Shooting in the lower back: how to treat acute pain

Causes of lumbago in the lower back.
Acute lower back pain and severe motor restrictions are the leading symptoms of lumbago, or lumbago. It always occurs suddenly, literally paralyzing a person. Often it is impossible to eliminate such a condition without outside help. After rest and taking analgesics, the pain subsides, but the likelihood of its reoccurrence without proper long-term therapy is very high. How to treat a lumbago in the lower back is decided by the doctor, taking into account the form of the diagnosed pathology, the stage of its course, and the number of complications that have developed.

First aid

When a shooting occurs, such a sharp, piercing pain occurs that the person freezes for a long time in one, often bent, position. First of all, he needs help getting to bed. The patient should take a position in which the intensity of discomfort is reduced as much as possible. You need to lay him on his back with his legs bent at a right angle at the hip and knee, and his shin resting on a stool or chair. Sometimes you feel better by lying on your stomach with your legs straight. To eliminate pain, you need to take a tablet with an analgesic effect. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs quickly relieve pain:

Nurofen;
Ketorolac;
Celecoxib;
Diclofenac;
Ketoprofen.

If you don’t have NSAIDs in your home medicine cabinet, you can use regular Paracetamol. Neurologists also recommend taking a diuretic (Furosemide, Veroshpiron) or an antihistamine (Loratadine, Tavegil). These remedies quickly cope with inflammatory edema, which often provokes pinched nerve roots.

Causes of spinal diseases

In addition to genetic predisposition, many factors lead to spinal diseases. Pain in the lower back can be caused by:

jerk weight lifting;
Frequently carrying heavy objects in one hand or on one shoulder;
repeated microtraumas during hard work or sports;
hypothermia;
obesity (causes increased stress on the spinal column);
poor nutrition;
dehydration;
infectious diseases;
physical inactivity.

With weak motor activity, blood circulation is disrupted, muscles and ligaments weaken, tissue nutrition deteriorates, intervertebral discs gradually become thinner, and vertebrae become displaced. Important elements for the prevention of spinal pathologies are daily exercises and walks, which give the muscles the necessary load.

Pain due to arthrosis and osteochondrosis The most common reason that the lower back hurts after lifting weights is osteochondrosis. With this degenerative-dystrophic disease, cartilage becomes thinner, nerve roots and blood vessels suffer. Arthrosis gives a similar clinical picture, but with it the cartilage tissue is replaced by bone growths - osteophytes. Because of them, the spine becomes “ossified” and loses mobility. Without treatment, these pathologies lead to:

increasing pain;
decreased sensitivity of the limbs;
deterioration of mobility;
development of complications, including constipation, impotence, enuresis;
spinal cord injuries, paralysis.

Please note: diseases of the spine show almost no symptoms for a long time. At first, the lower back hurts after lifting heavy objects or walking for a long time. Then there is pain in the lower back when bending forward and turning. Gradually, the pain becomes constant and intensifies from almost any irritant. Lower back pain can occur even when just taking a deep breath. Also, arthrosis and osteochondrosis are characterized by the appearance of crunching and clicking sounds when moving and a gradual decrease in motor function.

Warming up the sore spot

If lumbago is not accompanied by inflammation, then the patient’s well-being is improved by warming up. Under the influence of heat, blood circulation accelerates in damaged tissues. The cells begin to receive the necessary nutrients and oxygen. And as a result of normalization of microcirculation, waste, toxins, and tissue breakdown products are evacuated. What is used for warming procedures:

warmer;
thick scarf;
a linen bag with hot flaxseeds or sea salt;
products for local application with red capsicum extract, bee or snake venom, gum turpentine;
bath with warm water.

Improved trophism has a beneficial effect on metabolic rate - restoration of damaged connective tissue structures occurs much faster.

Drug treatment

Treatment tactics depend on the pathology that provoked the lumbago. Most often, lower back pain is caused by muscle spasm, so taking medications that relax skeletal muscles is necessary. And sometimes inflammation of the spinal roots occurs, which requires other treatment methods. A particularly difficult situation occurs when there is a shooting caused by a prolapsed intervertebral disc.

NSAIDs

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are always the first choice drugs in the treatment of lumbago. First, drugs for intramuscular administration are used - Meloxicam, Ortofen, Diclofenac, Ketorolac.

