What to do if you have lumbar strain

Lumbar muscle strain is commonly known as low back pain or discomfort in the waist. Many people suffer from lumbar muscle strain, especially those who engage in heavy labor for a long time. The probability of these people suffering from lumbar muscle strain is very high. The common symptom of lumbar muscle strain is low back pain. The severity of the disease can be diagnosed through relevant examinations. The treatment of lumbar muscle strain also needs to be carried out through massage and medication. What should we do if we suffer from lumbar strain in detail?

Lumbar muscle strain, also known as functional low back pain, chronic low back injury, lumbar gluteal muscle fasciitis, etc., is actually a chronic damaging inflammation of the lumbar muscles and the fascia or periosteum of their attachment points. It is one of the common causes of low back pain. The main symptoms are swelling and pain in the waist or lumbosacral area, which recur repeatedly. The pain may vary with climate change or the degree of fatigue. For example, it may be aggravated by daytime fatigue and relieved after rest. It is a common clinical disease, a frequently-occurring disease, and has many causative factors. Over time, it can cause muscle fiber degeneration or even small tears, forming scars, fibrous cords or adhesions, leaving long-term chronic low back pain.

Causes

1. After acute lumbar sprain and long-term repeated lumbar muscle strain.

2. Untimely treatment and inappropriate handling methods.

3. Long-term and repeated excessive waist movement and excessive load, such as sitting or standing for a long time, or holding heavy objects or lifting objects from a bent position to an upright position, can keep the lumbar muscles in a state of high tension for a long time, which can lead to chronic lumbar muscle strain over time.

4. Chronic lumbar muscle strain is also related to climate and environmental conditions. Too low temperature or too high humidity can trigger or aggravate lumbar muscle strain.

Clinical manifestations

1. Soreness or distension in the waist, local tingling or burning pain.

2. It gets worse when you are tired and gets better when you rest; it gets better with proper exercise and frequent changes of body position, but gets worse with excessive activity.

3. Unable to persist in bending over while working. They are often forced to stretch their waist or hit their waist with fists from time to time to relieve the pain.

4. There are tender points in the lower back, mostly in the sacrospinal muscle, the posterior part of the iliac spine, the insertion point of the sacrospinal muscle behind the sacrum, or the transverse process of the lumbar vertebra.

5. There is usually no abnormality in the appearance and movement of the waist, and there is no obvious lumbar muscle spasm. A few patients have slightly restricted waist movement.

examine

1. X-ray examination

Most of them are normal, but a few may have bone hyperplasia or spinal deformity.

2. Examination of the elderly or patients with osteoporosis

ECT examination and bone density examination are optional. Some people believe that osteoporosis can also cause chronic low back pain.

diagnosis

1. Based on symptoms, signs and other clinical manifestations.

2. Combined with the long-term history of chronic low back pain and physical examination, the diagnosis is not difficult. Attention should be paid to distinguishing it from lumbar degenerative diseases such as lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis and other diseases.

treat

1. Avoid overwork and correct bad posture.

2. Appropriate functional exercise

Strengthen exercises of the waist and back muscles to prevent muscle tension disorders, such as lying prone without a pillow, then straightening your chest and head, and stretching your hands and feet into the air; you can also lie on your back in bed without a pillow, push your head back against the bed, and lift your shoulders.

3. Physical therapy, massage, and other therapies that relax muscles and promote blood circulation.

4. Medication

The main ones are anti-inflammatory analgesics, injected corticosteroids and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, local muscle relaxants and analgesics.

5. Blockade therapy

For those with fixed tenderness points, 0.5% to 1% procaine plus methylprednisolone acetate or hydrocortisone acetate can be used to block the pain points, with good results.

6. Physical therapy

Under the guidance of a doctor, choosing appropriate physical therapy can also enhance the treatment effect. There are currently many physical therapy methods, including electromagnetic, ultrasonic, infrared, laser, etc., which act on the human body through sound, light, electricity, heat, etc. to play a role in relaxing muscles and activating blood circulation.

7. Surgery

For cases that fail to respond to non-surgical treatments, surgical treatment can be performed.

prevention

1. Prevent dampness, cold and chill

Don't sleep in a damp place. Add clothes at any time according to climate changes. After sweating or raining, change wet clothes or dry your body in time.

2. Acute lumbar sprain

Active treatment should be sought and people should rest assured to prevent the disease from becoming chronic.

3. During sports or strenuous activities

Do some warm-up exercises.

4. Correct bad working posture

Such as bending over for too long, or leaning over a desk that is too low. Change your posture after sitting still for an hour. At the same time, you can use a cushion with a protrusion on the waist to relieve pressure on the waist, which helps to avoid lumbar muscle strain. When carrying heavy objects, bend your chest and waist slightly forward, bend your hips and knees slightly, take steady steps, and don't take large steps.

5. Prevent overwork

The waist is the center of human movement. If it is overworked, it will inevitably cause injury and low back pain. Therefore, pay attention to working and resting in all kinds of work or labor.

6. Use a hard cushioned bed

A mattress that is too soft cannot maintain the normal physiological curvature of the spine, so it is best to add a 10 cm thick cushion on the wooden board.

7. Pay attention to weight loss

Control your weight. Being too fat will inevitably bring extra burden to the waist, especially for middle-aged people and women after childbirth, as this is a period when it is easy to gain weight. Therefore, you should control your diet and increase exercise.