Low back pain is an acute and chronic pain in the lumbosacral region, mostly caused by injury to local muscles, ligaments, joints, discs, bones, nerves, etc. It can also be accompanied or not accompanied by lower limb pain, and is a common and frequent disease at present. According to the relevant statistics, every year in the United States, the number of people who visit the doctor due to low back pain is second only to cold and flu, among which there are more women than men, and the ratio is roughly 5:3. There are no officially published statistics in China, but from the local scope survey of some medical institutions, the incidence of low back pain in China is not lower than the foreign statistical level, in which the incidence of low back pain disease in women is more prominent. Therefore, it can be said that the prevention and treatment of low back pain is a problem that needs urgent attention and solution in the pain department, and it is the urgent responsibility of every pain physician to let hundreds of millions of patients suffering from low back pain get rid of the pain as soon as possible, and it is also the requirement of building a harmonious society in China at present. The following knowledge about low back pain is introduced as follows.
I. What are the conditions of low back pain?
Clinically, low back pain is often divided into three types.
(i) Non-specific low back pain, where the specific pathological site causing the pain cannot be very certain. This type covers various diagnoses of acute and chronic lumbar pathologies such as familiar lumbar muscle strain, myofibrillar tissue inflammation, myofasciitis and ligamentitis.
(ii) It is atopic low back pain, caused by certain atopic diseases such as tumor, infection, fracture, etc.
(iii) It is neurogenic low back pain, which was also called sciatica in the past, mostly caused by herniated or bulging intervertebral discs. Due to the prolongation and recurrence of low back pain, it often leads to psychological and emotional disorders of patients, making the symptoms more obvious and even entering into a vicious circle.
Both clinically and in life, when you are facing or experiencing low back pain, you need to first rule out the possibility of idiopathic low back pain and be extra vigilant when the following signs occur.
(1) The age of onset of the first occurrence of low back pain is less than 25 years or more than 55 years.
(2) A history of significant trauma, or a history of minor trauma in patients with osteoporosis.
(3) Pain that is worse at night and lighter on day, or associated with weight loss and wasting.
(4) Numbness in the saddle area (sacrococcygeal region) or abnormal diaphoresis.
(5) Progressive muscle weakness.
(6) Multiple positive neurological signs on physical examination.
(7) Progressive development of pain or persistence for more than 4 to 6 weeks.
The above-mentioned manifestations are likely to be associated with some specific disease, so it is important not to be paralyzed.
Some studies have shown that the delay or recurrence of symptoms is related to the long time fixed posture of the back, and most people lack awareness of this. The most common example is long-term bending and ambulation or prolonged bending, difficulty in straightening the back and lumbosacral pain.
Second, how to prevent and treat low back pain?
The prevention and treatment of low back pain is summarized in the phrase “timely treatment, prevention is more important”. Although the incidence of low back pain is high, few people can seek timely medical treatment. Most people take oral medication, apply ointment to the painful area, apply local heat or rest to relieve the symptoms. If it is non-specific low back pain, it is not bad to do so, but if it is specific or neurogenic low back pain and the above mentioned simple treatment is not only difficult to get the effect but also easy to delay the disease. Therefore, we advocate patients to seek medical treatment in time.
(A) Daily treatment of low back pain
1.Wake up in the morning and move your back first. After waking up every morning, you should move your waist first, swinging or shaking for 2-3 minutes each time to receive good results. Usually do more contraction of the abdominal muscles, stretching lumbar muscle exercises, as well as walking, backward walking and cycling, etc., can prevent and reduce low back pain.
2, take time to do hand and foot exercises. Methods are.
A, standing, two toes into the outer eight, slightly wider than shoulder width; adjust breathing, both hands up, palms up, to the top of the head after crossed fingers.
B. After the crossed fingers, both arms straighten as far up as possible, while from the toes to the whole body as straight as possible, maintain about 1 minute. After recovery, and then start stretching, and so on repeatedly, more and more, can prevent and cure.
3, learn to relax and reduce tension. Tension can make the blood hormone increase prompted by the swelling of the lumbar disc and lead to back pain, so reasonable arrangements for work and rest, to maintain a happy state of mind to prevent back pain is very helpful.
4. Maintain correct posture. Whatever you do should not be contrary to the physiological function. Such as dressing loosely, sleeping and standing correctly, tables, chairs and pillows should be appropriate height, lifting things should be measured, even holding children should also maintain the correct posture; squatting with a straight chest, standing up with the strength of the legs rather than the strength of the waist. Sedentary people sit so that the back against the back of the chair, in order to relax the lumbar muscles and rest, and sometimes stretch backwards is a good way to prevent back pain.
5, sleeping on a hard bed has a wonderful effect. If you are back pain, may be from Simmons and other comfortable soft bed down, the blanket laid on the floor to sleep for a few weeks, will make back pain reduced a lot; of course, if you can sleep on a hard bed is better.
6, improve diet life, avoid obesity. If the body type has been fat to implement scientific weight loss. Because obesity will bring too much load to the spine, at the same time, because the abdominal muscle is loose and can not play the role of support for the spine, will force the spine to deformation.
(2) It is better to go to the specialist treatment of pain department
We must correctly understand that chronic pain is also a disease, and seek timely treatment from a pain doctor when pain occurs. We should learn to say “no” to pain, and not blindly tolerate pain, so as not to miss the best time for treatment and artificially increase unnecessary pain and additional economic expenses.
Establish the concept of prevention-oriented and early treatment. The majority of low back pain can be prevented and treated at an early stage. In addition to actively avoiding the causes of low back pain, you should actively assist the pain physician to analyze and find out the causes of your low back pain and take active preventive measures as early as possible to relieve or control the development of the disease. At present, low back pain is mostly treated conservatively. There are many methods, such as: traction, acupuncture, massage, nerve block, physical therapy, sports therapy, medication, etc. ……. Because conservative treatment is accepted and recognized by the majority of patients, it is also more common in China, and most patients will have certain efficacy after conservative treatment, which is a common means of chronic low back pain treatment at present.
In addition, timely treatment is necessary, but prevention is even more important, because changes in work and lifestyle have reduced outdoor activities and reduced the protective function of the low back muscles on the spine, so that various types of injuries are easily triggered during activities. To reduce recurrence, the best way is to strengthen the low back muscle exercise. Such as supine with the shoulders and feet for support, lift the hips off the bed and hold for a few seconds, with this exercise back muscles; and then the hips for support, the head and feet upward, with this to exercise the abdominal muscles, the two movements alternate daily practice, dozens of times each time, adhere to a few months will benefit.