In case of severe back pain, as well as numbness or weakness in the limbs, you should immediately consult a doctor. This was told socialbites.ca by a neurologist at Medicina JSC (Academician Roitberg clinic), a member of the Interdisciplinary Medical Association Galina Chudinskaya.
“If low back pain is accompanied by weakness in the limbs, numbness or deterioration in the pelvic organs, a doctor’s examination is required. These symptoms may indicate a pinched nerve. It is also recommended to consult a doctor, ”Chudinskaya said.
In addition to dysfunction of the limbs, there are other reasons to seek help. As the neurologist explains, there is a visual analog scale of pain from 0 to 10, and 10 is the most severe pain a person can imagine. If the pain is four points or more, or does not go away in three to five days, the doctor should fix the problem.
“If the pain is not very severe and most importantly, if the patient has experienced similar pain before, topical and oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as diclofenac can be used. More effective and safer drugs are COX-2 selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. You can only take 3-5 days without a doctor. To protect the stomach from the side effects of painkillers, it is worth taking with them drugs that reduce the secretion of gastric acid, ”the doctor explained.
Dry heat can help with pain, so you should wrap your waist with a wool scarf. You can also fix it with a belt or corset and wear a foam collar if your neck hurts. Chudinskaya explained that dry heat in combination with external NSAIDs will relieve muscle-tonic syndrome. The load should be limited if it increases discomfort. But you need to be active if possible, in some cases it will help you get rid of pain faster.
“We need to remember about pain prevention: lift weights according to your physical capacity, fix your waist with a corset or a wide belt, use a special low bench for working in the garden, add regular exercises to daily life. When lifting weights, you need to work with your feet: sit down, and then lift the object, ”Chudinskaya said.