Aunt Zhang, 55 years old, has always been a warm-hearted person in the community. She loves to square dance and is full of energy. However, recently, her waist has begun to ache dullly, and she always feels unbearable pain in her waist when dancing and doing housework. At first, she thought she was tired and would be fine with a few days of rest. However, instead of alleviating the low back pain, it has become more severe. She began to have trouble sleeping, even getting out of bed and bending over.
One day, Aunt Zhang was talking to her friends about her low back pain in the dance team. After hearing this, the dance partner Sister Li sighed and said, "I'm like this too, I've had back pain for several years. I've tried a lot of methods, but I can't solve it completely. Hearing this, Aunt Zhang became more and more worried, is it true that there is no cure for low back pain?
With questions, Aunt Zhang decided to go to the hospital to have a look. The doctor inquired about her symptoms in detail, arranged a series of tests, and finally diagnosed her with a herniated lumbar disc. The doctor told Aunt Zhang that there are many causes of low back pain, and in addition to lumbar disc herniation, there are many other factors. Understanding these causes is the only way to prescribe the right medicine and effectively relieve pain.
Under the advice of the doctor, Aunt Zhang began targeted rehabilitation treatment, gradually adjusted her lifestyle, and finally found a way to relieve her low back pain. She decided to share her experience with more people, hoping that everyone can pay attention to lower back health and avoid falling into long-term low back pain.
A common cause of low back pain
Muscle Strains: A Common Invisible Killer
Long-term improper posture or excessive use of the lower back muscles is one of the main causes of low back pain. In modern society, many people need to sit for a long time because of work, or engage in manual labor, resulting in long-term tension in the waist muscles, which is prone to strain.
For example, office workers often sit in front of the computer for several hours, which will make the waist muscles in a tense state for a long time, and the blood circulation will be poor, which is easy to cause muscle strain. A similar situation is also common among housewives, where bending over for long periods of time to do housework or holding a child can cause overuse of the lower back muscles.
In order to prevent and alleviate low back pain caused by muscle strain, it is recommended that everyone do appropriate stretching exercises between work or housework, and get up and move for a few minutes every hour to help relieve the tension of the lower back muscles. In addition, through daily exercise, you can enhance the strength of the lower back muscles, improve blood circulation, and fundamentally prevent muscle strain.
Herniated disc: a stubborn culprit of low back pain
Intervertebral discs are soft cushions located between the vertebrae that absorb and cushion shocks. With age or due to improper physical exertion, the intervertebral disc may degenerate and rupture, causing the nucleus pulposus to herniate and compress the nerve roots, causing low back pain. This condition is common in middle-aged and older people, but it is increasingly occurring in younger people.
Symptoms of a herniated disc include persistent pain in the lower back, especially when you sit for long periods of time, bend over or exert yourself, and sometimes it is accompanied by numbness and weakness in the lower limbs. According to survey data, about 60% of patients with low back pain are caused by herniated discs, a condition that usually requires professional diagnosis and treatment.
In the early stages of disc herniation, conservative treatments such as rest, physical therapy, and medication can effectively relieve symptoms. In severe cases, surgery may be required. In daily life, avoiding improper movements such as bending over for a long time and lifting heavy objects plays an important role in preventing herniated discs.
Osteoarthritis: a common cause in middle-aged and older adults
Osteoarthritis is a common disease in middle-aged and elderly people, which not only affects the knee joint and hip joint, but also often affects the lumbar spine, resulting in low back pain. Osteoarthritis is caused by degeneration and wear of articular cartilage, and common symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.
People with lumbar osteoarthritis often feel stiff and painful in the lower back when they wake up in the morning, and the symptoms are relieved after a period of activity, but the pain worsens after too much activity or sitting for a long time. Data shows that more than 30% of people over the age of 60 suffer from different degrees of osteoarthritis, which seriously affects the quality of life.
For low back pain caused by osteoarthritis, daily management is very important. In addition to taking anti-inflammatory medications and physical therapy as prescribed, moderate exercise, weight control, and avoiding overexertion are all key measures. Regular joint health checks, early detection of problems, and aggressive treatment can effectively slow the progression of the disease.