Then the therapeutic result is secured by taking pills. Patients are prescribed NSAIDs with the active ingredients ketoprofen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, lornoxicam. Due to possible damage to the gastric mucosa, they are combined with proton pump inhibitors - Omeprazole, Esomeprazole, Pantoprazole.

Tranquilizers

Frequent lumbago causes not only physical, but also psychological discomfort. The clinical picture is replenished with depression, neuroses, increased nervous excitability, and psycho-emotional instability. The treatment regimens for such patients include sedatives - Novo-Passit, Tenoten, tinctures of valerian, motherwort, St. John's wort. If they are ineffective, a course of antidepressants, neuroleptics, and tranquilizers is prescribed: Adepress, Phenazepam, Phenibut, Grandaxin, Adaptol.

Sleeping pills

A sleep disorder usually has a psychological basis due to the person’s rejection of the health problems that have arisen and the constant expectation of a new attack of pain. Insomnia often develops against the background of neuroses and depression. So that the patient can fully rest at night and not feel lethargic and weak in the morning, a course of Persen, Glycine, Melaxen, Zolpidem, Donormil is recommended. If the patient has already been prescribed tranquilizers or sedatives, then no additional medications are required.

Muscle relaxants

In addition to painkillers, patients are prescribed muscle relaxants from the first days of treatment. At the initial stage, parenteral administration of Mydocalm is practiced. It contains not only tolperisone, which eliminates muscle spasms, but also the anesthetic lidocaine, which quickly copes with pain. Subsequently, Sirdalud, Baklosan, and Baclofen tablets are included in treatment regimens. They are not intended for long-term use due to severe side effects.

Chondroprotectors

The most common cause of lumbago is degenerative-dystrophic pathologies of the lumbar spine, usually osteochondrosis. It is accompanied by a gradual thinning and thickening of the cartilaginous intervertebral discs. Chondroprotectors are the only group of drugs that can partially restore cartilage tissue. Therefore, they are necessarily used to prevent lumbago. For 1-2 weeks, injection solutions of chondroprotectors are used - Dona, Chondroguard, Alflutop, Rumalon, Chondroitin-Akos. Then the patient is prescribed long-term (from 3 months to 2 years) use of Structum, Teraflex, Chondroxide, Artra tablets.

Application of ointments

Typically, external agents from two clinical and pharmacological groups are used in the treatment of lumbago. The first is NSAIDs, which have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-edematous effects. These are ointments and gels Indomethacin, Voltaren, Fastum, Artrosilene, Finalgel.

The second is a product for local application to the lower back with a warming, distracting and locally irritating effect. These include Capsicam, Nayatox, Viprosal, Finalgon, Apizartron.

Sometimes chondroprotectors are prescribed in the form of ointments, creams, and gels. But their cartilage tissue regenerating activity does not have a reliable evidence base.

Causes of lumbago

The pathophysiological process underlying lumbago is the infringement of part of the nucleus pulposus in the cracks of the fibrous ring of the intervertebral disc, especially in its outer parts, which are abundantly innervated by the sinuvertebral nerve. Lumbago is vertebrogenic in nature.

The importance of muscle pathology in the formation of dystrophic processes in the intervertebral disc has been convincingly proven. Therefore, it is more correct to talk not about the causes of lumbago only, but about the causes and mechanisms of development of spinal osteochondrosis in general. Lumbar lumbago (lumbago), in fact, is the first sign of damage to the lumbosacral spine. The pain of lumbago, although sharp, usually stops relatively quickly, within a few days.

Therapeutic exercise and gymnastics

Performing special gymnastic exercises often replaces a course of taking chondroprotectors and analgesics. Immediately after the lumbago is relieved, a physical therapy doctor is involved in treatment. He explains to the patient that moderate physical activity has a complex effect on the lumbar segments of the spine:

strengthen the muscle corset;
accelerate regeneration processes;
stabilize the vertebrae and discs, preventing their displacement.

The result of training is an increase in strength, firmness, and elasticity of ligaments, tendons, and muscle fibers.

Massage and manual therapy

Chiropractors use a variety of healing techniques. Improvement in the condition of the lumbar structures occurs due to the elimination of spasms of skeletal muscles and the restoration of the functionality of the muscular-articular apparatus. The chiropractor has a targeted effect on the vertebral bodies, increasing the distance between them, preventing displacement and protrusion. Such treatment methods are especially effective in combination with classical, acupuncture, and vacuum massage.

