When back pain occurs, the thought of radiculitis immediately arises. In fact, even gastrointestinal pathologies can become the cause of lower back discomfort. Therefore, doctors carefully examine the patient before creating a therapeutic regimen. If the back hurts in the lumbar region, how to treat the pathology, only a neurologist can decide. Often doctors with narrow specializations are involved in therapy - gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, oncologist, gynecologist, urologist. Depending on the diseases diagnosed, further treatment will be carried out at home or in the hospital.
Basic principles of treatment
Pain affecting the lumbar spine can be nagging, nagging, or violent and violent. If during the examination the patient does not have pathologies of organs of other vital systems, then the following measures are included in the therapeutic scheme:
- taking pharmacological drugs to relieve inflammatory processes, eliminate pain, restore damaged bone and joint tissues;
- Performing physiotherapy procedures to accelerate the regeneration of the vertebrae and skeletal muscles;
- Physiotherapy or gymnastics.
For sharp and severe pain that restricts movement, patients are prescribed drugs for intramuscular injection. In this case, hospitalization is usually carried out in a hospital. After the patient's condition improves, he is discharged at home for further recovery.
The right treatment approach
The main cause of back pain is destructive-degenerative damage to the vertebrae or a formed intervertebral hernia. Regardless of how successful the treatment is, doctors recommend that patients eliminate the factor that provoked the pathology from their habitual lifestyle. Otherwise, after a while, the disease will return or take a chronic form that is dangerous for their relapses.
Begin treating acute or retreating pain in bed. If the inflammatory process becomes the cause of the pathology, then even insignificant physical activity will contribute to its spread. Neuropathologists recommend purchasing an orthopedic pillow and mattress. They reduce the stress on a sore back, prevent compression and pinching of muscles and nerve roots. If it is impossible to buy special equipment, then you need to choose a mattress and pillow of medium hardness for sleeping.
To speed recovery, you should adhere to the following medical recommendations during treatment:
- Avoid physical activity and active sport. During the rehabilitation phase, you can do yoga, swim, or just take a long walk in the fresh air.
- Remove fatty and fried foods from the diet. They negatively affect the condition of the blood vessels in the lumbar spine and contribute to the deposition of harmful cholesterol. A lack of nutrients and biologically active substances is one of the causes of the destruction of bone tissue.
- do not drink or smoke. If you cannot completely overcome harmful addiction, then at least for the duration of treatment you should forget about it. Toxic resins, nicotine, and ethanol adversely affect veins, arteries, and capillaries, and slow the recovery of bone, joint, and cartilage tissue in both men and women.
The intake of balanced complexes of vitamins and microelements accelerates recovery. Some of them contain increased amounts of calcium, but such drugs can only be taken as directed by a doctor. Hence, it is advisable to buy simple medicines.
Pharmaceuticals
Despite the effectiveness of folk remedies and physiotherapy procedures, only pharmaceutical preparations can quickly get rid of severe back pain. If the discomfort is poorly expressed, taking capsules, pills, and tablets will help. With severe pain, neuropathologists prescribe intravenous and intramuscular injections to relieve the patient's condition. Many of the drugs used to treat the lower back have serious side effects and many contraindications. In order to avoid negative consequences, medical recommendations regarding the dosages used and the duration of the course can be strictly followed.
Injection solutions
Injectable forms of preparations containing B vitamins are almost always used to treat loin pain. They show neurotropic activity:
- normalizes the innervation of the skeletal muscles;
- restores the transmission of nerve impulses;
- promotes the regeneration of the affected nerve fibers;
- accelerates the metabolism of substances;
- increases the functional activity of the central and peripheral nervous system.
The preparations also contain analgesics, therefore preparations made from B vitamins have moderate analgesic properties.
