Low back pain is a symptom, not an independent disease. There are many causes of low back pain, and the majority of them are known, but there are still a few causes that have not yet been clarified.
The common causes can be summarized into four main categories.
① Caused by disorders of the spinal bones and joints and their surrounding soft tissues. Such as contusions, sprains caused by local injury, bleeding, edema, adhesions and muscle spasm.
② caused by spinal cord and spinal nerve disorders. Such as back pain caused by spinal cord tumor, myelitis, etc.
(3) Caused by internal organ disorders. Such as infection and tumor of the uterus and its adnexa can cause lumbosacral pain, and such patients are often accompanied by corresponding gynecological symptoms.
④ Caused by mental factors. If a patient with hysteria may also complain of lumbar disease, but there are no objective signs, or the objective examination and subjective narrative cannot be explained by knowledge of physiological anatomy and pathology, this kind of lumbar pain is often a manifestation of hysteria. It is caused by soft tissue lesion of the lumbar region, caused by intervertebral disc lesion, inflammation of the lumbar joints, caused by the lumbar vertebrae themselves, and caused by lesions of internal organs, etc.
Low back pain is a symptom of pain on one or both sides of the back even the spine, which occurs in both men and women, mostly in women. According to statistics, patients with mainly low back pain in gynecology clinics account for about 10% of the number of visits.
The common causes for women are mainly the following.
I. Lumbar muscle strain
Women who are engaged in long-term standing operations such as textile, printing and dyeing, hairdressing, sales, etc., due to continuous standing, the lumbar tendons and ligaments are weakened and excessive lactic acid can accumulate locally, inhibiting the normal metabolism of the lumbar muscles, which can also lead to lumbar muscle strain and cause lumbago. Often carrying heavy objects, the lumbar region is overburdened and prone to spinal scoliosis, resulting in lumbar muscle strain and lumbago.
Second, urinary tract infection
Because the urethra of women is short and straight, and the external opening of the urethra is close to the anus, there are often E. coli bacteria parasites, coupled with the physiological characteristics of women, there are more chances of contamination of the urethral opening, and if hygiene is neglected, urinary tract infections are likely to occur. Low back pain is mostly caused by acute and chronic pyelonephritis, manifesting as lumbar swelling and pain, and in severe cases, radiating along the ureter to the perineum. In addition to urinary tract infections, urinary stones, tuberculosis and other disorders can also cause lumbago.
Reproductive organ diseases
Women’s reproductive organs have to undergo menstruation about four hundred times in their lifetime, and are also responsible for pregnancy and childbirth; some women also undergo abortion and birth control surgery. Therefore, the incidence of inflammatory diseases of reproductive organs is high, such as tubal inflammation and pelvic inflammatory disease. These inflammatory diseases can easily complicate low back pain, the uterus is tilted back, posterior flexion, is also one of the causes of low back pain in women, uterine fibroids, cervical cancer, ovarian cysts and other serious reproductive organ disorders, can cause compressive implication low back pain.
Four, cold, trauma rheumatism
Women with rheumatoid arthritis are often attacked by wind, dampness and cold during menstruation, childbirth and postpartum, resulting in long bone spurs in the spine and triggering lumbago. If the lumbar region has been sprained, it may develop into a prolapsed intervertebral disc, resulting in heavier back pain and even affecting the flexion, extension and rotation of the spine.
V. Strain during pregnancy and puerperium
During pregnancy, as the fetus grows, the lumbosacral and pelvic joint ligaments of pregnant women relax, while the weight of the uterus increases with the growth of fetal age, resulting in the forward shift of the body’s center of gravity. In order to maintain body balance, the waist is more forward, if not pay attention to rest, it is easy to cause back pain. During pregnancy, the fetus needs sufficient calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients for development, if the dietary intake is insufficient, it can cause bone softening and decalcification of pregnant women, which can also cause back pain. Excessive bleeding during the puerperium, or premature labor, excessive fatigue and cold can also cause low back pain.
Sixth, lumbar spine lesions
Mostly seen in older women, as they age, the symptoms of lumbar spine nerve compression will also increase. Pseudospinal column slippage due to degenerative lesions is a more common lesion that can easily cause lumbar spinal stenosis and compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, resulting in lumbar pain and lower extremity radiating pain, often due to collapsed vertebral fractures caused by osteoporosis. Bone formation in the elderly can cause stiffness of the spine, which can also lead to persistent low back pain.
In addition, menopausal women may also suffer from low back pain due to plant nerve dysfunction, which is characterized by morning lifting and reduced after activity. There are also factors such as menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea or emotional crises, which also predispose to low back pain.