Backache

Back pain is one of the most common ailments among people over the age of 25-30. They can arise not only as a result of overwork, but also as a symptom of diseases of the spine or internal organs. Therefore, it is important to be attentive to your health and not to ignore the problem. After all, if back pain is triggered by the appearance of pathological changes in the spine, they can ultimately lead to serious complications and even disabilities.

Reasons

In a number of situations, the back hurts for natural reasons: after strenuous physical work, hard training, long-term walking in high-heeled shoes, etc. In such situations, pain is caused by the formation of lactic acid in the muscles and, in particularly difficult cases, and micro-tearmuscles, sprains. Therefore, to get rid of them, it is necessary to give the backrest for several days.

Pregnancy is a common cause of back pain. As the body undergoes many changes, especially in the later stages of pregnancy, it can respond to this with 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 secretions, this is considered a normal variant. But at the same time, the ongoing changes, a shift in the center of gravity and an increase in the weight of a woman during pregnancy can provoke an exacerbation of chronic diseases or cause the development of degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spine.

Since the load on a woman's body doubles during pregnancy, it is very important to tidy up the spine. Our clinic has developed and prepared a special program of comprehensive examinations and treatments for pregnant women and for those planning to become pregnant.

It is degenerative-dystrophic processes, as well as other pathologies of the spine, which most often cause back pain in women and men over 30 years of age. With them, pain can be localized in any part of the back (neck, between the shoulder blades, in the lower back) and give to the head, shoulders, arms, buttocks, legs, etc. It can be of varying degrees of severity, sharp, shooting, pulling, sore, constantly present, or occurring after physical exertion. All these are important signs that help determine the cause of the development of pain syndrome, and thus find an effective way to eliminate it.

The most common diseases associated with back pain are:

• osteochondrosis, protrusions and intervertebral hernias;
• curvature of the spine (kyphosis, scoliosis, lordosis and their combinations);
• myofascial syndrome.

A little less often, back pain is caused by compression fractures of the spine (typical of the elderly or people who have suffered injuries, falls from a height, an accident), the development of spondylitisankylosing, spondylosis, spondylolisthesis and other diseases of the spine.

In addition, pain in different parts of the back can be caused by the occurrence of disturbances in the work of internal organs. For example, neck pain can accompany thyroid disease, inflammation of the lymph nodes, blood vessel disease, and back pain can indicate pathologies of the kidneys, pelvic organs, and gastrointestinal tract. Discomfort in the middle of the back, in the shoulder blade area is quite rare, but it also occurs. Its appearance, in addition to diseases of the spine, may lie in the occurrence of disturbances in the work of the heart, etc.

But the essence of the problem lies in the fact that any diseases of the internal organs do not arise out of nowhere. They almost always becomethe result of a violation of segmental innervation, that is, the quality of the transmission of nerve impulses from the spinal cord through the nerve roots and branches of the nerves to specific organs. Each level of the spinal cord has its own pair of spinal roots, from which the nerves branch off and go to the corresponding organs. If changes occur in the spine, for example, curvatures, displacement of the vertebrae, changes in the height and condition of the intervertebral discs, this inevitably affects the condition of the spinal roots and spinal cord. They can be crushed or even injured by various vertebral structures, as their natural parameters and position change. Thus, nerve impulses worse pass to the organs, which leads to the appearance of initially insignificant, but constantly progressive disorders in their work. Gradually, organic changes appear in the organs, which become the cause of the development of the disease. Therefore, in case of back pain and detection of pathologies of internal organs, it is imperative to examine the spine and find the changes that provoked their development. The impact on them will increase the effectiveness of the treatment of internal diseases and, most importantly, eliminate the prerequisites for their occurrence.

Each segment of spinal motion has its own pair of nerve roots that transmit signals to a specific organ.

Osteochondrosis, protrusion and intervertebral hernia

Osteochondrosis is the most common disease of the spine, which is present in every second adult at different stages of development. It is accompanied by degenerative-dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs, that is, their gradual destruction.

