Does your lower back hurt after carrying heavy weights? What to do?

Author of the article: Anastasia Yurchenko - medical copywriter Verified by: Eduard Svitich - orthopedic traumatologist

High physical activity and carrying heavy loads are always a test for the human musculoskeletal system. After such work, pain in the back and lower back often occurs. These symptoms may last for several days or even weeks. You shouldn’t let your health take its course and hope that it will “go away on its own.” In such situations, it is necessary to provide support to the lower back, relieve pain and speed up the recovery process, since in the future acute pain may become chronic and it will become much more difficult to deal with it.

Why does my lower back hurt after lifting weights?

Overstrain of muscle structures, which occurs when lifting and carrying heavy objects, provokes the formation of a pain symptom. However, this is not the only reason that can cause pain. Also, discomfort in the spine can be caused by diseases of the joints, ligaments and tendons. There are a number of factors that can cause lower back pain. These include:

• Trauma (heavy lifting can cause exacerbation of previous injuries);
• Old age (weakening muscles and bones);
• Insufficiently active lifestyle (lack of sports and physical unpreparedness provokes sore throat) and, as a result, pain);
• Excess weight (creates additional stress on the musculoskeletal system);
• Large loads on the spine;
• Chronic ailments of the musculoskeletal system;
• Infectious diseases.

Lower back pain is serious!

Is lower back pain as harmless as it seems at first glance? In fact, a pain symptom can be caused not only by external physical influence, but also by diseases of the internal organs. If you feel discomfort in your back, we recommend that you contact an orthopedist so that the doctor can diagnose, identify the cause of the pain and prescribe appropriate treatment for you.

The cause of lower back pain that patients come to us for is often sciatica. This is a disease in which the nerve roots of the lumbar spine are pinched. In such cases, we conduct a thorough diagnosis and prescribe a lower back bandage to the patient. This is necessary to provide support to the spinal column and relieve pain. – Alexey Olegovich Onufrienko, practicing orthopedic doctor

Treatment of the spine at the MART medical center.

At your disposal everything you need to diagnose and treat diseases of the spine and nervous system:

• Magnetic resonance imaging for conducting high-precision studies without harm to the patient’s body.
• Modern equipment for functional and ultrasound diagnostics.
• Fully equipped physical therapy room. Classes are held under the supervision of a physician-instructor, individually for each patient. There are systems for medical rehabilitation and development of the musculoskeletal system and musculoskeletal system. Exercises will allow the patient not only to get rid of pain and become more resilient, but also to avoid new injuries.
• Manual therapy, massage and osteopathy room. The sessions will strengthen the patient’s joints, improve the condition of the spine, and relieve pain and other unpleasant sensations.
• Physiotherapeutic treatment room. To reduce pain and speed up recovery, the combined effects of natural and artificially created factors are used, such as laser, therapeutic mud, ultrasound, magnet, low-frequency pulsed current, etc.
• Room for procedures and reflexology treatment. Acupuncture, warming and acupressure procedures will quickly relieve pain, normalize blood circulation, metabolism, and improve overall well-being.

We also use medical bees and leeches to treat diseases of the circulatory and nervous systems, muscular system, spine and joints. The main emphasis is on non-surgical treatment, without using medications or keeping side effects to a minimum.

Sign up at the MART medical center in St. Petersburg (see map) by phone, or leave a request on the website.

What to do if you have lower back pain after lifting weights?

If your lower back hurts after carrying heavy weights, the first thing you need to do is completely limit your body from physical activity. If you continue to experience physical stress, the situation may seriously worsen. To fix the spinal column and relieve the load on it, you need to buy a belt for the lower back. The back brace reliably stabilizes the spine and prevents it from overstraining. This allows the muscles to recover, so the pain syndrome usually goes away as soon as possible.

What other methods of treating low back pain are there?

1. Medication course;
2. Physiotherapy;
3. Acupuncture;
4. Manual massage;
5. Ethnoscience.

For severe pain, doctors may prescribe anesthetic drugs. If the cause of lower back pain is inflammatory in nature, anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed, as well as local ointments, creams and balms. Remember that only a doctor prescribes drug therapy after an individual diagnosis of your disease.

