Low Back Pain When Walking

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Low back pain when walking

If, while walking, you begin to worry about lower back pain, then this is a serious reason to think about your health. Such an unfavorable symptom may indicate the development of a wide variety of diseases. Do not neglect alarm bells, try to be examined in time and identify the cause of the deterioration of health.

Content:

• Causes of back pain
• Classification of low back pain
• Diseases that cause lower back pain
• Low back pain diagnostics
• Low back pain treatment methods

Causes of back pain

Pain in the lumbar spine can be triggered by the following factors:

• Sitting for a long time (drivers, office workers)
• Do hard physical work with serious stress
• Forced to spend the whole working day on their feet (sellers, waiters, hairdressers)
• Take on excessive physical activity in the gym
• Are overweight

Low back pain often haunts women during pregnancy and after childbirth, or appears during menopause, when the prerequisites for the development of osteoporosis arise.

Most often, pain when walking is assessed as stitching, throbbing or aching. The appearance of pains characterized as "lumbago" indicates serious problems with the spine. The causes of pain can be different. It can be caused by diseases of the spine, internal organs, or neurological problems. Pain when walking can be the result of a cold, hypothermia, overload of the spine, or be an echo of previous injuries.

Classification of low back pain

Low back pain is usually classified into two types: primary and secondary.

Primary occurs due to a violation of the blood supply in those tissues that connect the intervertebral discs. Disorders in the muscles and blood vessels lead to a general weakening of the entire spine. This is manifested by pain when walking and physical exertion. Few people pay attention to these first signals of trouble, since pain is felt as minor discomfort and is of a fickle nature. Often, patients seek medical help only when the pain becomes unbearable, and the disease requires serious treatment or even surgery.

The secondary type of pain occurs due to mechanical damage to muscles and tissues or the development of a tumor process. The pain is debilitating and is often accompanied by a feeling of numbness and difficulty in flexing and extending the spine. This may be the result of not only spinal injuries, but also indicate the presence of tumors or malignant formations of internal organs, osteochondrosis with pinched nerve roots. Therefore, in the event of lower back pain when walking, it is necessary to undergo a full examination as soon as possible and identify the root cause of the pathology.

Diseases that cause lower back pain

• Osteochondrosis. It is considered the most common contributor to low back pain. During the examination, degenerative changes in the spine are found, a decrease in the height of the intervertebral discs is noted. This disrupts the mechanical balance of the structures of the spinal canal and causes lower back pain, which periodically occurs when walking.
• Muscle spasm. Most often it occurs with excessive physical exertion or prolonged position of the body in a statistically uncomfortable position (at the computer, squatting, bent over). Muscle spasm develops and significantly limits the mobility of the spine. Tightened muscles cause long-term pain and suffering.
• Hernias. A herniated disc compresses the nerve endings of the spinal cord, as a result of which there is constant pain, which increases in an upright position and when walking, difficulties arise with tilting and extending the spine.
• Spinal instability. This problem is mainly observed in women of Balzac age. The instability of the vertebrae is accompanied by back pain, which is worse when walking or standing for a long time. There is a feeling of constant fatigue, unwillingness to unnecessary movements and the need to lie down. This condition is caused by damage to the intervertebral joints and discs and is often accompanied by weight gain.
• Narrow spinal canal. The most common symptom of this condition is lower back pain when walking, combined with pain even at rest. Pain syndrome is caused by degenerative changes in the spine associated with the growth of its articular and bone structures. This leads to pinching of the nerve endings and causes constant pain.

An examination will help to understand the cause of lower back pain. If your back does not give you rest, and pain is pursued even when walking, you need to seek medical help in a timely manner. A competent specialist will determine the cause and select the correct treatment tactics.

Low back pain diagnostics

For back pain that occurs when walking, it is necessary to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized (CT) diagnostics. MRI will assess the condition of the soft tissues, and CT will show changes in the bone structures of the spine. In addition, to exclude radiating pain, doctors recommend doing an ultrasound of the internal organs. Another inexpensive and affordable diagnostic method - X-ray allows you to notice in the images even the smallest abnormalities in the structure of the spine. Sometimes, to clarify the diagnosis, the doctor may prescribe additional studies and tests.

Low back pain treatment methods

After establishing the diagnosis and determining the causes of lower back pain, the specialist may prescribe the following set of therapeutic measures:

• Blockade with drugs in the cavity of the intervertebral joints or in the region of the spinal canal
• Drug therapy with hormones, analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs
• Manual therapy sessions
• Physiotherapy, acupuncture, remedial gymnastics
• Surgery

In any case, if pain occurs, it is necessary to undergo diagnostics and seek advice from a neurologist or vertebrologist. The specialist will diagnose and determine the cause of the pain syndrome. This will help you get timely and correct treatment.

Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".