Depending on which part of the back pain occurs and, accordingly, degenerative-dystrophic processes in the intervertebral discs, osteochondrosis of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine are distinguished. Most often, the discs of the lumbosacral spine are destroyed, somewhat less often - the cervical, and only in rare cases is osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine diagnosed.

For osteochondrosis, pain is typical, initially weak, aching after physical exertion or prolonged sitting. They gradually intensify and occur more and more often. Over time, the discs wear out so much that their outer shell cannot withstand the loads placed on it and deforms, that is, a protrusion forms that eventually turns into a hernia. In the latter case, the annulus fibrosus is completely ruptured and the internal contents of the disc are able to fall into the spinal canal.

In both cases, the protruding parts can squeeze the spinal roots, thus causing the onset of radicular syndrome. This means that in addition to the fact that the pains will be sharp and strong, they will also be given to the arms, legs, buttocks and other parts of the body, which directly depends on which disc is deformed. So, when the nerves in the cervical spine are pinched, pain tends to be caused in the shoulders and arms, and when the nerves in the lumbar spine are compressed, in the buttocks and legs. This is often accompanied by sensory impairments, including numbness, crawling sensations, and gradual muscle atrophy.

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

Curvature of the spine

The curvature of the spine can be observed in any of its parts. A perfectly flat spine today is a rarity, so more or less pronounced deformities are present in almost all modern people. This could be:

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

In any case, the curvature can lead to compression of various groups of nerves, which will also cause radicular syndrome. But if with osteochondrosis changes in the initial stages of development are visually impossible to overcome, spinal deformities can be easily diagnosed by the asymmetry of the position of the shoulder blades, pelvic bones, protrusion of the abdomen or the formation of a hump.

Myofascial Syndrome Myofascial syndrome is not a dangerous, but rather painful condition in which certain muscle groups twitch in response to pressure or physical activity. Therefore, if, against the background of absolutely normal health, you press on the place where back pain usually occurs, you can get a new attack of acute pain, which is an important diagnostic criterion.

Diagnosis of the causes of back pain

If back pain occurs, regardless of whether it is in the neck, between the shoulder blades or in the lumbar region, it is recommended to consult a neurologist. It is necessary to make an appointment with a chiropractor, a vertebrologist and a 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's specialists use an integrated approach to diagnosis and treatment, so that the correct diagnosis can be made quickly. Diagnostics begins with a survey of the patient, during which the nature of the complaints presented, as well as the characteristics of work and rest, are clarified. The doctor must carefully examine the patient, palpating the spine, as well as performing special functional and neurological tests. This allows you to form a complete picture of the patient's condition, detect signs of neurological deficit 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 state of the spinal column and especially its discs, which makes it possible to diagnose even small changes in thetheir condition and to intervene promptly in the pathological process.

In 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 the brain. Our experienced doctors will explain the results to you in detail. Bioimpedansometry calculates the ratio between fat, muscle, bone and skeletal mass, total body fluid, basal metabolic rate. The recommended intensity of physical activity depends on the condition of the muscle mass. Metabolic processes, in turn, affect the body's ability to recover. From the indicators of active cell mass one can judge the level of physical activity and nutritional balance. This quick and easy test helps us see endocrine disruptions and take action. Furthermore, it is also very important for us to know the state of blood vessels for the prevention of diseases such as heart attacks, hypertension, heart failure, diabetes mellitus and much more. Angioscan allows you to determine such important indicators as the biological age of blood vessels, their stiffness, the stress index (which speaks of heart rate), oxygen saturation in the blood. Such screening will be useful for men and women over 30, athletes, those who undergo long and difficult treatment, as well as all those who monitor 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 such narrow specialists as a urologist, endocrinologist, gynecologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, etc.

The body composition analysis gives us information on how much adipose tissue and the musculoskeletal component are in the body. These data will help the rehabilitator to correctly draw up a plan of physical activity, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient.