Physiotherapeutic methods include various procedures that use laser, magnets, current or ultrasound. This is a wave effect on external and internal tissue structures, which promotes the rapid regeneration of damaged structures of the musculoskeletal system.

Acupuncture effects on nerve endings using needles is an ancient oriental technique that has not lost its relevance to this day.

Manual massage is a good method to relieve muscle tension and restore strength. During massage, blood circulation is activated and tissues are saturated with oxygen. Just a few massage sessions will quickly bring you back to tone. Massage is also useful as a preventive measure.

Traditional medicine is not the most reliable method, but many people trust it. Any traditional medicine recipes should be discussed with your doctor, as self-medication can harm your health.

Back pain. Questions and answers

What are the most common causes of back pain?

In most cases, the cause of back pain is microtrauma resulting from heavy lifting or loss of balance. Direct trauma rarely causes back pain. Sometimes back pain is caused by acute or chronic diseases of the internal organs.

Why does my back hurt?

The vertical position of our spine leads to the fact that it constantly experiences axial loads and is susceptible to minor injuries and irritation of pain-sensitive structures. The latter include: vertebral bodies, articular surfaces, muscles and ligaments. They are well innervated and highly sensitive to pain. Therefore, any injury, muscle spasm, or inflammation can cause severe pain in various parts of the spinal column.

Features of back pain?

The nature of the pain directly depends on the damaged structures. The pain that occurs in the vertebral bodies is localized and dull in nature. This is pain that may be worse when standing or sitting, but better when lying down. Despite their localization, such pain can radiate (spread beyond the source). For example, when the lumbar vertebral body is affected, the pain spreads to the iliac crests and hips. When the intervertebral joints are damaged, the range of motion in the spine is limited, and the pain intensifies in a horizontal position.

How do intervertebral discs cause back pain?

The intervertebral disc consists of a dense fibrous ring, inside of which the nucleus pulposus is located. The annulus fibrosus contains receptors, while the nucleus pulposus does not. With a strong axial load on the nucleus pulposus, it bulges. Stretching of the annulus fibrosus is painful and leads to local pain in the lower back. If the ring breaks through, the inner part of the disc can fall into the lumen of the canal and compress the nerve. Pressure on the nerve root is perceived as radicular pain (“sciatica”). It is characteristic that when the fibrous ring ruptures, severe pain in the lower back subsides and is replaced by radicular pain.

What is the prognosis for acute low back pain?

Almost every person has experienced acute pain in the lumbar spine at least once in their life. In approximately 80% of cases, pain resolves without special treatment in less than 2 weeks.

Does x-ray help determine the cause of acute low back pain?

In most cases, with acute low back pain, there is no need to perform x-rays, CT and MRI of the spine. Conventional radiographic signs of osteochondrosis occur with equal frequency both in the absence of pain and in acute back pain. More than half of the adult population is diagnosed with asymptomatic protrusion (prolapse) of intervertebral discs at one or more levels of the spinal column, and 25% have disc protrusion.

The patient complains of pain in the lower back when bending to the side. What does this indicate?

The spine has several natural curves. Normally, a person has noticeable cervical and lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis. With lower back pain with muscle spasm, lumbar lordosis can be smoothed out or, on the contrary, excessively expressed. If tilting the body to the right or left causes pain, this indicates spasm or compression of the spinal roots in the intervertebral foramina. When bending to the side, the intervertebral foramina narrow, compression of the nerve root occurs, and the pain intensifies.

What is the normal range of motion of the spine?

Maximum flexion in the lumbar spine is 40-60° from the vertical, extension - 20-35°. Severe pain upon extension may indicate degenerative joint disease in the spine.

What are the typical signs of a herniated disc?

Severe back pain that occurs after lifting heavy objects or several days later, followed by radiation to the leg. This sequence is due to the mechanism of formation of intervertebral disc herniation. When overloaded, the nucleus pulposus presses and stretches the annulus fibrosus, resulting in localized back pain. After the fibrous ring breaks through, the pain in the back subsides, and then the formed hernia compresses the nerve root, causing shooting pain in the leg.

Why does osteoporosis cause pain?

