always the result of a violation of segmental preservation, i. e. the quality of transmission of nerve impulses from the spinal cord through nerve roots and nerve branches to specific organs. Each level of the spinal cord has its own pair of spinal roots, from which the nerves branch and go to the appropriate organ. If changes occur in the spine, for example, curvature, vertebral displacement, height changes and the state of the intervertebral disc occurs, this will inevitably affect the condition of the spinal roots and spinal cord. They can be squeezed or even injured by various vertebral structures, as they change their natural parameters and position. Thus, nerve impulses inflate more severely into the organ, causing the onset of the disorder to be initially insignificant, but continue to develop in their work. Gradually, organic changes appear in the organ, which causes the development of the disease. Therefore, in the event of back pain and pathological detection of internal organs, it is important to examine the spine and look for changes that drive its development. The effect on them will increase the effectiveness of treatment of internal diseases, and most importantly eliminate the prerequisites for its occurrence.

Each segment of spinal movement has its own pair of nerve roots that send signals to specific organs.

Osteochondrosis, protrusion and intervertebral hernia

Osteochondrosis is the most common spinal disease, occurring in every second adult at different stages of development. It is accompanied by degenerative-dystrophic changes in the intervertebral disc, i. e. its gradual destruction.

Depending on which part of the back pain occurs and, thus, degenerative-dystrophic processes in the intervertebral disc, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, thorax and lumbar are differentiated. Often, the lumbosacral spinal disc is damaged, quite rarely - the cervix, and only in rare cases, osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine is diagnosed.

For osteochondrosis, pain is common, initially weak, painful after physical exercise or sitting for a long time. They gradually increase and occur more frequently. Over time, the disc becomes so depleted that its outer shell does not withstand the load that falls on it and is deformed, that is, the protruding form, which eventually turns into a hernia. In the latter case, the annulus fibrosus ruptures completely, and the contents of the disc can fall into the spinal canal.

In both cases, the protruding part can press on the root of the spine, thus provoking the occurrence of radicular syndrome. This means that in addition to the pain will be sharp and strong, they will also be given to the arms, legs, back and other parts of the body, which directly depend on the defective disc. So, when the cervical spinal cord is pinched, pain tends to be applied to the shoulders and arms, and when the lumbar spine nerve is compressed, to the back and legs. This is often accompanied by sensory disturbances, including numbness, creeping sensations, and gradual muscle atrophy.

The disease is fraught with irreversible changes in nerve fibers, which can lead to paralysis and deformity.

Curvature of the spine

The curvature of the spine can be seen in any part of it. Flat spines today are rare, therefore, there are many significant defects in almost every modern person. This may be:

• kyphosis - strengthening of the natural curvature of the spine in the cervicotoracic region;
• lordosis - increased natural deflection of the spine in the lumbar spine;
• scoliosis - lateral deformity of the spine.

In each case, the curvature can cause compression of various nerve groups, which will also give rise to radicular syndrome. But if, with osteochondrosis, changes in the early stages of its development are visually impossible to overcome, then spinal deformities can be easily diagnosed by asymmetry of shoulder blade position, pelvic bone, abdominal protrusion or hump formation.

Myofascial Syndrome Myofascial syndrome is not a dangerous, but painful condition in which certain muscle groups spasm in response to stress or physical activity. Therefore, if, with a completely normal health background, you are pressing the place where back pain usually occurs, you can get a new acute pain attack, which is an important diagnostic criterion.

Diagnosis of the cause of back pain

If back pain occurs, regardless of whether it is located in the neck, between the shoulder blades or in the lumbar region, it is recommended to see a neurologist. It is necessary to make an appointment with a chiropractor, vertebrologist and neurologist as soon as possible if the pain is radiating to other parts of the body, as this is a sign of the development of radicular syndrome.

Our center specialists use an integrated approach to diagnosis and treatment, so they can make an accurate diagnosis quickly. Diagnostics begins with a survey of patients, in which the nature of the complaints presented, as well as the characteristics of work and rest, are clarified. The doctor must examine the patient carefully, embarrass the spine, as well as perform special functional and neurological tests. This allows you to form an overview of the patient's condition, detect signs of neurological deficits and assess the degree of damage. To clarify the diagnosis, it is mandatory to appoint:

• X-ray examination;
• CT;
• MRI.

If there are no contraindications, MRI is always preferred, as this method can provide the most complete data on the condition of the spine and especially the disc, which allows small changes in their condition to be diagnosed at an early stage and to intervene in pathological processesright on time.

At our clinic, you can also learn more about the composition of your body and the state of the vascular system, which is involved in the blood supply to internal organs, musculoskeletal muscles, and brain. Our experienced doctors will explain these findings to you in detail. Bioimpedansometry calculates the ratio of fat, muscle, bone and skeletal mass, body fluid volume, basal metabolic rate. The intensity of the recommended physical activity depends on the state of muscle mass. Subsequent metabolic processes affect the body's ability to recover. According to the indications of active cell mass, one can assess the level of physical activity and nutritional balance. This simple and quick test helps us detect endocrine disorders and take action. In addition, it is very important for us to know the condition of blood vessels for the prevention of diseases such as heart attack, high blood pressure, heart failure, diabetes mellitus and more. Angioscan allows you to determine important indicators such as the biological age of blood vessels, their rigidity, stress index (which speaks to heart rate), blood oxygen saturation. Such examinations will be useful for men and women over 30 years of age, athletes, those undergoing long and difficult treatment, as well as everyone who monitors their health.

