Severe back pain in women

Despite the fact that heavy physical labor, which does not have the best effect on the condition of the hard and soft tissue structures of the spine, is considered the prerogative of the male half of humanity, women have many more reasons to complain about spinal pain. One could write a whole dissertation on this topic about the unenviable fate of women.

As with men, severe back pain in women can occur with inadequate physical activity, for example, when trying to quickly lift a heavy object or a grown child. Such troubles often occur during fitness classes, which are so popular these days, and require a gradual increase in loads. But our women, in pursuit of a beautiful figure, strive to immediately begin exercises that cause maximum calorie expenditure, especially when summer and the beach season are just around the corner.

Lack of regular moderate physical activity is no less dangerous than its abuse. Today, work on the Internet is becoming very popular. Online sales and consultations require spending a lot of time on computer work, and when it becomes long-term and regular, problems with the neck and back begin. The same thing awaits those who work as a web designer, computer operator, copywriter, etc. on a permanent basis, or simply love communication on the Internet and "work" on an online farm, in the modeling business, etc. (the gameplay attracts women no less than men, it's just that the choice of games may be slightly different).

The weaker sex can also have purely feminine hobbies: embroidery, knitting and other types of handicrafts (and there are a great many of them today). Such a hobby, to which many devote a lot of time, forces a woman to sit for a long time, and a static posture and tension in the back muscles only provoke undesirable changes in its tissues.

Women have no fewer reasons to catch a cold in the lower back and then suffer from pain in it than men. Middle and older people do this mainly while working in the country and garden, and young people - by flaunting their waist shapes in the early spring and autumn (tops and pants with a low waist). Fashionable short fur coats and jackets also do not contribute to the health of the lower back.

We will not repeat ourselves, listing all possible diseases of the spine, which can cause various types of severe back pain. As we have already understood, women are prone to almost all the same diseases as men. In addition, the course of acute and chronic pathologies in the weaker sex is the same as in the stronger, with the only difference being the stage of the disease and sensitivity to pain.

As for infectious and inflammatory pathologies of internal organs, diseases of the kidneys, bladder, liver, stomach and other organs occur in women with the same frequency as in men. But gynecological pathologies should also be added to them. The location of the female genital organs is such that bacteria, fungi and viruses penetrating them receive a "home" with all the amenities and the opportunity to actively and almost unhindered reproduce, provoking inflammation of the vagina, appendages, ovaries, uterus. And inflammation and the dysplastic processes in the uterus and vagina caused by it, which increase the risk of cancer, are quite often accompanied by unpleasant, aching sensations in the back. During an exacerbation, they can take on a fairly high intensity, and the woman begins to complain that her lower back aches and her stomach hurts (aches, pulls).

Women also associate periodic severe back pain before menstruation and during menstruation, especially in the first days, with their reproductive system. About 2/3 of women complain of back and abdominal pain during certain periods of the menstrual cycle. This phenomenon even has a special medical term – dysmenorrhea.

Menstruation is characterized by an increase in the level of female sex hormones, which is diagnosed several days before the onset of menstrual bleeding. Such hormonal changes cause contractions of the muscular walls of the uterus, so abdominal pain resembles that during contractions, but only less intense.

Actively contracting, the uterus, located near the spine in the lumbosacral region, can irritate the nerve endings, and pain begins to be felt even in the lower back. In character and intensity, it does not differ from the pain syndrome provoked by pathologies of the spine, but is always accompanied by pain and spasms in the lower abdomen.

Increased thyroid activity and high sensitivity to pain are risk factors for the occurrence of various types of severe back and abdominal pain before and during menstruation. But the reason that the back hurts a lot during menstruation can also be a violation of fluid metabolism in a woman's body.

In some diseases, fluid can accumulate in soft tissues, increasing their volume (edema) and weight. Hormonal imbalance only aggravates such disorders, which leads to pain syndrome, which has 2 causes:

• compression of nerve roots by enlarged and compacted tissues,
• an increase in overall body weight with the associated increased load on the spine and back muscles.

If the pain syndrome during menstruation is accompanied by nagging pains in the lower abdomen and pathological discharge from the genitals in the intermenstrual period, the cause must be sought elsewhere. In most cases, with such symptoms, women are found to have pathologies of an infectious and inflammatory nature, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). And sometimes we are even talking about cervical cancer, which, increasing in size due to the tumor, presses on the spine and nerve roots of the spinal cord, causing severe back pain.

It also happens that the cause of pain during menstruation lies not so much in the reproductive system itself, but in other neurological problems, which usually worsen during this period.

It is also impossible to rule out psychogenic pains, which are more common in the weaker sex than in men. The unpleasant symptom in this case is associated with increased female suspiciousness and the expectation that pain syndrome should appear during menstruation. Women usually have lower stress resistance than men, they experience various problems and troubles more intensely, and on the eve of menstruation they are generally ready to flare up like a match at any reason. Increased excitability of the nervous system against the background of other processes occurring in the woman's body during menstruation can cause pain not only in the abdomen, but also in the back and legs, headaches, rapid fatigue, etc.

Hormonal fluctuations are also observed during menopause, although in this case we are talking about a decrease in the production of female sex hormones. It would seem that this should be a preventative measure against back pain, but in fact, such changes negatively affect the condition of bone tissue, making it less durable. A fairly common consequence of menopausal changes in the body is the development of osteoporosis. This fully explains the fact that osteoporosis is diagnosed much more often in postmenopausal women than in men.