Osteoporosis: a silent crisis
Osteoporosis is another common cause of low back pain, especially in older people. Osteoporosis is caused by the reduction of bone density and the destruction of the microstructure of bone tissue, resulting in fragile bones and prone to fractures. The spine is a high incidence of osteoporotic fractures, and when a fracture occurs, patients experience severe low back pain.
The causes of osteoporosis are complex, including genetic factors, malnutrition, lack of exercise, and changes in hormone levels. Survey data shows that nearly 50% of women over the age of 70 suffer from osteoporosis, while the incidence of men is slightly lower.
Preventing and treating osteoporosis requires a multifaceted approach. First of all, a reasonable diet and adequate calcium and vitamin D supplementation can help maintain bone health. Secondly, moderate exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise, can increase bone density and enhance bone strength. Regular bone density testing, early detection of problems, timely medication and rehabilitation training are also effective measures to prevent osteoporosis and its complications.
The influence of daily habits on low back pain
Sitting for long periods of time leads to increased pressure on the lower back
Sitting for a long time is a common problem faced by many people in modern society, especially for the middle-aged and elderly people who work in the office, sitting still for a long time is not only easy to lead to muscle relaxation in the whole body, but also seriously affects the health of the lower back. Scientific studies have shown that maintaining a sitting posture for a long time will cause the lumbar muscle groups to be in a state of contraction for a long time, which will make blood circulation poor and increase the burden on the lumbar spine, thereby increasing the risk of low back pain.
In order to effectively alleviate the problem of low back pain caused by sitting, experts recommend that middle-aged and elderly people take some simple and effective measures in their daily life. First of all, you should get up and move regularly, every hour or so, stand up and walk around for a period of time, move the muscles of the waist and lower limbs, promote blood circulation, and help relieve lower back pain. Secondly, you can try to perform simple waist stretching exercises between work, such as bending forward and rotating the waist, to relieve the tension of the lower back muscles and reduce the discomfort of the lower back.
Wrong self-treatment methods
Use pain relievers ad libitum
When faced with low back pain, some middle-aged and elderly people may unconsciously rely on painkillers to relieve symptoms. However, long-term overdose of painkillers is not a long-term solution to low back pain, but may lead to increased burden on the liver and kidneys, and in severe cases, digestive problems. In addition, long-term use of analgesics will increase drug resistance, and the treatment effect will gradually weaken in the future, making it difficult to completely cure low back pain.
In order to avoid over-reliance on painkillers, experts suggest that middle-aged and elderly people should try to use non-drug treatments to relieve low back pain in their daily lives. For example, a topical hot or cold compress can be used to relieve tension and pain in the lower back muscles, promote local blood circulation, and help relieve symptoms. In addition, you can also try proper massage therapy or physical therapy to help relax the lower back muscles and reduce the pain.
Non-standard massage treatments
For some middle-aged and elderly people, non-standard massage therapy may become one of the options for relieving low back pain. However, if the massage is too strong or the massage technique is not done properly, it may lead to soft tissue damage in the lower back or lumbar joint damage, which can worsen the symptoms of low back pain. Therefore, when choosing a massage treatment, it is important to choose a professional and qualified masseur to avoid additional injuries caused by improper technique.
Experts suggest that middle-aged and elderly people should fully understand the indications and contraindications of massage before undergoing massage treatment, and choose a reputable massage institution for treatment. At the same time, you can consult with your doctor to understand which types of massage are suitable for relieving low back pain, and pay attention to timely communication and feedback during the treatment process to ensure the safety and effectiveness of massage treatment.
Wrong self-treatment can easily lead to worsening of low back pain or delay effective treatment. Therefore, when middle-aged and elderly people face low back pain, they should avoid blindly following the trend or relying on empirical treatment, but should choose appropriate treatment methods and health management strategies according to scientific medical advice to improve waist health and improve quality of life.