Treatment of back pain

Treatment of back pain is always complex, since it is impossible to eliminate pathological changes in the spine only with the help of drugs. At the same time, for each patient, the therapeutic regimen is developed strictly individually. Not only the diagnosis and stage of development of the disease are taken into account, but also the presence of concomitant diseases, the age of the patient, his habits and characteristics of work, the level of physical fitness and other factors. Therefore, even in patients with the same diagnosis, treatment can take place in different ways. Only this approach gives the maximum results.

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

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

Spine surgery is indicated only in very advanced cases with absolute ineffectiveness of conservative treatment.

Patients are strongly advised to reduce weight as much as possible and avoid excessive physical exertion as well as a sedentary lifestyle. A balanced diet will further enhance the effect of the treatment.

Drug therapy

Drug therapy can include drugs from different drug groups, depending on a combination of various factors. In the vast majority of cases, patients are prescribed:

• NSAID;
• corticosteroids;
• muscle relaxants;
• chondroprotectors;
• Vitamins of group B;
• vitamin D.

Patients with very severe radicular pain that cannot be treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or analgesics may be offered blocks. The procedure involves introducing a solution of lidocaine or novocaine, sometimes in combination with corticosteroids, directly into the area where the compressed nerve passes. They do not have a therapeutic effect, but they allow you to quickly eliminate even severe pain of neurological origin. But the implementation of blocks requires special skills and absolute sterility, since such injections can lead to the development of serious complications.

Manual therapy

Manual therapy is rightly considered one of the main components of the treatment of back pain of various origins, since it allows you to restore the normal anatomy of the spine and at the same time:

• to improve the quality of the transmission of nerve impulses along the peripheral nerves to all organs of the human body;
• activates blood circulation and lymphatic flow;
• initiates the body's natural recovery processes and creates favorable conditions for their flow;
• strengthens immunity and increases 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 allows to eliminate the pressure of various anatomical structures on the spinal roots, which leads to the elimination of pain, including those radiating to the limbs andother parts of the body. Also, with their help, it is possible to increase the distance between the vertebral bodies, which provides the most favorable conditions for the restoration of deformed vertebral discs, and the active kneading of muscles helps to eliminate functional blocks, increase mobility andflexibility of the spine and accelerate the course of metabolic processes.

We have no common treatment standards; an individual approach is applied to each patient. Gritsenko's author's technique has shown high efficiency over the years of use. It involves a special effect on the spine, due to which not only back pain disappears, but also the causes of their occurrence are eliminated. And the normalization of segmental innervation of the spinal cord helps to improve the functioning of internal organs and eliminate the causes of the progression of their diseases.

Therefore, patients with back pain can expect pronounced positive changes after 1-2 sessions of manual therapy using the author's method of Gritsenko. How many procedures will be needed to achieve the maximum possible result, and its consolidation is selected individually for each patient.

Physiotherapy

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

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

physical therapy

Physiotherapy is not the last component in the treatment of back pain. The stability of the result largely depends on the regularity and correctness of its implementation, since physical therapy is mainly aimed at strengthening the muscular corset of the back, which will create support for the spine and reduce the load on the intervertebral discs. In addition, physical therapy helps improve the quality of blood circulation, which leads to a more active supply of drugs and nutrients to the lesions, which increases the effectiveness of the therapy.

But it is not recommended to choose a set of exercises on your own, as performing the generally recommended exercises can harm the patient due to overloading certain muscle groups. Therefore, the development of the optimal complex should be entrusted to a doctor, a rehabilitation therapist, who will teach a person to perform each exercise correctly.

So, although back pain is familiar to all adults, it's not worth considering them harmless. Such neglect can cause serious complications and, at best, can be treated surgically. In the worst case, the patient faces disability. Therefore, if back pain occurs with enviable or rather acute regularity, make an appointment with a neurologist and establish the true cause of the discomfort. After all, the disease is much easier to stop in the early stages of development.