Low back pain is one of the many inflammations that our body can undergo. It is an inflammatory state that affects our spine, more precisely the crural nerve. But what it is specifically
Today we are going to deal with this topic, trying to understand together what low back pain is , what are the symptoms of this pathological condition, what needs to be done when we are suffering from low back pain and what are the most important remedies. effective.
What is lumbocruralgia
? Lumbocruralgia, as we briefly mentioned in the introduction, is a pathological condition in which the crural nerve undergoes an inflammatory state. It is a nerve that starts in the spine and ends in the leg.
This inflammation can cause very intense pain affecting mainly the following parts of the body:
- The anterior inner portion of the thigh;
- The hip;
- The groin.
It is a condition that is often confused with other pathologies, especially lumbosciatalgia (in which the sciatic nerve becomes inflamed and not the crural one).
Furthermore, lumbocruralgia is much rarer than lumbosciatalgia, which is why it is often misdiagnosed as it is very similar to it, especially from the point of view of symptoms.
Low back pain is a disease that mainly affects overweight individuals or those aged between 35 and 55 years.
However, it is also very prevalent among those who lead onesedentary lifestyle, especially if they have a tendency to assume positions incorrect from a postural point of view, but we will talk about the risk factors oflow back pain later on.
What are the causes of low back pain?
First of all it is necessary to clarify the differences between low back pain and low back pain as they are different conditions that are often confused with each other.
When we talk about cruralgia we refer to a condition in which the crural nerve is compressed (for example due to a misaligned vertebra, or due to a hernia).
On the other hand, low back pain is caused by conditions that are completely different from those that cause cruralgia. In this case, among the main causes we find above all those mentioned below:
- A herpes zoster infection
- An infectious dispute;
- The presence of meningiomas, neoplasms, bone metastases or endometriosis;
- A hernia in the groin
- Problems of a gynecological nature;
- Problems of a urological nature;
- A femoral artery aneurysm
- The presence of certain bone or muscle disorders, such as groin pain or osteoarthritis in the hip;
- Adhesions to the connective tissue;
- Hyperthyroidism;
- Diabetes;
- The habit of often assuming incorrect positions;
- A very sedentary lifestyle;
- Following overexertion.
As you can see, there are so many causes behind low back pain. For this reason, but also for the large variety of symptoms with which it manifests, it is often confused with other diseases such as low back pain.
What symptoms does low back pain occur with?
As for the symptoms that usually accompany low back pain, we remember above all those mentioned below:
- Severe pain in the groin and thigh (mainly in the lower front of the thigh);
- Muscle stiffness;
- Severe back pain that reaches up to the right side or left side, and then ends at the buttock;
- Knee pain
- The muscles are very contracted ;
- Loss of patellar reflexes
- Loss of strength with hypotrophy of the quadriceps femoris;
- Paresthesia and hypoesthesia ;
- Difficulty making certain movements.
In the event that the cause of lumbocruralgia should be an inflammatory state, this symptomatological picture is destined to pass within a few days. As soon as the low back pain has been cured, in this case, you will be able to return to normal daily activities.
However, in severe cases, the pain may spread over time. Precisely for this reason we advise you to contact your doctor, so that the specialist will indicate the most appropriate therapy to stop the suffering associated with low back pain.
Sometimes it can be an excruciating pain andexcruciating which is accentuated when the nerve is stretched, for example during the execution of some movements which, often, are also the most normal.
In fact, pain can also be felt when we sneeze or when we are coughing. This is why it is often recommended to rest in case of low back pain. Let’s see later what needs to be done in these cases.
What to do in the case of low back pain
As we have already mentioned in the previous paragraph, in the case of low back pain, especially in the most serious cases, it is advisable to consult a doctor, even better if an orthopedist.
The specialist will subject you to a careful analysis in which he will also evaluate your way of walking, and your postural attitudes.
Surely you will be subjected to a test called the Wasserman Test which consists of making you lie down on a bed, belly down. Then you will be asked to lift the painful knee, so as to go and stretch the crural nerve .
You will test positive when, by stretching the nerve, you will feel intense pain, along with other symptoms and, therefore, you will be diagnosed with low back pain.
In severe cases, your doctor may prescribe diagnostic tests such as CT or MRIand, if necessary, you will need to contact a neurologist to see if it is appropriate to undergo surgery to resolve the problem.
What are the most effective treatments for this problem
As for the therapeutic treatment envisaged to resolve low back pain, first of all it is important to know that there is no one and only treatment. In fact, the therapy is usually personalized , based on the symptoms that have occurred.
Among the treatments most used to treat low back pain , doctors usually recommend one of the following:
- Undergo a particular type of postural rehabilitation gymnastics ;
- Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs would help provide some relief, albeit temporary;
- The Mckenzie method, that is a particular mechanical therapy that consists in performing exercises that push the intervertebral disc to reposition it in its seat;
- Special treatments by an osteopath or a physiotherapist.
In addition, you may be prescribed cortisone-based drugs, again to decrease the inflammatory state. This, however, occurs above all when the intervertebral disc undergoes a rupture, causing the leakage of material which, accumulating, causes inflammation.
As we have already mentioned before, sometimes it may be necessary to consult a neurologist (or a neurosurgeon), especially when interventions are necessary. This usually happens when the patient reports severe neurological and motor deficits.
Finally, you must not forget that it is essential to have a lot of patience and rest in the case of low back pain as it may take several months or even years to resolve the problem definitively.
Last but not least, you can also consider using natural remedies. In this case, however, always ask your doctor for advice as some natural remedies could interfere with the effectiveness of the drugs.
Also, remember that natural remedies such as acupuncture or yoga will be practically useless if the low back pain was caused by a herniated disc as the situation would be much more delicate.
There are risk factors for low back pain
As with many other pathological conditions, factors that increase the risk of contracting this inflammation can also occur in the case of low back pain.
The most frequent risk factor is undoubtedly theweight of the individual. In fact, in the case of obesity or overweight, the subject is more exposed to the risk of undergoing a low back pain.
Age also plays a very important role. In fact, patients aged between 35 and 55 may be more affected by a herniated disc which, in turn, can cause low back pain.
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