Back pain (lumbar region) and headaches.

Headache is one of the most common painful conditions in humans. Today, more than 300 types of headaches are known, but only 10% of them have a known cause1. It can be caused by ordinary fatigue, tension, or serious illness. These include brain damage, internal diseases, such as thyroid dysfunction, and spinal diseases, such as headaches due to scoliosis2.

At the same time, scoliosis can develop against the background of other pathologies, including rare ones, such as Pompe disease. This is a hereditary disease in which there is a deficiency of the enzyme acid glucosidase. Due to its deficiency, muscles, primarily skeletal ones, are affected, which leads to spinal deformation. Due to weakness of the paraspinal muscles, patients develop scoliosis.

Cause 1. Spinal infections

Another name is spinal infections. These are viral lesions that affect the internal structures of the vertebrae or the interdisc space. Viruses can enter the body from the outside (wound infections - due to injuries, operations) or be complications of viral diseases (often various types of myelitis, coccal infections, etc.).

Symptoms of spinal column infection depend on the type of infection. This may be unexpressed aching pain in the back and chest area, or sudden intense pain. The focus is quite difficult to determine. The patient usually says “everything hurts.” The condition is accompanied by limited mobility, chills, fever, weakness, and body aches.

If you have these signs, we recommend calling an ambulance immediately. Spinal infections are fraught with paralysis and other irreversible (!) restrictions on mobility. But they are quite rare.

Prevention

To prevent unwanted changes in the spine, doctors recommend lifestyle changes. You need to move from inactivity to moderate but regular physical activity. The most favorable sport is swimming: keeping the body in the water almost completely removes the load on the spine and allows you to do exercises that are physically difficult to do “on land.” Walking is very useful. Whenever possible, it is worth walking the distance, not driving it. Instead of the elevator, take the stairs.

It should also be taken into account that:

1. Overeating and addiction to high-calorie foods should go into oblivion. Instead, a rational, balanced menu high in collagen (eggs, jelly on cartilage, boiled meat), cereals, fresh vegetables and fruits, and dairy products. You need to exclude canned foods, salty and spicy foods, fatty fried meats, flour and confectionery products from your diet. Excess weight is a short path to protrusions and hernias, due to increased compression of the intervertebral discs.
2. The day should begin with morning exercises, shower and rubbing - this improves blood circulation and stimulates metabolic processes, improves immune status.
3. Every 6 months – massage (course of 10 sessions).
4. You need to watch your posture: don’t hunch over, don’t slouch. If a person has correct posture, then he, standing against the wall, touches it with his heels, buttocks, shoulder blades and the back of his head. When carrying bags or any objects in your hands, make sure that the weight is the same and does not “distort” the body. When doing housework, do not bend over (mop the floor, vacuum cleaner with an extended pipe).
5. A favorable psychological background, a calm, supportive environment at work and at home are required.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the bed: it should not be too soft or too hard. The best choice is orthopedic mattresses. Housing needs to be constantly ventilated, especially in the bedroom: the head often hurts if there is little oxygen in the room.

Reason 2. Degenerative-dystrophic diseases

Caused by wear and tear of the intervertebral discs, brittle bones, and loss of elasticity of spinal tissue. Moreover, such changes are not necessarily age-related. Today, young people also suffer from arthritis, spondylosis, and osteochondrosis.

Over time, pathological processes in the spine become degenerative, i.e. irreversible. In this case, it is necessary to use surgical treatment methods - joint replacement, surgical restoration of vertebrae and other structures. Arthrosis, osteoporosis, and radiculitis often develop into a degenerative form.

Of course, such changes do not occur without symptoms. Often patients note lumbago, acute pain in the affected area, limited mobility, stabbing pain, crunching, pain with certain movements (for example, in the lower back when bending forward). As a rule, a person can clearly determine exactly where it hurts.

Treatment of degenerative-dystrophic diseases is carried out by a rheumatologist, osteopath, chiropractor, traumatologist, neurologist and a number of other specialists. Don't know who to contact? Make an appointment with a general practitioner first.

Treatment for back pain

Doctors prescribe several groups of medications to patients suffering from chronic pain in the back muscles:

• painkillers (in case of very severe pain - narcotic drugs);
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory substances;
• muscle relaxants.

After the appointment, the doctor may prescribe wearing a brace (for neuralgia) and bed rest.

