Lumbago

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The five vertebral bodies of the lumbar region are highlighted

Under a lumbago , also obsolete Albschoss , the vernacular understands a suddenly occurring, stabbing (lancing) and persistent pain, especially in the lumbar vertebral area, with subsequent restricted mobility; the medical term is lumbago or local lumbar syndrome (from Latin lumbus "loin").

Lumbago includes all complaints that can be traced back to degenerative and functional disorders of the lumbar spine and the symptoms of which are mainly limited to the lumbar area. These include both lumbago with its sudden onset and rapid disappearance, as well as chronically recurring (recurring) lower back pain . The common abbreviation lumbar spine syndrome refers to the lumbar spine syndrome .

root cause

Muscle hardening after jerky or awkward movement or after incorrect or excessive loads is named as the cause of lumbago . It is favored by underdeveloped back muscles and the associated functional instabilities and overloads.

If the spinal nerves are narrowed or squeezed ( spinal stenosis ) due to a herniated disc or an osseous constriction ( stenosis ), this can lead to pain symptoms radiating into the legs (lumbar sciatica). It is commonly referred to as sciatic syndrome, which means the sciatic nerve , although this is not a peripheral nerve in the spine and is therefore not affected. The spinal nerves connected in front of it are compressed. Also, not every leg radiation is radicular, i.e. triggered by the nerve roots of the spinal nerves, but mostly pseudoradicular caused, in the sense of a diverse radiation of pain from the joint facets, the intervertebral disc and the back muscles.

In manual medicine (chirotherapy, chiropractic ), blockages ( blockages , displacements, subluxations ) in one of the two sacroiliac joints are seen as the cause of the lumbago. Manual medical treatment consists of mobilization (mobilization, unblocking, manipulation , "straightening", " breaking bones ", "indenting") of the "dislocated" joint. These blockages can not be detected with diagnostic imaging methods . In the orthopedic examination, however, the so-called lead phenomenon is regularly found when comparing the sides .

Symptoms

The typical symptoms are severe pain when straightening up from a hunched position. The pain is often position-dependent. In addition, there is tension in the back muscles and movement restrictions in the back area. If the thoracic spine is affected ( thoracic spine syndrome ), breathing can also be impaired. Lumbago is painful, but usually harmless. However, the following symptoms indicate possible more serious causes:

  • Numbness
  • Paralysis
  • Difficulty urinating or defecating
  • Radiation of the symptoms to other parts of the body

therapy

As a rule, no medical therapy is required, the lumbago disappears on its own after a few days. Nevertheless, the following agents can have an analgesic effect:

Painkiller
If the symptoms are severe, pain relievers with anti-inflammatory effects (e.g. diclofenac or ibuprofen ) can alleviate the symptoms. If taken early, the tension in the muscles and thus further complaints are prevented. Sometimes local pain ointments also help.
Movement, stretching exercises
Bed rest is not recommended; on the contrary, walking around and moving around loosens the cramped muscles, frees the vertebrae and ensures better blood circulation.
warmth
Heat compresses, hot water bottles and heat ointments relax and loosen up the muscles. This takes some discomfort and allows for better range of motion.

In the past, the medium-acting benzodiazepine tetrazepam was also prescribed for lumbago . Its drug approval was revoked in 2013 because of its side effects. There's also no evidence that muscle relaxation helps with lumbago. To prevent further lumbago, targeted exercises to strengthen the back muscles after recovery are recommended.

Curiosities

Early modern depiction of a lumbago (around 1490)

The term lumbago illustrates the medieval or early modern notion that diseases of supernatural beings (e.g. witches , albums, elves ) are inflicted on a person by means of an arrow shot.

  • In 1655 Anna Freese was accused of sorcery by the secretary Justus Deventer before the council of the city of Hildesheim and a law faculty was called in because his maid wanted to sweep in front of the house when she suddenly couldn't move a limb; Her arms and legs were "almost asleep" immediately after she bent down after the broom, which "fell over on itself" ...

See also

  • Back pain for scientific-medical details, diagnostics and therapy

Web links

Wiktionary: Lumbago  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. List of historical disease names on bionity.com, accessed on October 22, 2016
  2. Heinz Küpper: Dictionary of German colloquial language. Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89853-736-6 , p. 1800.
  3. Duden | Lumbago | Spelling, meaning, definition, synonyms, origin. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
  4. Jürgen Krämer, Joachim Grifka: Orthopädie trauma surgery . 8th edition. Springer, Heidelberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-48498-1 .
  5. ^ Pschyrembel (Medical Dictionary) , 266th edition, de Gruyter , Berlin / Boston 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-033997-0 , page 1266.
  6. Lexicon: People, Terms, Events. Directmedia, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932544-62-5 , article 17.511.
  7. Lumbago - acute low back pain. In: pharmacies look around. December 7, 2015, accessed September 12, 2016 .
  8. Lutz Röhrich: Lexicon of the proverbial sayings. Volume 2, Directmedia, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-9811483-8-X , p. 713.
  9. Joachim Lehrmann : For and against the madness - witch hunt in the Hochstift Hildesheim '', and "A contender against the witch madness" - Lower Saxony's unknown early enlightener (Justus Oldekop). Lehrte 2003, 272 pp., ISBN 978-3-9803642-3-2 , p. 118.
  10. Read online in the text collection of karl-may-gesellschaft.de (part 24, p. 362) - accessed on July 1, 2011.