If the diagnosis shows that back pain is the result of the development of diseases of the internal organs, the patient is referred to a narrow specialist such as a urologist, endocrinologist, gynecologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, etc.

Body composition analysis gives us information on how much adipose tissue in the body and musculoskeletal components. This data will help the rehabilitation to plan the physical activity plan properly, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient.

Back Pain Treatment

Treatment of back pain is always complicated, as it is impossible to eliminate pathological changes in the spine with the help of medication. At the same time, for each patient, the therapeutic regimen was developed strictly individually. Not only the diagnosis and stage of disease development are considered, but also the presence of concomitant disease, patient age, habits and characteristics of work, level of physical fitness and other factors. Therefore, even in patients with the same diagnosis, treatment can be done in different ways. Only this approach gives maximum results.

Thus, the main components of conservative therapy for vertebrogenic back pain are:

• drug therapy;
• osteopathy;
• manual therapy;
• urut;
• physiotherapy (phonophoresis, carboxytherapy, ozone therapy, RF current therapy);
• individual lessons with a rehabilitation doctor.

Spinal surgery is only shown in very advanced cases with the absolute effectiveness of conservative treatment.

Patients are definitely advised to lose as much weight as possible, as well as avoid excessive physical exercise, as well as an inactive lifestyle. A balanced diet will further enhance the effects of treatment.

Drug therapy

Drug therapy can include drugs from different pharmacological groups, depending on the combination of various factors. In most cases, the patient is prescribed:

• NSAID;
• corticosteroids;
• muscle relaxants;
• chondroprotectors;
• Vitamin B;
• vitamin D.

Patients with very severe radicular pain that cannot be treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or painkillers may be offered restrictions. The procedure involves the introduction of a solution of lidocaine or novocaine, sometimes combined with corticosteroids, directly into the area where the compression nerve passes. They do not have a healing effect, but they do allow you to get rid of severe pain even from neurological causes. But the implementation of restrictions requires special skills and absolute infertility, as such injections can lead to the development of severe complications.

Manual therapy

Manual therapy is considered one of the main components of back pain treatment of various origins, as it makes it possible to restore the normal anatomy of the spinal space and at the same time:

• to improve the quality of nerve impulse transmission along peripheral nerves to all organs of the human body;
• activates blood circulation and lymph flow;
• initiates the body's natural recovery process and creates favorable conditions for its flow;
• strengthens immunity and enhances the body's ability to adapt to new living conditions, etc.

The use of special techniques of manual action directly on the spine and surrounding tissues makes it possible to relieve stress of various anatomical structures on the roots of the spine, leading to the elimination of pain, including those radiating to limbs and other parts of the body. Also, with their help, it is possible to increase the distance between the vertebral bodies, which provides the best conditions for the recovery of deformed vertebral discs, and actively kneading muscles helps remove functional blocks, increase mobility and flexibility of the spine, and accelerate metabolic processes.

We do not have the same treatment standard; an individual approach is applied to each patient. The technique of the author Gritsenko has shown high efficiency over many years of use. This has a special effect on the spine, as not only the back pain disappears, but also the cause of its occurrence is eliminated. And the normalization of segmental maintenance of the spinal cord helps to improve the function of internal organs and eliminate the causes of the development of their disease.

Therefore, patients with back pain can expect significant positive changes after 1-2 sessions of manual therapy using the method of the author Gritsenko. How many procedures are required to obtain maximum results and their consolidation, is chosen individually for each patient.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is prescribed outside the acute period of the disease. With its help, it is possible to increase the effect of other methods of influence. As a rule, the patient is prescribed a procedure characterized by anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic properties, namely:

• electrophoresis;
• traction therapy (spinal traction);
• UHF;
• laser therapy;
• ultrasound therapy, etc.

exercise therapy

Physiotherapy is not the last component in the treatment of back pain. The stability of the result is highly dependent on the regularity and accuracy of its implementation, as exercise therapy is primarily aimed at strengthening the corset of the back muscles, which will provide support to the spine and reduce the load on the intervertebral disc. In addition, exercise therapy helps improve the quality of blood circulation, which leads to a more active supply of drugs and nutrients to the lesion, which increases the effectiveness of therapy.

But it is not recommended to choose a set of exercises on their own, as doing exercises that are generally recommended can endanger the patient due to too much exercise on certain muscle groups. Therefore, the optimal expansion of the complex should be trusted to the doctor - a rehabilitation therapist, who will teach a person to perform each exercise correctly.

Therefore, even though back pain is common among every adult, there is nothing wrong with considering it harmless. Such negligence can lead to severe complications and, at the very least, it can be treated surgically. Worst of all, patients face disability. Therefore, if back pain occurs with reliable or somewhat acute fragility, make an appointment with a neurologist and determine the true cause of the discomfort. However, the disease is more easily stopped in the early stages of its development.