Physiotherapy consists of the use of:

• electro- and phonophoresis using medications;
• magnetic therapy;
• laser therapy.

A special place is occupied by reflexology – acupuncture (acupuncture) and electrical neurostimulation. The latter method involves applying weak electrical currents to nerve receptors and then transmitting them to the central nervous system.

A mandatory part of the treatment is massage and physical therapy. The set of exercises is selected individually, taking into account the degree of damage to the spine, the patient’s age and other characteristics.

Post-traumatic rehabilitation of the spine at the initial stage takes place in a hospital setting, after which the patient is discharged and recovers at home with the constant supervision of a family doctor.

Reason 3. Intervertebral hernia

Intervertebral hernia is the “squeezing out” of the nucleus pulposus by neighboring vertebrae. The nucleus pulposus is a kind of hinge that is located in the center between the vertebrae and ensures their mobility. Therefore we can bend in all directions. But this structure is semi-liquid, and with increased or sudden physical activity it can “crawl” beyond the intervertebral space, forming a hernia.

The pain is acute, pronounced, and sharply intensifies with exercise. May be accompanied by impaired sensitivity in the arms and legs, numbness and pain in the extremities, and radiate to the buttock.

An intervertebral hernia can be diagnosed by an orthopedist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, or vertebrologist.

Reason 5. Diseases of internal organs

In some cases, “bones and joints” specialists will not help, since they will not detect any abnormalities. But do not rush to complain about their incompetence, because the source of back pain can be internal organs.

First of all, these are gynecological (uterus, appendages) and andrological (prostate) diseases. Inflammatory processes in the pelvic organs and menstruation radiate to the lower back. The pain is nagging, aching, dull. For diagnosis, consult a gynecologist or andrologist, respectively.

Kidney diseases (pyelonephritis, renal colic) cause pain. It is quite strong, spreads throughout the lower back, and intensifies with light tapping in the lumbar region. If this applies to you, a nephrologist will help.

In general, almost all inflammatory diseases can cause back pain. With lung diseases, pain occurs between the shoulder blades; problems with the liver and stomach are reflected in the lower back at waist level.

The importance of differential diagnosis

Only qualified doctors can comprehensively examine the patient, collecting the necessary tests and using the latest research methods. This will help make an accurate diagnosis and exclude the presence of other diseases. This is especially important with complex symptoms, when there are a large number of signs that may relate to several diseases.

The Clinical Brain Institute provides treatment and diagnosis of various headaches. Modern equipment allows our specialists to carry out even very complex examinations. Our visitors always receive qualified assistance, a full examination and recommendations for the rehabilitation period.

Reason 6. Poor posture

These include scoliosis, stoop, and abnormal deflection in the lumbar region. Poor posture is often accompanied by a protruding abdomen, retracted buttocks, and problems with gait (heavy gait, limping). The basis of such external changes is the curvature of the spine, which disrupts blood circulation and leads to muscle overstrain in some areas of the back and weakening in others. Incorrect position of the vertebrae, their friction against each other, rotation around their own axis (with scoliosis) - all this causes severe back pain.

The pain can be either acute, if the vertebrae are damaged, or aching, dull, spreading throughout the back.

Back problems associated with incorrect posture will be treated by an orthopedist or vertebrologist.

When should you see a doctor?

Since a headache can be a symptom of many diseases, if it appears, especially suddenly, you should consult a doctor. In addition, a doctor's recommendations are necessary if the symptom is accompanied by so-called alarm signals, which may indicate the development of serious diseases. Among them are 15:

• recent head or neck injury;
• a new nature of the headache (pain that began to be accompanied by symptoms that were not there before);
• increasing headache day by day;
• sudden and very severe pain;
• rash;
• pain that occurs when coughing or straining;
• visual impairment.

If these symptoms appear, you should not delay visiting your doctor to find out their cause and begin proper treatment.

