Back pain is a very common symptom at any age. It often indicates the defeat of various systems - musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive. When your back hurts, don't self-medicate. Only a doctor can quickly determine the cause and treatment tactics.
Backache
Back pain is very different. It may be associated with eating or coughing, psycho-emotional experiences. The causes of this symptom are gastroduodenitis and cholecystitis, bronchitis and pneumonia, angina pectoris and acute coronary syndrome. However, these diseases are often accompanied by other characteristic complaints, which allow the doctor to correctly make a differential diagnosis.
Much more often, back pain is a sign of damage to the musculoskeletal system. Occurs in such diseases:
- Osteochondrosis (thoracic, lumbar or common).
- Scoliosis.
- Boss.
- Intervertebral hernia.
- spinal stenosis.
On their own, these degenerative diseases rarely present with pain. However, as the pathology progresses, nerve roots and fibers are involved in the process. Its violation, compression leads to the appearance of neurological symptoms:
- Pain in the back, chest, lower back.
- Unusual sensations - burning, tingling, numbness.
- Movement disorders.
Back pain can be chronic or acute. As a rule, in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, there is a clear relationship of discomfort with physical activity, movement or breathing. To remove them, doctors resort to prescribing ointments, pills and pain relievers.
Treatment
Injections for back and lower back pain are a highly effective treatment method. Often, pain syndrome therapy begins with them, especially if the patient's discomfort is very pronounced.
Sometimes, in addition to injections, other forms of anti-inflammatories are used:
- Gels and ointments.
- Pills, capsules, powders.
- Rectal suppositories.
Often the same drug is available in different forms. And the doctor selects the ideal option for the patient, relieving pain, taking into account its characteristics, tolerability and concomitant diseases. Some people cannot stand injections for fear of pain, and the mere sight of a sharp needle can cause panic. Others, on the contrary, are suspicious of local forms, considering them insufficiently effective.
Even more often, injections for lower back or chest pain are the most popular and best-selling medications.
injections
Anesthetic injections for back pain are used for moderate and severe forms of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. They are also prescribed when it is necessary to obtain a very rapid or long-term stable effect.
Some anti-inflammatory shots are prescribed after surgery as a pain reliever. The following drugs are available in the form of injections:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs or NSAIDs).
- Steroid hormones.
- Muscle relaxants.
- Vitamins.
Ines
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are an extensive group of drugs that are very popular among physicians in many specialties. NSAIDs are widely used in the following medical areas:
- Rheumatology;
- traumatology
- orthopedics;
- therapy.
The most common indications for their appointment are:
- osteochondrosis;
- intervertebral protrusions and hernias;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- various radiculopathies;
- bruises and sprains.
steroid hormones
Steroid hormones are a special class of drugs. They have a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. But there are many side effects of these drugs.
Hormone injections are used for herniated back pain, rheumatoid arthritis and Bechterew's disease, radiculopathy. The main indications for his appointment are:
- Severe pain syndrome.
- A strong inflammatory process, especially of autoimmune and allergic origin.
- The need for a stable analgesic effect.
Hormones can be produced in pills, but for pain in the spine, back, joints, intramuscular and intravenous injections are prescribed. This allows you to quickly reduce pain and stop inflammation.
Steroid hormones can be prescribed in conjunction with NSAIDs, but this combination requires careful monitoring of the patient's health.
muscle relaxants
Muscle relaxants in the treatment of back pain started to be used relatively recently. However, due to their high efficiency, they have firmly established themselves on doctors' prescription lists for dystrophic and degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
The mechanism of action of muscle relaxants is radically different from that of NSAIDs. They do not affect the inflammatory process in any way, do not eliminate pathological edema and the pain associated with it.
These medications, as the name implies, relax the muscles. The mechanism of back pain is quite complex. It distinguishes not only the neuropathic component associated with the violation of nerve roots. Of great practical importance is muscle spasm, which occurs as a reflex response to degenerative processes in the spine and joints. It is not only accompanied by intense pain itself, but it also exacerbates inflammation in the lesion.
