Back pain should be a very common phenomenon in life, and according to the World Health Organization, about 1/3 of the world’s population has suffered from back pain at some point in time.
Long-term ambulatory and sedentary, wrong standing posture, do not like to exercise, like to carry a shoulder bag …… these habits can overload the spine! However, such back pain, after you change the habit or rest a few days, do stretching can be relieved, but if the long-term pain, but also accompanied by other discomfort, it may find the disease, can not be ignored!
Different locations of back pain that may indicate the disease signal? Today we will teach you how to identify them.
1.Left back pain may indicate cardiovascular disease
The human heart is usually located on the left side, so back pain caused by heart disease is usually concentrated on the left side of the back. Among them, the most typical are angina pectoris, acute aortic coarctation and myocardial infarction.
Angina pectoris with crushing sensation
During an angina attack, the heart’s warning signals can be transmitted to the precordial region, but also to the left shoulder, jaw or even back, causing back pain. The pain is crushing and is accompanied by heavy sweating, chest tightness and breathlessness, panic, and shortness of breath. The discomfort usually lasts about 2 to 5 minutes and is relieved by resting or taking nitroglycerin.
Myocardial infarction, severe and prolonged
The pain of myocardial infarction will be more intense and may be accompanied by sweating and syncope; and it lasts longer, up to 1 hour or even several hours; in addition, most of the time it cannot be relieved by medication, and the symptoms may persist.
Diagnosis] Clinical diagnosis is usually confirmed by electrocardiogram, blood test for cardiac enzymes and coronary angiography.
Note: Elderly, diabetic and female patients are prone to atypical heart attack where pain is not obvious but there are other accompanying symptoms such as dyspnea, syncope, headache, nausea and vomiting, weakness and dizziness. Therefore, people with three or more cardiovascular diseases must call the emergency number as soon as they experience these symptoms.
Acute aortic coarctation with tearing sensation
Most of the pain in acute aortic coarctation radiates from the front of the chest to the back. The symptoms are tearing or stabbing pain in the chest, back or abdomen that occurs within seconds, with a feeling of imminent death.
It is also often accompanied by high blood pressure, especially with a large difference in blood pressure between the two arms or both lower limbs.
【Diagnosis】General ultrasound of chest and abdomen and active CTA examination can make a clear diagnosis.
Heartburn in the back may be duodenal ulcer, pancreatitis
The duodenum is located in the upper abdomen between the stomach and the jejunum; the pancreas is a narrow gland located behind the peritoneum in the upper abdomen; both are adjacent to the peritoneum, and when the plexus of abdominal nerves is stimulated and produces pain, it radiates to the back.
Duodenal Ulcer
People with a high prevalence of duodenal ulcer are generally those who have Hp infection, are chronically stressed and emotionally unstable, and enjoy alcohol, strong tea, coffee and other stimulating foods.
【Features】Regular and periodic epigastric pain is the main manifestation of peptic ulcer, while duodenal ulcer tends to be hunger pain, which is severe when fasting and can be alleviated after eating, in addition, it may be accompanied by symptoms of acidity, heartburn and even nausea.
It should be noted that if there is only pain in the upper abdomen and no pain in the back, then it may be that the duodenal ulcer occurs in the anterior wall of the bulb; if there is pain in the back, then the duodenal ulcer may occur in the posterior wall of the bulb.
Reminder: If ulcers are not treated in time, patients may suffer from bleeding, perforation, obstruction, recurrent attacks, and even cancer.
Pancreatitis
People who often overeat and eat fatty foods, alcoholics, and patients with gallstones are all at high risk for pancreatitis.
Characteristics] 95% of patients with pancreatitis will have persistent abdominal pain, and more than half of them may have back pain, and the pain will increase when lying on the back and decrease when bending at the knees.
It may also be accompanied by full abdominal distention, nausea and vomiting that are not relieved by reducing diet, or persistent fever that is not relieved by common antipyretics.
Reminder: If pancreatitis is not properly treated in mild cases, it can easily progress to severe cases, which can result in shock, kidney failure, necrotic infection of the pancreas itself, or even death!
2.Lower back pain may be caused by ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is often referred to as the “undead cancer”. If not controlled in time, it can affect the sacroiliac joints and gradually cause serious spinal deformities at a later stage, even damaging internal organs and various organs of the human body, as well as affecting psychological health, causing patients to suffer from depression, anxiety and other adverse emotional problems, disrupting normal work and life.
【Characteristics】
①Pain and stiffness in the lower back and sacroiliac area that persists for more than 3 months. The symptoms are obvious in the morning after waking up and are relieved after moving the body.
②After that, there is difficulty in moving the neck and chest and breathing, and in severe cases, there is a swaying gait and eventually a hunchback deformity.
③It may also be accompanied by persistent fever, weakness, red eyes and loss of appetite.
3.Pain along the spine may be a bone and joint problem
Osteoporosis and osteopenia are relatively common bone diseases in middle-aged and older people, and both can cause back pain.
Primary Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic bone degeneration caused by a decrease in bone mass, characterized by destruction of bone microstructure, increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture.
【Features】Bone pain usually occurs when 12% or more of bone mass is lost, often spreading along the spine to both sides, slightly relieved when lying down or sitting, and increased with stretching or prolonged standing.
If the pain persists for a long time, shortening, hunchback and spinal deformity will appear, accompanied by internal organ dysfunction such as chest tightness, difficulty breathing, abdominal distension and constipation; worse, sneezing and coughing will trigger fractures.
Osteomalacia
Osteomalacia is a chronic joint disease caused by degenerative changes in the joints that wear away the joint cartilage, causing calcium and other minerals to leach from the bone and form bone spurs.
【Features】When osteophytes occur in the spine and the bone growth around the vertebrae is relatively large and irritates the soft tissues of the ligaments, it can cause symptoms similar to back pain.
The pain is persistent and vague and worsens with activity; as the condition worsens, the joint becomes swollen, fluid accumulates, joint movement is limited or even the joint becomes deformed.
In general, don’t ignore back pain, the symptoms are only an aid to identify it, it is better to find out the cause in the hospital.