Back pain is a very common symptom at any age. Often this indicates the defeat of various systems - locomotor, respiratory, digestive. If your back hurts, do not recover. Only a doctor can quickly determine the cause and treatment tactics.
Back pain
The back pain is very different. It may be associated with eating or coughing, psycho-emotional experiences. Causes of this symptom include gastroduodenitis and inflammation of the gallbladder, bronchitis and pneumonia, angina pectoris, and acute coronary syndrome. However, these diseases are often accompanied by other characteristic complaints that allow the physician to make a correct differential diagnosis.
Back pain is much more often a sign of damage to the musculoskeletal system. It occurs in such diseases:
- Osteochondrosis (chest, lumbar or common).
- Scoliosis.
- Protrusion.
- Intervertebral hernia.
- scoliosis.
By themselves, these degenerative diseases rarely occur with pain. However, as the pathology progresses, nerve roots and fibers are involved in the process. Their injury and compression lead to the appearance of neurological symptoms:
- Pain in the back, chest, lower back.
- Unusual feelings - burning, tingling, numbness.
- Movement disorders.
Back pain can be chronic or acute. As a general rule, there is a clear link between discomfort and physical activity, movement, or breathing in diseases of the musculoskeletal system. To remove them, doctors prescribe ointments, tablets, and painkillers.
Treatment
Injection of back and low back pain is an extremely effective treatment. They often begin with pain syndrome therapy, especially if the patient’s discomfort is very pronounced.
Other anti-inflammatory medicines are sometimes used in addition to injections:
- Gels and ointments.
- Tablets, capsules, powders.
- Rectal suppositories.
Very often the same drug is available in different forms. And the doctor selects the optimal option for the patient, relieving the pain, taking into account its characteristics, tolerability, and concomitant illnesses. Some people can’t stand the injections because they’re afraid of the pain, and the mere sight of a sharp needle can panic. Others, on the contrary, are distrustful of local forms, not considering them effective enough.
Yet more often, lumbar or chest analgesic injections are the most popular and sought-after medications.
Injections
Anesthetic injections for back pain are used for moderate to severe forms of the musculoskeletal system. They are prescribed even if a very fast or long-term, stable effect is needed.
Some anti-inflammatory injections are prescribed as painkillers after surgery. The following medicines are available as injections:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs or NSAIDs).
- Steroid hormones.
- Muscle relaxants.
- Vitamins.
NSAIDs
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are an extensive and very popular class of drugs among physicians in various fields. NSAIDs are widely used in the following medical fields:
- Rheumatology;
- traumatology
- Orthopedics;
- therapy.
The most common indications for their appointment are:
- osteochondrosis;
- protrusions and intervertebral 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 these drugs have many side effects.
Hormonal injections are used for back pain with hernia, rheumatoid arthritis and Bechterew's disease and radiculopathy. The main indications for their appointment are:
- Severe pain syndrome.
- It is a strong inflammatory process, especially of autoimmune and allergic origin.
- The need for a stable analgesic effect.
The hormones can also be produced in tablets, but intramuscular and intravenous injections are prescribed for spinal, back, and joint pain. This allows you to quickly reduce pain and stop inflammation.
Steroid hormones can also be prescribed in conjunction with NSAIDs, but this combination requires careful monitoring of the patient's health.
Muscle relaxants
Muscle relaxants have been used relatively recently to treat back pain. However, due to their high efficiency, they are firmly on the list of doctors prescribed 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, they do not eliminate the pathological edema and the pain associated with it.
These drugs, as the name suggests, relax the muscles. The mechanism of back pain is quite complex. It does not only distinguish the neuropathic component associated with nerve root damage. Muscle cramping, which manifests itself as a reflex response to degenerative processes in the spine and joints, is of great practical importance. Not only does it cause severe pain on its own, but it exacerbates the inflammation in the lesion.
Therefore, prescribing muscle relaxants and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs allows pain syndrome to be stopped in a shorter time. What muscle relaxant injections do doctors usually prescribe?
vitamins
Vitamin preparations alone are not painkillers. However, therapists and neuropathologists almost always prescribe them for back pain. What is the reason for these recommendations?
The fact that pain in the chest or back - between the shoulder blades and in the lower back - is always associated with the involvement of nerve roots in the process. Violation of these will lead to unpleasant symptoms. However, the compression of the nerve fibers is not only painful but also affects their vagina. As the process progresses, the nerves themselves are destroyed and the manifestations of radiculopathies intensify.
Group B vitamins have reparative properties relative to nerve fibers.
Group B.
Vitamins in this group are available as tablets, dragees and injections. In the acute period, neuropathologists usually prescribe injections according to an established schedule - usually for 10 days - and recommend switching to oral forms in the future. It should be taken within a month.
Previously, such vitamins existed in three separate injections - B1, B6, B12. Given that each injection alone is painful, administering such a cocktail caused a lot of suffering to the patient.
However, pharmacies now offer a huge selection of combination products, 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 radiculo- and neuropathies. This is why these injections are always on the list of medications prescribed for the treatment of acute back pain, along with NSAIDs and muscle relaxants.
Gels and ointments
Although anesthetic injection works quickly and is effective in relieving discomfort, many patients prefer topical formulations. These include gels, creams and ointments.
The use of these products does not require any special skills - even a child can apply the gel to the affected area. In addition, topical formulations are safer because the active ingredient is practically not absorbed through the skin. This means that the risk of systemic side effects of the medicine is minimized.
This is especially true for non-steroidal 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 disease. They are also preferred in the following situations:
- In children and the elderly.
- With bruises and sprains with sprains.
- With concomitant pathology - diseases of the blood coagulation system, gastrointestinal tract, hemorrhagic hemorrhoids.
The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointments and gels rarely leads to complications, even when used uncontrolled. This is often the sin of elderly patients with chronic pain and severe forgetfulness. In this case, the safest anti-inflammatory drugs become the drugs of choice.
Tablets, capsules, powders
Tablets and capsules are an excellent alternative to back pain instead of injections. The name of the drug may be the same or different.
Most NSAIDs are available in both oral and injectable forms. In addition, there are many medical analogs. Therefore, do not replace the medicine yourself if it is suddenly ineffective, because it is always possible to buy a medicine with the same active ingredient, but in the form of an injection or under a different name.
Tablets are the most common oral form of anti-inflammatory drugs. Almost all non-steroidal medications are available, including tablets. They are easy to use, divide and dispense. The tablets are suitable for all ages, except children under 4-6 years, who may drown.
Oral forms of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are preferred for the treatment of spinal diseases because they are much more convenient to use.
In addition, some medications are sometimes as strong as injections.
Rectal suppositories
Rectal suppositories containing an anti-inflammatory drug are widely represented in any pharmacy. They serve as an alternative to both oral forms and injections for back pain.
This form of release achieves a more analgesic effect than tablets and capsules. This is due to the accelerated absorption of the analgesic in the rectum. However, their effects develop more slowly than with intramuscular and intravenous injections. Although the portability of rectal suppositories is much better.
Doctors usually prescribe this form to mild to moderate forms of the spine after surgery to achieve an anesthetic effect.
Due to the nature of the application, rectal suppositories are not suitable for all patients, however, they are still safe, effective and popular analgesics.
It is the physician's prerogative to choose the form of medication for the treatment of back pain syndrome. He decides on injections or tablets, gels or suppositories - depending on the patient's specific illness and comorbidities. Most often, therapy is given according to a certain schedule - injections in the first days of the disease to relieve acute pain, and tablets or other forms - during the healing phase.