That is why the appointment of muscle relaxants together with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs allows you to stop the pain syndrome in less time. What injections that relax the muscles are usually prescribed by doctors?
vitamins
By themselves, vitamin preparations are not analgesics. However, therapists and neuropathologists almost always prescribe them for back pain. What are the reasons for these recommendations?
The fact is that pain in the chest or behind - between the shoulder blades and in the lower back - with degenerative injuries is always associated with the involvement of nerve roots in the process. It is their violation that leads to the appearance of unpleasant symptoms. However, the compression of the nerve fibers is fraught with not only pain, but their sheath also suffers. As the process progresses, the nerves themselves are destroyed and the manifestations of radiculopathies intensify.
Group B vitamins have repairing properties in relation to nerve fibers.
group B
Vitamins in this group are available in the form of pills, dragees and injections. In the acute period, neuropathologists usually prescribe injections according to the established schedule - as a rule, for a period of 10 days, and in the future they recommend switching to oral forms. They must be taken within a month.
Previously, these vitamins existed in three separate injections - B1, B6, B12. Considering that each injection is painful in itself, the administration of such a cocktail caused the patient a lot of suffering.
However, today pharmacies offer a wide variety of combination preparations, one ampoule of which already contains all the necessary B vitamins.
B vitamins are now an essential component of the established treatment regimen for various radiculopathies and neuropathies. That's why these injections are always on the prescription list for acute back pain, along with NSAIDs and muscle relaxants.
gels and ointments
Although an anesthetic injection works quickly and effectively to relieve discomfort, many patients prefer topical forms of medication. These include gels, creams and ointments.
These products do not require special skills to use - even a child can apply the gel to the affected area. In addition, topical forms are safer, as the active substance is practically not absorbed through the skin. This means that the risk of systemic side effects from the drug is minimized.
This is especially true of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which have an impressive list of toxic effects.
Ointments, gels and creams often help with back pain when it comes to mild forms of the condition. They are also preferred in the following situations:
- In children and elderly patients.
- With bruises and sprains of the ligament apparatus.
- With concomitant pathology - diseases of the blood clotting system, gastrointestinal tract, with bleeding hemorrhoids.
The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointments and gels rarely leads to the development of complications, even with their uncontrolled application. This is often the sin of elderly patients with chronic pain and severe forgetfulness. In that case, safer anti-inflammatories become the drugs of choice.
Pills, capsules, powders
Pills and capsules are an excellent alternative to injections for back pain. The drug name may be the same or different.
Most non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are available in both oral and injectable forms. In addition, there are a large number of medicinal analogues. That is why you should not replace the drug if it suddenly becomes ineffective, because there is always a chance to buy a drug with the same active ingredient, but in the form of injections or under a different name.
Pills are the most common oral form of anti-inflammatories. Almost all non-steroidal drugs are available, including in pill form. They are easy to use, split and dose. The tablets are suitable for patients of any age group, except children under 4-6 years old, who may choke on them.
Oral forms of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are preferred for treating spinal disorders as they are much more convenient to use.
Also, some drugs are sometimes as powerful as injections.
rectal suppositories
Rectal suppositories with an anti-inflammatory drug in the composition are widely represented in any pharmacy. They serve as an alternative to the oral forms and injections used for back pain.
This form of release provides a faster analgesic effect than pills and capsules. This is due to the accelerated absorption of the analgesic substance in the rectum. But at the same time, its action develops more slowly than with intramuscular and intravenous injections. Although the portability of rectal suppositories is much better.
Doctors, as a rule, prescribe this form for mild and moderate forms of damage to the spine, after surgery, in order to obtain an anesthetic effect.
Due to the nature of the application, rectal suppositories are not suitable for all patients, however, they remain a safe, effective, and popular remedy for pain.
The choice of drug form for back pain syndrome is the prerogative of the doctor. It is he who decides the issue in favor of injections or pills, gels or suppositories – depending on the patient's specific illness and comorbidities. Most often, therapy is carried out according to a certain scheme - injections in the first days of the illness to relieve acute pain, and pills or other forms - in the recovery phase.