But let's return to young women, who may experience back pain during pregnancy. Much has already been said about the increased load on the entire body during this period, and the spine is no exception. But in the early stages of pregnancy, when the main problem is only the intensification of the production of female hormones that support pregnancy, back problems rarely occur. And if they do appear, then in combination with pain in the lower abdomen, indicating a threat of miscarriage.

True, during this period many women still work. Often not heavy, sedentary work, which during an 8-hour workday manages to strain the back considerably. This is what can cause back pain, not dangerous for pregnant women, but still unpleasant and tiring.

Starting from the 4th month of pregnancy, when the fetus and the tummy along with it begin to noticeably increase in size, back pain is no longer uncommon. The growing uterus begins to press on the spine and nerve endings, which react with back pain. The pain in expectant mothers is of a nagging nature and the larger the fetus becomes, the more often it appears, becoming chronic by the time of birth.

Another reason why the back hurts a lot during late pregnancy (34-37 weeks) is a change in the woman's posture. The increase and heaviness of the tummy, as well as some processes of the body's preparation for childbirth, lead to the fact that in order to maintain balance, the woman has to tilt the upper part of the body back. A strong bend is formed in the lower back. This change in posture increases the load on the muscles of the lumbosacral region, which is why expectant mothers often have back pain in the lower back.

As labor approaches, the baby moves lower and the uterus may already be pressing on the lower part of the spine, especially if the fetus is large. In this case, the woman may complain of pain in the lumbar and sacral areas. Treating such pain with medications is pointless. Rest and peace will be more relevant, and if there is a threat of premature labor, bed rest.

There is no pathology in this, unless, of course, we are talking about placenta previa. In this case, back pain will occur in combination with nagging pains in the abdomen, and sometimes with suspicious colored discharge if the previa is complicated by placental abruption.

Back pain during pregnancy can greatly worsen the quality of life of the expectant mother, but even after childbirth the problems do not end. Quite a few happy mothers later begin to experience all sorts of severe or moderate back pain. What could be the causes of such discomfort:

• The growth of the fetus in the womb is accompanied by an increase in the uterus, which in turn puts pressure on the abdominal muscles, which are forced to stretch under pressure. In the last trimester of pregnancy, the pelvic bones gradually diverge, which is preparation for childbirth. These events, plus the displacement of internal organs and strong tension of the ligaments with which they are attached to the spine, contribute to the appearance of quite intense back pain.
• The tension of the abdominal muscles causes a noticeable strain on the associated lumbar muscles. After the baby comes out, the back tissues will need some time to return to normal. Any strain (for example, when bending over or picking up the baby) can be accompanied by severe lower back pain.
• Many women gain excess weight during pregnancy, which again increases the load on the spine. The more weight a happy mother has, the greater the risk of back pain.
• The uterus growing during pregnancy contributes to the displacement of internal organs, and in particular the kidneys, which will need time and some effort to restore their previous position. This process may be accompanied by nagging pain in the lumbar region.
• Severe back pain after childbirth can also occur against the background of existing chronic diseases of the spine, which may well worsen after a serious shock. We are talking about osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia and disc protrusion.
• During childbirth, the pelvic bones diverge even more. And the tailbone bends back, letting the baby into the world. It is not surprising that after childbirth, women can complain of pain in the tailbone and sacrum.
• Sometimes pain syndrome is caused by joint injuries during childbirth.
• Heavy loads on the back during pregnancy require time for tissue recovery, but the birth of a baby obliges the young mother to move actively and perform various physical work to care for the child. In this regard, the recovery of the back can take 2 or more months.
• Usually mothers complain of lower back pain. If the pain syndrome appears in the shoulder blade area, then its cause will most likely be stomach problems, which are not uncommon during this period, or lung problems (hormonal changes greatly affect a woman's immunity, so colds and infections after childbirth do not surprise anyone).

It is especially difficult for those who have had a cesarean section. Any surgical intervention has negative consequences for the body, which, one way or another, affect the patient's condition and well-being. The incision in the peritoneal tissues can remind of itself for a long time with painful sensations, which over time become nagging and decrease in intensity.

If this does not happen, and abdominal pain is accompanied by discomfort in the back, there is a possibility that an infection was introduced during or after the operation. In this case, the woman will suffer from diffuse pain, which can be felt in the neck, back, and lower back.

Caesarean section surgery involves the use of anesthesia. Some drugs used for this purpose disrupt nerve conduction and are not always well tolerated by patients. One of the complications may be back pain that appears after the effect of the drug wears off. This is especially common when using spinal anesthesia, when there is an added risk of damaging nerve fibers during the injection.

After a cesarean section, as well as after a natural birth, there is a high risk of exacerbation of existing chronic diseases, regardless of when they were acquired: before conception or already during pregnancy (for example, scoliosis, which often develops due to a change in the posture of the expectant mother).

Many internal organs and tissues of the peritoneum are innervated by fibers extending from the spinal cord. After a cesarean section, they are left with fairly large scars that heal gradually and painfully. Nerve fibers damaged during surgery can provoke the appearance of reflected pain in the back. And the more incisions and damaged nerves there are, the more intense and longer the pain syndrome will last, which can be aggravated by psychogenic causes, because a woman with large incisions in the peritoneum constantly expects that pain should appear as soon as she slightly strains her abdominal muscles.

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