Pain in the lumbar region in men after the age of 35 is considered quite common. In such a situation, many patients lubricate the inflamed area with various ointments, give injections and live on, slowly coming to terms with everyday suffering.
However, back pain occurs for a variety of reasons. Injections or ointments alone will not get rid of lower back pain.
In such a situation, the patient is diagnosed by a general practitioner, who determines the causes of lower back problems and prescribes specific treatment.
Causes of pain
Why do lower backs hurt in men? Lower back pain in men occurs for the following reasons:
- with the formation of a hernia on the spine;
- due to the appearance of sciatica;
- with osteoporosis;
- due to osteochondrosis;
- due to constriction of the spinal nerves;
- due to the formation of tumors in the back. This cause of the disease is often the result of various problems in the lumbar back.
Pain also occurs during stressful situations.
Spinal hernia
Men often ignore back pain in the lumbar region. However, such diseases often lead to back hernias.
In such a situation, when the lumbar disc is destroyed, a hernia in the back appears, which sometimes leads to immobilization of the person and disability.
With the formation of an intervertebral hernia, a person feels strong discomfort in the lumbar region of the back (right or left), which is a consequence of damage to various parts of the spinal cord.
sciatica
What causes lower back pain in men? For example, from such a disease as sciatica. This disease is considered a complex of symptoms of pain that occur when pinching or squeezing the roots in the spinal cord.
Such a disease does not appear as an independent disease, but as a pathological process that is secondary.
Such sciatica appears after the development of osteochondrosis - the destruction of intervertebral discs.
The patient has another attack of sciatica in such situations:
- with physical stress;
- due to hypothermia;
- for colds, flu;
- due to general intoxication of the body;
- due to circulatory disorders;
- with sudden or random lumbar movements.
As a result, the man has the following symptoms of lumbar sacral sciatica:
- pain of varying intensity, aggravated by a sudden movement of the back, with a fall. Also, the pain syndrome increases when lifting heavy objects and other physical exercises on the lumbar region of the back;
- back pain in the lumbar region when sneezing, coughing or tensing the abdominal muscles;
- movements are inhibited when the body moves sideways, forward, backward;
- the patient cannot stand on his toes or bend them.
Osteoporosis
If a man bends down and feels pain in his back and lower back, then he most likely has osteoporosis. This disease is caused by a lack of calcium in the tissues.
As a result, osteoporosis occurs for the following reasons:
- with a lack of male sex hormones - testosterone;
- due to lack of calcium and vitamin D;
- with a sedentary inactive lifestyle;
- due to taking certain medications;
- with complications of various diseases;
- due to bad habits.
Initially, with osteoporosis, a person suffers from painful lumbar pain. Such attacks are diagnosed by the constant nature of the pain or occur with sharp movement, sneezing, coughing, or laughing.
Osteoporosis is harmful to a person because it destroys the vertebrae from the inside. Therefore, men with such a disease feel uncomfortable discomfort when leaning left and right.
Also, lower back pain in men occurs when walking. Thus, the back becomes fragile, and spinal fractures occur under heavy loads.
Osteochondrosis
What other causes of back pain in men are there? Pain that appears below the waist may be due to the development of osteochondrosis of the spine. With such a disease, the bony and cartilaginous vertebrae grow in a person, which tightens the spinal nerves and creates pain.
Osteochondrosis often occurs in athletes with increased physical activity.
With such a disease, a man has a feeling of "stiffness" in the lumbar region and the person cannot fully straighten his back.So the back starts to ache with a sudden movement or if the person bends low.
Doctors like orthopedists or surgeons know how to cure osteochondrosis. In treating such a disease, doctors slow down the rapid growth of cartilage tissue. Thus, the doctor introduces cell division inhibitors into the patient's body, stretches the vertebrae and prescribes him to wear a corset.
In some situations, the surgeon performs back surgery. It then releases the pinched nerve.
stretching
In a man's back injury, the back muscles stretch. A person gets sick from muscle strain if he lifts weights or exerts himself too much, at home or during sports activities.
To eliminate inflammation when stretching the back, it is necessary to put a cold compress on the sore spot with any product from the freezer. Moreover, a layer of fabric needs to be placed under the lining. Hold it for about 30 minutes.
Then the stretching of the muscles is removed by the ambulance doctors. They assess the patient's condition and prescribe a back diagnosis, while preventing the occurrence of more serious injuries.
Stretching on the back and lower back is treated for several weeks. In such a situation, the patient must be at rest, otherwise the treatment of the lower back will be ineffective and the pain will become chronic.
pinched nerve
More often it is a short man who suffers from problems in the lower back, which occur when the spinal nerves are tightened. This happens with sudden movements and exercises with weights, as well as when lifting heavy objects in everyday life.
To avoid pinching the nerves, the patient must perform all physical exercises with a certain technique - especially keep your back straight.
With nervous pinching of the lower back, the legs experience uncomfortable discomfort.In such a situation, the patient should lie on a warm bed.The patient should lie in a comfortable position - one in which the lumbar muscles are completely relaxed.
Also, in such a disease, a wrapped blanket is placed under the patient's knee to relax the lower back. Then the lower back is wrapped in a thick cloth - a woolen warming belt is placed on it.
If the nerve is pinched due to frost or wind, the above steps must be repeated. You can also use various warming gels in a similar situation. If after 2 days the person does not feel better, he should seek medical help from a neurologist.
Lower back pain as a symptom of a tumor
When pain in the lower back in men is not relieved by any medication, a malignant tumor in the internal organs often occurs. When such a tumor appears on the lumbar spine, severe pain occurs. This occurs when nerves are constricted after metastasis has formed.
Oncology is considered a serious disease, regardless of location. Almost every cancer affects any segment of the vertebrae with metastases.