Treatment at the Energy of Health clinic

Treatment of lumbago requires a competent approach. If chosen correctly, it will quickly alleviate the patient’s condition, but an insufficiently thought-out approach can increase pain. Doctors at the Energy of Health clinic have the experience and equipment necessary for effective care and subsequent rehabilitation. We offer:

modern drug therapy regimens, including blockades;
physiotherapeutic procedures;
all types of therapeutic massage;
physical therapy classes in the clinic;
drawing up a complex for regular training at home;
services of an acupuncturist and chiropractor;
organization of sanatorium-resort treatment.

Physiotherapy

5-10 sessions of physiotherapeutic procedures can improve blood flow and lymph circulation. You can prevent the occurrence of lumbago with the help of laser therapy, magnetic therapy, acupuncture, amplipulse therapy, UHF therapy, and shock wave therapy. To speed up the recovery of tissues affected by pathology, patients are prescribed applications with paraffin and ozokerite, mud therapy, and hirudotherapy.

Laser therapy is part of the therapy for acute lower back pain.

Symptoms

The main symptom of lumbago is pain in the lumbar region. Its characteristic features include:

acute onset, usually associated with physical activity, uncomfortable posture, unsuccessful movement;
tearing, shooting character;
high intensity;
worsening with any movement, especially when trying to bend forward, as well as during coughing and sneezing.

The pain is accompanied by severe muscle spasms, affecting not only the muscles of the back, but also the thighs and buttocks. The patient is forced to freeze in one position, slightly bent at the waist. In some cases, the sciatic nerve becomes irritated, resulting in sciatica. Pain begins to spread to the buttocks and the back of the leg.

An attack of lumbago may go away on its own after a short rest. It is most comfortable for the patient to lie on his back with his legs raised and placed on a raised platform. In other cases, the pain persists for several days, coming and going.

Traditional therapy

Traditional medicine is not able to eliminate both the cause of the lumbago and the acute symptoms that accompany it. They are used during the recovery period after the main treatment.

Herbal compresses

You can get rid of weak, aching, pressing pain in the lower back during the remission stage with the help of compresses. Large fresh leaves of horseradish, burdock, cabbage are ground until drops of juice appear and generously smeared on one side with thick flower honey. Apply to the lower back, cover with plastic wrap, a scarf or thick cloth. The duration of the procedure is 2-3 hours.

Decoctions

Herbal infusions and decoctions are used for lumbago both for medicinal purposes and as a drink. St. John's wort, corn silk, marigold, thyme, lemon balm, and oregano are commonly used. A tablespoon of dry plant material is poured with 2 cups of boiling water, simmered over low heat for 5 minutes, and left for an hour. Cool, filter, drink 100 ml after meals 3-4 times a day. Decoctions have a mild diuretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic effect.

Herbal collection.

How not to make the situation worse

When providing first aid for lumbago, cold or heat is not used. Until the cause of acute pain is determined, you should not apply ice packs, a heating pad, or lubricate it with external warming agents to your lower back. Such procedures will cause the inflammatory process to spread to healthy vertebral structures.

And applying cold compresses to the lower back will lead to even greater muscle spasms and increased pain intensity.

Diagnostics

A neurologist diagnoses and treats lumbago. Working with a patient begins with a survey. The specialist listens to complaints, clarifies the duration and intensity of pain, the time and conditions of onset. Previous injuries and chronic diseases must be taken into account. A neurological examination allows you to identify areas of greatest pain and determine the degree of muscle tension. Special tests are carried out to clarify the nature of the lesion, the quality of reflexes and the sensitivity of the skin are assessed.

Examination for lumbago includes:

X-ray, computed tomography: allow you to identify injuries, cracks, congenital malformations, signs of osteoporosis and osteochondrosis;
MRI: provides the doctor with a larger volume of data compared to x-rays, since it allows you to clearly visualize not only bones, but also soft tissues;
scintigraphy: an isotope is introduced into the body, which accumulates in tissues and is clearly visible on x-rays; the examination allows us to identify abnormalities in the structure of the vertebrae and inflammatory processes in them;
electroneuromyography: assessment and registration of impulse transmission along nerve and muscle fibers; allows you to identify signs of compression of the spinal roots;
General blood and urine tests: make it possible to determine the presence of inflammation, as well as exclude renal pathology.

If necessary, additional examinations are prescribed to accurately identify the cause of pain and take the necessary measures.