Injection drugs are prescribed for acute pain, often referred to as "lumbago". And if the pathology becomes chronic, then its use will not bring the expected result. Vitamins are used both as a single drug and in combination with anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs. It is NSAIDs that are becoming the number one choice for treating back pain. Solutions for intramuscular administration within a few minutes stop the inflammation, reduce the severity of the discomfort and eliminate the swelling of the soft tissue.
Some drugs are structurally analogous, but can differ in the intensity of the therapeutic effect and the number of side effects. When choosing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the doctor takes into account many factors. For example, certain drugs have a pronounced analgesic effect, but they cause severe damage to joints and cartilage. And there are drugs that, unlike others, do not interfere with the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
Despite the effectiveness of NSAIDs in treating back pain, neuropathologists prescribe them with caution, especially in injectable forms. The fact is that even a single intramuscular injection of the solution can lead to ulceration of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract. It is strictly forbidden to use NSAIDs in injections or tablets for people who have been diagnosed with gastritis, as well as ulcerative lesions of the stomach and duodenum. Treatment of back pain in men and women with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be combined with all proton pump inhibitors.
Tablets, capsules, coated tablets
NSAIDs and B vitamins After an injection, the patient takes tablets or capsules to consolidate the therapy result. If the lower back hurts and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in injections are contraindicated, the doctor prescribes pills with such active ingredients.
To treat pathologies of the spine, drugs with a combined composition are often used.
Pain in the lumbar spine occurs with muscle spasms.
The nerve roots are stretched, which leads to the development of a secondary radicular syndrome. Muscle relaxants help normalize the innervation of nerve impulses and stop the spasm. For acute pain, a short injection is given and the patient continues treatment with pills.
During the rehabilitation phase, it is recommended to take chondroprotectors. The tablets usually contain stimulants for the regeneration of cartilage tissue, extracts from shark cartilage and medicinal herbs that help restore the bone structures of the spine. Before treating back pain with chondroprotectors, the doctor assesses the degree of damage to the joint and cartilage tissues. When diagnosing serious destructive changes, therapy with these drugs can last longer than a year.
Ointments, gels, creams, balms
In addition to drugs for parenteral and oral administration, neuropathologists prescribe drugs for external use. They are applied to the lumbar spine several times a day until the painful sensations are completely eliminated. Some ointments contain bee and snake venom, paprika extract, and essential oils.
All of these organic substances have a warming effect. Burns and symptoms of allergic reactions may occur in patients with sensitive skin. And before treating lower back pain caused by an inflammatory process, you should consult your doctor about the safety of using such external agents. Neuropathologists usually prescribe the following ointments and gels:
- homeopathic. They contain plant extracts and chemical compounds that improve metabolism and have an analgesic effect. Many doctors are skeptical of homeopathy, but patients who do not consider it a pseudoscience can be cured. One of the serious disadvantages of such ointments is the long duration of therapy;
- NSAIDs. An ointment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is well absorbed by the skin and quickly penetrates the damaged area. After a single application, the severity of the pain syndrome decreases, the mobility of the vertebrae is restored.
An effective stimulation of the normalization of tissue metabolism and an alleviation of dystrophic changes occurs after the use of external agents with chondroprotectors.
It does not matter whether a vertebra is sick or the inflammation has affected the entire lumbar region - ointments with chondroprotectors help to restore joint and cartilage tissue damaged by the pathological process.
Physiotherapy procedure
Most of these treatments are not prescribed for patients with pain caused by acute inflammation. The procedures are started after their relief with pharmacological drugs. Physiotherapy is used to normalize tissue metabolism, regenerate tissues, and prevent further degenerative changes in the lumbar spine. What physiotherapy procedure can you use to get rid of back pain:
- electrophoresis. The therapeutic manipulation is intended to ensure the rapid delivery of drugs (NSAIDs, analgesics, anesthetics, chondroprotectors) to the damaged areas of the lumbar spine. Electrophoresis involves placing cotton swabs soaked in a medical solution on the patient's back. Special plates are superimposed on top through which electricity flows. Under the influence of electrical impulses, chemical molecules quickly penetrate the area of inflammation;
- ultrasound therapy. The vibration of the ultrasonic waves stimulates the blood circulation in the lower back. Nutrients and biologically active substances, as well as molecular oxygen, begin to penetrate damaged tissues. After 5-10 procedures, the patient's pain disappears due to the relief of muscle spasms and increased metabolism.