It should be noted that some tumors cause neurological symptoms that make it difficult for the physician to identify the primary cause.This refers to tumors that form in the spinal cord.
Tumors such as spinal carcinomas develop rapidly, progress and destroy neighboring organs. Cancer cells reach the spine quickly, so you can't manage your health. Even the initial stage of osteochondrosis leads to serious consequences without good treatment.
Stress
Men's lives are often filled with the pursuit of success, various victories and defeats. Thus, pain in the lumbar region in men often occurs due to severe fatigue or nervous tension.
A person under stress often crouches down.This increases the load on the lower back.
Therefore, such a patient needs a rest, a visit to a new place or a change of type of work. However, the correct diagnosis is made only by a neurologist, who sees exactly which diseases of the spine a person has.
Symptoms
A person often has pain in the lower back precisely because of the enormous stress. Constant pain is formed not only in the lumbar spine, but can also radiate to the groin, lower abdomen, passing to the male genitalia and legs.
Pain in the lower back occurs in men due to such symptoms: painful urination and impotence.
When men have lower back pain, they experience various side effects. Therefore, each doctor makes a differentiated diagnosis for each patient.
Thus, the therapist excludes possible diseases of internal organs and focuses on lumbar pathology.
Diagnosis
When they see a doctor, many men complain of lower back pain, but do not understand what is wrong. Then, with the help of pain (its type), the therapist determines the cause of the lumbar disease and prescribes specific treatment to the patient.
When diagnosing unhealthy back pain below the waist in men, the patient undergoes the following activities:
- computed tomography;
- radiography (X-ray examination);
- resonant magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
- myelography.
Treatment
After making the correct diagnosis, the therapist prescribes a specific treatment to the patient: conservative or surgical.
In the conservative treatment of low back pain in men, the doctor prescribes the patient the use of various drugs and ointments, undergoing exercise therapy, etc. Thus, the patient performs the following actions:
- uses NSAIDs (injections, tablets, ointments);
- uses steroid medications (injections, tablets);
- uses joints to restore joints (injections, tablets, ointments);
- uses drugs that improve phosphorus and potassium metabolism (injections, tablets);
- uses strengthening preparations, vitamin complexes;
- adjusts your weight and also changes your diet;
- undergoing necessary physical therapy;
- goes for a massage;
- she practiced physical therapy.
In addition to a conservative approach, alternative treatment methods are often used: acupuncture, kinesiology, and manual therapy.
Treatment
How can a man treat his back in the lumbar region? When treating lower back pain, a man lubricates the inflamed area with various ointments.They are very effective in treating diseases at home.
The ointment relieves pain in the lower back, muscle tension or warms the sore spot.
As a result, if the lower back hurts, the man applies the following ointments to the skin:
- analgesics that give anti-inflammatory effect (menthol, lavender);
- anesthetic ointments;
- various combination preparations used for sprains and injuries;
- various chondroprotectors that quickly restore articular cartilage.
Also, the patient takes such tablets:
- anti-inflammatory;
- muscle relaxants;
- various corticosteroids;
- antidepressants (for example, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (prescribed only by a doctor);
- with chronic lower back pain, the patient drinks tricyclic antidepressants;
- makes injections of B vitamins;
- the doctor injects the patient with a drug consisting of several vitamins.
exercise therapy
What to do if a man has lower back pain? Therapeutic gymnastics is considered a good prevention and treatment of spinal diseases.During exercise therapy, the patient strengthens the muscular corset of the back and corrects posture.
In lower back disease, the patient performs the following exercises:
- lying on your back, alternately lifting the lower limbs by 15 cm and keeping the legs on the weight for some time;
- he lies on his shoulders, bends his legs at a right angle and rises to a great height. After performing such an exercise, the man moves his bent legs left and right and touches them with the floor;
- slowly and smoothly tilts the body in certain directions. During such an exercise, the man does not bend his back at chest height, making them even;
- he gets on all fours and then immediately moves his right lower leg and left arm, or vice versa.
Treatment with folk remedies
How else to deal with lower back pain in men? For example, you can adopt traditional medicine. When treating the disease with folk remedies, the patient performs the following actions:
- uses heating compresses of horseradish or radish, physiological compresses or applies tincture of flies on the skin;
- rubs the sore spot. Man uses vodka tincture of burdock root or red pepper;
- wraps the lower back with a woolen belt or lies on a heating pad;
- treated with herbs - drinking decoctions or dietary supplements that restore inflamed joints and lower back;
- massages the lower back with honey and various warming agents.
Any folk remedy can be used only after the diagnosis and determination of the cause of lower back pain, as well as in consultation with a doctor.
Operation
Lumbar surgery is rarely performed and only if the herniated disc causes severe pain or when the disease progresses. This is followed by a long recovery of the patient.
If a man has severe back pain in the lumbar region due to pathology of internal organs, then surgeons first remove the main source of pain.
Prevention
Since any disease is easier to prevent than to cure for months or years, every man needs to maintain his health on a daily basis.Therefore, he must follow special methods of prevention.
To prevent lumbar spine pain, men who move a little should take short breaks to walk, bend or pull during work.
Don’t spend all your free time at the computer. At least once a week you should walk in the park for 1-2 hours.
When sitting, a man should keep a straight posture so that his back does not bend over time and osteochondrosis or scoliosis does not occur.
Special exercise therapy strengthens the muscles of the spine and increases the flexibility of the spine. Thus, exercise therapy prevents pinching of nerves and constriction of blood vessels.
Also, a man must properly lift heavy loads, evenly distributing the load on the whole body and at the same time reducing the load on the spine.
Thus, timely prevention helps men maintain their own health and avoid many lumbar diseases.