Contents
Acute back pain
An acute attack of back pain lasting up to about 6 weeks is considered.
Pelvic distortion (improper position of the pelvic bones)
Often, the incorrect position of the pelvic bones is caused by different leg lengths, which can be the result of congenital pathology, injury or degenerative joint diseases.
Pelvic distortion does not always lead to serious complications and therefore does not always require treatment or the use of arch supports and leveling heels.
But if, due to incorrect position of the pelvis, the spine is strongly curved in one direction, this can lead to scoliosis. Conversely, scoliosis can cause pelvic distortion.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic involves using only the hands to treat conditions. Chiropractic refers to alternative medicine methods.
Chiropractic should not be confused with manual therapy, which uses only generally accepted chiropractic techniques, or with osteopathy, which also uses only the hands, but the technique is considered softer and has a completely different basis.
Chronic back pain
Back pain that lasts more than 12 weeks.
Lumbago
A term used to describe a sharp, sudden pain in the lumbar spine that occurs when lifting something heavy, bending or turning the body, and can lead to limited mobility.
Backache is not a disease, but is a symptom. The cause of lumbago is usually harmless. For example, lumbago can be caused by muscle spasm or blockade of the facet joint.
Sciatica
Designation of pain in the lower back, which radiates to the buttocks, the back of the thigh and can even reach the feet.
Typically, pain is concentrated in the lumbosacral spine and may be due to wear and tear of the vertebrae or a herniated disc that affects the nerve roots, thereby causing pain.
The word “sciatica” comes from the Greek “ischion” – hip joint, meaning pain in the hip joint.
Pain in the sacrum
Very often the term is used to describe the same pain in the lower back, namely in the sacrum. The exact localization of such pain is difficult; patients usually describe it as “below the costal arch, but above the gluteal fold.”
muscle spasm
Muscle spasm is the most common cause of back pain. However, the cause of muscle spasm is often unclear.
As a rule, this may be wear and tear on the vertebra, stress, or a consequence of uneven load on the muscles. As a result, nerve impulses send signals of pain to the muscles that bear the load.
Muscle spasm leads to impaired blood circulation in muscle tissues, where insufficient oxygen reaches them and they react with tightness and painful spasms.
Nerve roots
Nerves in the area of the spinal canal that are adjacent to the spinal cord. From each segment of the spinal cord, two spinal nerve roots emerge through the intervertebral foramina on the left and right, the branches of which are distributed throughout the body.
Uncharacteristic back pain
Back pain, the cause of which cannot be determined. According to statistics, such pain occurs much more often than specific back pain.
Spinal cord
Not to be confused with the bone marrow, which is responsible for hematopoiesis: the spinal cord is connected through a thick bundle of nerve cells to the brain, passes through the spinal canal and ends at the level of the upper lumbar vertebra with numerous trunks of spinal nerves, which are called the “cauda equina.”
The main task of the spinal cord is to transmit sensory and motor signals to the brain and vice versa. Below the spinal cord are the roots of the spinal nerves, which exit in the lumbosacral spine and in the sacrum.
Specific back pain
Back pain caused by specific diseases, such as rheumatic diseases, hernias or neoplasms. This kind of back pain is quite rare.
Subacute back pain
Back pain that lasts more than 6 weeks but is still not chronic (from 12 weeks).
Remember, when you experience a pain attack for the first time, you need to make an appointment with a neurologist or vertebrologist.
After relieving acute pain and eliminating the cause that provoked the pain, a neurologist can recommend you the most effective method of combating diseases of the spine and back muscles – physiotherapeutic rehabilitation treatment, kinesitherapy or massage.
In some cases, if the physiological support and distribution of the load on the spine is disrupted, it may be necessary to manufacture individual therapeutic foot orthoses.