The back hurts

Severe back pain can usually be associated with a certain impairment of the function of the spine , more often in the cervical region or in the lowest, lumbar region, because these places are subject to the greatest pressure and most often are strained. Back pain itself arises from the interaction of the vertebrae, discs, nerves and muscles surrounding them .

Arthritis in the spine is responsible for most back problems, and it worsens as you age. Nodular excessive bone growth, which is a typical sign of arthritis, affects the mobile joints of the vertebrae, resulting in narrowing of the small holes through which the nerves exit from the spine. If you have enough arthritis, you will feel pain in the back, where the bone spines scratch and scrape each other, as well as the irradiating pain elsewhere from squeezing the nerves emerging from the spine.

On the nerves can also affect intervertebral discs . When this happens, you experience pain in the entire area for which the nerve is responsible. The most familiar form of such common pain is sciatica, in which the disc in the lumbar part irritates the nerve, descending the buttock and thigh, which gives you dull pain on the back of the foot. Therefore, if your back hurts, but the pain does not spread to another place, rather, it is not associated with discs. The same applies to the neck.

Osteoporosis affects many women in old age. Their bones everywhere, but especially in the spine, become more fragile, porous; They easily break. This not only causes severe pain, but also makes women lower in height, and their bent spine gives them the so-called "widow's hump."

In some women, osteoporosis develops before menopause. They usually have hyperparathyroidism, which causes back pain, osteoporosis and kidney stones. Parathyroid glands, tiny glands on the neck near the thyroid gland, secrete a hormone that regulates the amount of calcium in the bones. When hyperparathyroidism is formed an excessive amount of this hormone due to a tumor of glands. As a result, calcium is leached from the bones into the blood. Not only the bones become thin, but when the blood is filtered through the kidneys, excess calcium forms stones there. Parathyroid gland tumors are too small to probe them, and can only be detected by measuring the calcium content in the blood. Therefore, if you are approaching menopause and your bones break easily when you fall, you have one or two kidney stones - determine the level of calcium in the blood.

There are also causes of back pain, not related to the back itself. Incorrect position of the uterus can give you back pain, especially if the woman stood for several hours. Also, endometriosis (in which tissues normally present only in the uterus grow elsewhere in the pelvic cavity) can cause back pain, especially before or during menstruation.

A serious cause of back pain is the spread of cancer to the bones of the spine. The most common example in men is a malignant tumor of the prostate. Typical for a patient over 50 years; Before this pain was not, but suddenly he starts sharp and prolonged pain in his back. The examination will detect prostate cancer, and an X-ray or scan will show exactly where it hit the bones of the spine. Almost identical situation occurs in women with breast cancer. In the months and years after the operation, they have back pain, not because of osteoporosis, but because of the spread of cancer, metastases, in the bones of the spine.

Various abnormalities inside the abdomen (colitis, swelling, inflammation of the intestinal diverticulum) can also cause back pain.

Muscle spasm is a very common cause of back pain. It mainly occurs when the spine is affected by arthritis. In this case, the muscles become inflexible, rigid, as the body tries to prevent unnecessary movements of the damaged spine, which increases discomfort. This "protective" spasm may be even more painful than the underlying anxiety against which it is directed.

If you are in a state of stress and stress, your muscles can respond in the form of a spasm, even when your bones, nerves and discs are all right. Here is an example. A young man, about 30, married a few years ago. After the wedding ceremony, he and the bride went to a New York hotel, where they were to spend the night, and then go to the East. They were excited, happy and a little excited. The groom did not bear the bride across the threshold of the hotel room, but he deliberately moved the suitcases while they were arranged. At the time when he lifted one of the heavy bags, he suddenly developed a spasm of the back, which made him all bend over. The terrible pain lasted the first night of her husband's life, her husband spent almost all of her in a hot bath, while his wife was trying to help him with a massage. They managed to go on in the morning, but for two weeks of honeymoon the husband was actually crippled. He and his wife were not to the sights, especially not to love comforts.

Symptom: back pain