Lumbar pain
Symptoms, causes and treatment
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Low back pain is sudden and severe back pain in the lumbar spine. We explain how this happens and what helps.
What is low back pain?
Low back pain (also: lumbago) describes very severe back pain that occurs suddenly and is usually stabbing. The area of the lumbar spine is affected. Since the patient usually takes a relieving posture due to the pain, in which he leans forward, one speaks of a “lumbago”. The back pain usually disappears on its own after a few days, but lumbago can also become chronic and thus cause permanent pain.
What are the causes of low back pain?
Often an unfavorable or abrupt movement is enough for sudden back pain to occur due to a vertebral blockage. The joints of the spine interlock or block two opposing vertebrae. Due to the many nerves and nerve fibers in the joints, such a blockage quickly leads to severe pain. The following causes can be responsible for a low back pain:
- Sudden and / or awkward movement
- Incorrect lifting of heavy objects
- The deep muscles of the spine contract or become strained
- Herniated disc (only in rare cases)
- Constrictions in the vertebral area, e.g. B. by inflammation (also rare)
There are also various risk factors which increase the likelihood of lumbago. These include:
Therapy: what helps against back pain?
As paradoxical as it sounds at first: Light exercise is often the best remedy for acute back pain – whether it is a real lumbago or “only” minor complaints. At least one should pursue everyday life as best as possible, whoever can ideally take short additional walks every day. If you want to treat the lower back pain with medication, you should test paracetamol – but only in conjunction with exercise therapy.
A frequent relieving exercise in acute lumbago is also the so-called step positioning, which can reduce the pain. To do this, lie down with your back on the floor, pull your knees at a 90-degree angle and place your lower legs on a chair or stool. The back should really be firmly on the floor so that there is no hollow back. You lie there for two to five minutes and breathe deeply, then carefully roll on your side to get up. Due to the step positioning, the spine is relaxed and the intervertebral discs are relieved. We reveal even more exercises in the article “The 3 best SOS tips for back pain”.
Prevention: How can you avoid lumbago?
A lumbago cannot be completely prevented, as it can theoretically be triggered by a thoughtless movement. However, the likelihood of lumbago can be reduced by addressing the risk factors. Targeted muscle building, more exercise in everyday life and the reduction of excess weight are sensible measures for this. Especially those who do the majority of their work while sitting should ensure that they are compensated by exercise after work.
Reading tips: Here we reveal typical causes of back pain, which back exercises are useful and what helps with low back pain.