Back pain is a very common health problem, affecting, at least once in a lifetime, about 80% of people. The part most affected is the lower back, the lumbar, but, in fact, the pain can affect any part of the back.
The pain then, may have different characteristics and various intensities: it may be continuous and dull, or it may arise suddenly and sharply.
Acute back pain usually has an unexpected onset and can last from a few days to a few weeks.
Chronic back pain, on the other hand, is a symptom that can last for several months.
What are the causes of back pain?
Back pain is a symptom, and like all symptoms it is an expression of a pathology.
Causes of back pain:
- Musculoskeletal problems: muscle sprains or strains, inflammation of the ligaments that support the spine happen when twisting or lifting weights done improperly. It is the most common and least serious cause of back pain.
- Postural problems: spoiled habits, improper working positions, use of heavy backpacks or bags can in the long run cause paravertebral muscles to suffer, causing pain of varying degrees.
- Herniated disc (various degrees): a pathologyaffecting the discs located between the vertebrae of the spine. These, due to a number of mainly mechanical issues, can deteriorate by losing their cushioning capacity, and this can lead to pain if the back is subjected to stress or strain.
- Fractures and microfractures: can cause acute or chronic pain. Fracture of vertebrae can result from direct and indirect trauma to the spine. Major trauma resulting from accidents, especially motorcycle accidents, also often causes spinal injuries. These can be of varying degrees in relation to the trauma suffered. Sometimes, however, microfractures can occur at the vertebrae even from small, trivial and, often, insidious traumas(modest falls on the pelvis, whiplash, etc.) resulting in back pain that is not easy to resolve. About 60%of elderly patients with osteoporosis problems may have microfractures in the spine and experience back pain, very often in the absence of relative diagnosis.
- Other diseases and conditions: capable of causing or contributing to back pain is: The scoliosis which is a curvature of the spine that after a certain age can begin to cause pain; Various forms of arthritis, including l‘arthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis; I tumors are equally rare causes of back pain; only occasionally do they arise at the level of the back, while more often they are the result of metastasization (spread) of a tumor born elsewhere in the anatomy. Other conditions causing back pain include: pregnancy; kidney stones or urinary tract infections.
What are the symptoms of back pain?
Pain (back pain precisely) can have varied characteristics in intensity, location, and duration. However, it is often preceded by real alarm bells:
- Discomfort or mild pain on getting out of bed in the morning, returning to an upright position, or getting in/out of the car.
- Slight tingling along the arms by forcibly turning the head.
- Feeling of nausea or slight dizziness when raising the head.
- Fatigue or soreness in the lower back from carrying weights.
- Twitches of pain with coughing or sneezing.
With a little patience, in most patients, back pain tends to resolve spontaneously or with taking pain medication and rest.
Particularly severe pain, which does not improve after three days, should not be taken lightly and it is essential to consult the medical specialist (orthopedist and/or physiatrist), especially then if the onset is consequent to some type of injury or if it is accompanied by:
- Tingling or numbness/heaviness sensation in the arms or legs.
- Severe pain that does not diminish with common analgesics.
- Urinary disorders.
- Fever.
Under these circumstances, the specialist, will evaluate will prescribe appropriate follow-up examinations such as clinical tests, x-ray, MRI, CT scan.
How to treat back pain?
- Ice: recommended at the onset of acute pain. It acts as an analgesic and vasoconstrictor in trauma;
- Heat: the application of heat is of relief in forms caused by muscle strain with the very aim of relaxing the muscles . After 2 to 3 days hot packs or heat-releasing patches;
- Medications: remedies of choice for any back pain, at least in the early stages are pain relieving and anti-inflammatory drugs that relax the muscles are also widely used;
- Physiotherapy : Research has shown that rest can make it worse. Manual therapies (kinesitherapy massage) and instrumental therapies (laser, tecar, ultrasound) are especially helpful in post-traumatic back pain and chronic conditions;
- Infiltration: especially in inflammatory and degenerative diseases, the joint and periarticular space is reached with a thin needle that specifically introduces anti-inflammatory drugs but also zono (develops oxygen that has the anti-inflammatory effect);
- Surgery: in some cases, surgery proves necessary. Minimally invasive, minimally invasive outpatient surgeries have been available for the past few years, allowing for truly targeted interventions.
