Cause
The cause of lumbago is mainly due to incorrect loading of the back or its overloading. A rather back-unfriendly everyday life paves the way for weak, shortened back muscles, which are then not sufficiently prepared for sudden loads and capitulate. The muscles tense up reflexively and cramp quickly: the hardening of the muscles that results blocks the back in its mobility and can be extremely painful.
Some patients also report the weather as a factor influencing the development of lumbago. Especially in autumn/winter, when it gets cold and wet. Also an influence of the psyche on back pain is known and especially with chronic or long-lasting back pain as an important factor certainly not to be underestimated!
Therapy of lumbago
The first step in the treatment of lumbago should always be to try to eliminate the cause of the disease. In the case of a vertebral joint blockage, certain treatment techniques of Manual Therapy can be used to deblock the lumbago or, as it is widely known, to set a lumbago. The goal is to restore the normal (physiological) joint play of the vertebral joint.
If the cause of the complaint of lumbago cannot be determined with certainty or if the cause cannot be eliminated without further ado, the pain therapy of lumbago is the main focus of the treatment. Suitable treatment measures for lumbago are:
- Bed rest: Temporary bed rest relieves the back.
- Heat therapy (hot water bottle, heat pads, heat packs etc. ): The effect of heat therapy is mainly muscle relaxing.
The part of the pain of lumbago caused by muscle tension can be treated well by this.
- Painkillers in tablet form (analgesics, NSAIDs): They act purely symptomatically by attenuating pain and the inflammatory stimulus.
- Pain infusion: Stronger form of drug therapy for lumbago with faster onset of action.
- Muscle relaxant drugs: The part of the pain that is caused by muscle tension can be well treated by this.
- Infiltrations into the pain area: Pain injections with a local anesthetic into the skin, muscles or vertebral joints are very effective. Pain injections into the musculature of the buttocks are widely used in general practice.
- Physiotherapy: Physiotherapeutic exercise treatment techniques such as stretching and traction (pulling treatment) have an analgesic effect. Mobilisation techniques (part of manual therapy) are used to treat spinal column sections that are impaired in movement.
- Massages: Massages serve to loosen up the tissues and muscles.
In the vernacular and among patients, the “syringe” refers to what doctors describe as injection therapy: A drug, usually a long-acting local anesthetic or cortisone, is injected directly into the painful area.
This can be done relatively superficially in order to provide fast relaxation for tense muscles. On the other hand, in severe pain, the injections can also be made directly at the nerve roots exiting the spine under imaging control (for example, under x-ray radiation). In the latter case, the risk of complications is naturally higher, which is why this type of procedure should only be performed by experienced doctors.Nevertheless, many patients have had very good experiences with injections for prolonged back pain and use them as a bridging measure to make movement and stretching of the back initially possible again.
Among the therapeutic efforts mentioned above, the disease process of lumbago is usually not long lasting. In this respect, the prognosis with regard to a relatively quick recovery is good. If the rare case occurs that a herniated disc is the cause of lumbago, the recovery may take longer and possibly require surgical therapy.
To prevent further events of this kind (prevention), the rules of back school should be learned and internalized. Well-trained back muscles also protect the spine. But you can never protect yourself 100% from lumbago.