- laser therapy. Laser polarized light is used to treat destructive changes in the intervertebral discs of the lumbar spine. Under the influence of infrared radiation, the blood supply to the joint and cartilage tissue is restored, the metabolism normalizes.
Physiotherapy helps remove toxins, toxins and end products of the inflammatory process from the spine. - Magnetic field therapy. During the procedure, the patient is exposed to a wave magnetic field in order to stimulate the blood flow to the damaged tissue.
Medical manipulations are prescribed to relieve further damage to the lumbar vertebrae and prevent inflammation from spreading to healthy tissues. The result is the disappearance of painful sensations and the restoration of the full range of motion.
To treat severe pain that can radiate to the leg, arm, tailbone, physiotherapeutic procedures are combined with the use of pharmacological drugs. And during the rehabilitation phase or during the remission of chronic diseases of the spine, patients are recommended mud therapy, a bath with mineral water, a classic and precise massage and acupuncture.
Traditional healer recipes
Traditional healers recommend drinking plenty of fluids to manage back pain. Pure water, chamomile and rose hip tea, compotes made from berries and fruits will help to quickly remove the end products of inflammation, toxins and toxins from the spine. As a plentiful drink in folk medicine, infusions and decoctions of medicinal herbs are used. Crop plants contain biologically active substances with anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antiseptic properties.
How to cure back pain with healing infusions:
- Pour 3 tablespoons into a thermos. Tablespoons of cranberry leaves, St. John's wort and marigolds, pour a liter of boiling water and leave for about an hour. Strain, drink a fragrant infusion instead of coffee and tea;
- Put a handful of dry rose hips, blueberries and juniper berries in an enamel or glass container and pour 2 liters of hot water. Simmer in a water bath for 30-40 minutes, strain and drink 0. 5 cups of infusion before each meal.
Back pain can be treated with a compress or ointment made from natural products. How to make a potion:
- Melt 3 tablespoons in a water bath. Tablespoons of natural honey, let cool and mix with 2 tablespoons. Spoons of pharmacy alcohol.
- Carefully add 100 ml of petroleum jelly to the mixture and rub it into the damaged areas of the lower back.
This remedy is also used for medical compresses for back pain. To do this, the mixture should not be rubbed, but rather spread over the skin in a thin layer. You need to put a plastic wrap on top, and then wrap it with a warm scarf. The duration of the procedure is 3-4 hours.
Treatment of back pain is usually done at home. Only when an acute inflammatory process is diagnosed is the patient admitted to the hospital. Depending on the cause of the pathology, therapy lasts two weeks to several months. However, if the medical recommendations are followed, recovery will be greatly accelerated, as evidenced by the reviews of cured patients.
- “One morning I just couldn't get up, I even thought I was paralyzed. But the pain refuted such an assumption, it was so strong that it gave the legs. They were treated with injections of NSAIDs and a muscle relaxant in a hospital and then drank them at home for about a week. The pain was gone by the second day, but the doctor ordered treatment until a victorious recovery. "
- “My pain gradually got worse, I suspect, after swimming in a cold river. My lower back just didn't bend, I had to be on sick leave. I followed all of the doctor's advice, drank NSAIDs and a muscle relaxant smeared with anti-inflammatory ointment, and put mustard plasters on my back. She was healed in five days. "
- “The doctor warned that pain is not the worst. During the diagnosis, it turned out that my vertebrae are rapidly collapsing. For about a year he took chondroprotectors and rubbed them on his back. When I was in pain, I drank NSAIDs with a proton pump inhibitor. After a new examination, the neuropathologist was pleased that no new injuries were found. "