References

1. Headache: When to worry, what to do. Harvard Health Publishing. URL: https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/headache-when-to-worry-what-to-do (accessed 12/05/2019).
2. Internal illnesses. In 10 books. Book 1. Trans. from English/Ed. E. Braunwald, K. J. Isselbacher, R. G. Petersdorf and others - M.: Medicine. — 1993. —- 560 p.: ill.:
3. Nikitin S.S. et al. Late-onset Pompe disease: the first clinical description in Russia // Neuromuscular diseases. – 2014. – No. 1. P.62-66.
4. Barulin A.E., Kurushina O.V., Drushlyakova A.A. Cervicogenic headache and features of spinal biomechanics //RMZh, 2021. T. 24. No. 24. P. 1606-1612.
5. Dudin M. G., Pinchuk D. Yu. Idiopathic scoliosis / lecture, part I. “Paradoxes” // Orthopedics, traumatology and reconstructive surgery of children, 2014. Vol. 2. No. 1.
6. Diagnosis of scoliosis and ways to optimize it. Practical guide for doctors / D.V. Charnashtan et al. - Gomel, 2015.
7. Zeichner S. L., Read J. S. (4 May 2006). Handbook of Pediatric HIV Care. Cambridge University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9781139453042 – via Google Books.
8. Lomaga I. A., Malmberg S. A. Progressive scoliosis: neurological aspects // Bulletin of the Russian State Medical University, 2008. No. 6.
9. Mansur T.I. et al. Vertebrogenic headache in young people // Modern problems of science and education, 2013. No. 3. P. 118.
10. Tabeeva G.R. Cervicogenic headaches: clinical and therapeutic aspects //RMZh, 2012. T. 20. No. 29. P. 1478-1483.
11. Ankylosing spondylitis. MSD. Professional version. URL: https://www.msdmanuals.com/ru (accessed 12/04/2019).
12. Svyatskaya E.F. Lumbar osteochondrosis: diagnosis, treatment, medical rehabilitation // Problems of health and ecology, 2012. No. 1. P.85–92.
13. Rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical guidelines, 2021.
14. Levin A.V., Vikulov A.D. Etiology and classification of posture disorders // Yaroslavl Pedagogical Bulletin. – 2013. – T. 3. – No. 4.
15. Diagnosing headache // Australian Family Physician. 2005; 34(8).

GZEA.PD.18.09.0435w

Reason 7. Spinal tumors

These are cystic formations and cancerous tumors.

A cyst is a bubble with blood. It appears as a result of various types of hemorrhages in the spine. The cyst is characterized by constant severe pain, which can only be relieved with the help of painkillers. Numbness and tingling in the extremities can also be symptoms of a cyst.

Cancer can be primary or secondary. Primary is cancer that has formed in the spinal column, secondary is metastases, that is, secondary tumors that form in late stages in all organs. With malignant tumors, pain may be accompanied by muscle weakness and loss of sensitivity in certain areas.

Neoplasms in the spine are studied by a vertebrologist, oncologist, and neurosurgeon.

Other reasons

Bruises, pregnancy and childbirth, sedentary work, physical activity, and gardening activities also often cause back pain. If it does not go away or gets worse within 3-4 days after exercise, make an appointment with a specialist.

To determine the exact cause of back pain, often requires not only the experience of a specialist, but also precise diagnostic equipment. Doctors at Best Clinic work with equipment that allows you to see even minor changes in the structure of the spine. Computed tomography, MRI, radiography - you will find modern diagnostic methods and get help with us. Call us or leave a request on the website!

Therapy for headaches

You need to contact specialized diagnostic centers and clinics when headaches are very intense, frequent and cannot be relieved by taking painkillers. This may be preceded by a visit to a local physician or family doctor. After the patient has been thoroughly examined and the cause of cephalgia is clarified, the attending physician will schedule a consultation with a surgeon, neurologist, vertebrologist, traumatologist, rheumatologist or other specialized specialist.

After this, a decision is made regarding treatment, which is aimed at eliminating the root cause of the headache.

Drug therapy includes the use of:

• analgesics;
• local anesthesia (novocaine blockades to relieve severe pain);
• drugs to improve blood supply to the brain;
• muscle relaxants;
• antidepressants;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs);
• cardiovascular drugs;
• if necessary - B vitamins, calcium supplements, hormonal drugs.

Physiotherapy includes water and physiotherapy procedures, swimming, aqua-gymnastics and aqua-massage, regular massage of the cervical-collar area, and manual therapy. It is recommended to undergo a course of sanatorium treatment once a year with hydrogen sulfide and radon baths (only as prescribed by the attending physician!), mud applications and other therapeutic procedures.

Important! Treatment methods and medications can only be prescribed by a doctor after examination!