Usually, in the absence of fractures, osteoporosis does not cause pain. Microfractures can form in vertebrae bearing large axial loads. The resulting pain reduces the patient’s motor activity, and this in turn leads to further demineralization of the bones and deterioration of the condition. In such cases, dosed physical activity helps increase bone density and reduce the incidence of fractures.

How is pain caused by spinal osteoporosis treated?

First of all, it is necessary to establish an accurate diagnosis and make sure that the pain is due to osteoporosis. To do this, X-ray densitometry is performed to determine the level of phosphorus and calcium. And only after this, drugs are prescribed that strengthen and restore bone tissue, and exercise therapy complexes are carried out.

What is sciatica?

The diagnosis of sciatica is widespread and usually refers to any sharp pain that spreads down the buttock and back of the leg. Initially, this term meant pain along the sciatic nerve. Then, they began to use it both to indicate damage to the sciatic nerve and damage to the roots of the lumbar spine (L5, S1).

What is piriformis syndrome?

At the exit from the pelvis, the sciatic nerve passes through the thickness of the piriformis muscle. And if the piriformis muscle is in a state of spasm, compression of the nerve plexus occurs. Pain occurs along the sciatic nerve (from the buttocks to the back of the thigh). With deep palpation of the piriformis muscle, the pain intensifies and the clinical syndrome resumes. Treatment consists of prescribing manual therapy sessions. In exceptional cases, a block of the piriformis muscle is performed.

What are the main areas of pain distribution in lumbar and sacral radiculopathies?

L1 Iliac crest and inguinal canal L2 Inguinal canal L3 Anterior thigh L4 Anterior thigh and medial shin L5 Buttocks and lateral shin S1 Buttocks and posterior shin

How reliable is MRI in diagnosing herniated discs?

MRI is a highly accurate method for detecting intervertebral disc pathology. MRI can detect even minor disc bulges. The mere fact of prolapse, protrusion or herniation of an intervertebral disc does not mean that this is the cause of the pain syndrome. Approximately 50% of those examined were found to have bulging discs without pain. MRI, unlike CT, allows you to visualize the roots of the spinal nerves.

What role does traction play in lower back pain?

Theoretically, traction reduces the pressure inside the disc. Simply lying on your back also reduces this pressure, and there is no evidence that traction significantly improves treatment outcomes for low back pain. As practice shows, traction methods of treatment are not only ineffective, but also intensify and accelerate the processes of degeneration. We draw your attention to the fact that the use of the traction method in the treatment of spinal osteochondrosis is still a controversial issue in scientific circles, which has many very significant complaints.

What is meant by degenerative spine disease?

The term "degenerative disease" is overused. After 40 years, degenerative changes develop in most joints (osteophytes appear, a sign of osteochondrosis). These changes are especially characteristic of the spine, although they may not be associated with pain.

What is spondylolisthesis?

Spondylolisthesis is a displacement of the overlying vertebra forward relative to the underlying one (most often the level of damage is L5-S1). Spondylolisthesis in most cases is caused by damage to the posterior elements of the vertebrae due to age-related changes or trauma. With spondylolisthesis, pain increases noticeably with movement. For diagnosis, an x-ray is taken in flexion and extension positions. These studies allow us to identify excessive mobility in the spinal segment.

Spinal stenosis – what is it?

Spinal stenosis is a pathological process that results in narrowing of the spinal canal by cartilage and bone structures. Most often, this process affects the lumbar and cervical spine. Such changes lead to compression of the spinal cord and nerve endings.

Lumbar bandage against back pain

Bandage and corset products are always relevant in cases where discomfort occurs in the spine. Unpleasant sensations can manifest themselves at any time: when playing sports, lifting weights, simply when staying in a stationary position for many hours (for example, in an office), among drivers, pregnant women, elderly people, and so on on the list. Lower back pain is the most common complaint with which patients consult doctors. In this case, experts recommend immediately buying a lower back bandage. For what?

1. Spinal stabilization;
2. Compression effect on tissue;
3. Relieving tension from the lower back;
4. Even distribution of the load on the back;
5. Prevention of complications and exacerbations of chronic diseases.