It is very easy and simple to get a cold (get myalgia) if you are inattentive and rather frivolous about your health. As the saying goes, “there would be a desire.” Moreover, an ailment can "knock you out" not only in winter, but also in summer. The fact is that in winter people are more careful in protecting their back from drafts and wind. And in the summer, they relax and enjoy cooling their hot bodies under devices such as air conditioners. It is here that they are overtaken by an ailment.
The disease is characterized by rather severe pain in the lumbar region. Sometimes, pain does not allow normal flexion and extension of the back, as well as moving normally. If you have a cold, what should you do? Let's get it right.
Remember! Hypothermia of the back can cause very serious complications and even chronic diseases. Therefore, do not neglect the treatment of myalgia and do it immediately, as soon as you feel the first symptoms.
Causes of the disease
There can be many reasons for the appearance of pain in the back:
- Draft. Even a short stay on it can cause a spastic increase in muscle tone, which occurs due to a sharp compression of blood vessels.
- Hypothermia. Even a lung can cause a typical complication.
- Cold water. By itself, it can hardly cause back pain, but in combination with a draft it can even .;
- A sharp difference in temperature. The situation is very characteristic when you get into an air-conditioned room from the heat.
- A piercing wind (for example, on a viewing platform or promenade) can be an excellent “catalyst” for back pain.
- A small sip of cold water.
- Wrong clothes to go out. For example, low waist jeans that open the lower back, a short jacket, or something like that.
All this can cause myalgia, as the body does not always manage to quickly respond to the current situation.
Myalgia mechanism
In the warmth, the blood vessels dilate, while the pulse and blood circulation slow down. Everything is natural. In the case of a sharp cooling of the body, the vessels are compressed, but at the same time the blood circulation rate is still low, as a result of which the human immunity level decreases, and he is completely defenseless against bacteria and viruses.
In addition, due to a sharp contraction of the vessels, their spasm occurs, which provokes inflammation of the adjacent muscles - myositis. Neuritis can also occur, that is, inflammation of the nerve.
On a note! If a person carries out tempering procedures, then his vessels become more elastic and tolerate temperature changes much easier.
Symptoms of ailment
Signs of a stiff back that begin to appear approximately 10-12 hours after one of the factors listed above:
- Any movement requiring activity of the back muscles causes sharp sharp pain in the lumbar region. We have to find a comfortable posture (sometimes unnatural), so that it is easier to bear the pain. At the same time, body movements become very constrained.
- The pain syndrome does not wane, even after a long rest.
On a note! As a rule, the inflammatory process develops asymmetrically: one side of the back hurts more than the other.
- There is an increase in temperature.
- Drawing pain in muscles that have been chilled.
- Any massaging of the back area causes quite painful sensations.
- Sometimes there is a loss of skin sensitivity.
- When you have a cold, your lower back hurts - this happens without fail. But pain can be in the buttocks, and in the muscles of the legs.
- In women, a significant malfunction of the menstrual cycle can be observed.
- With myositis, colds become swollen and dense.
- Quite frequent urination.
- In some cases, decreased appetite.
On a note! Very often people complain that they have a cold in the back, while between the shoulder blades it hurts. Could this be? Yes, very often with this ailment the pain syndrome gives to the neck or shoulder blades.
Can myalgia be confused with anything else?
If you are engaged in self-diagnosis, then the above symptoms can be easily confused with signs of other diseases, for example:
- Glomerulonephritis, that is, inflammation of the kidneys. For this disease, pain in the lumbar region is quite a characteristic phenomenon.
- Pyelonephritis.
- Inflammation of the ovaries and fallopian tubes in women (uterine appendages).
- Cystitis, i.e. inflammation of the bladder.
- The consequence of great physical exertion.
- A pinched nerve.
- Some problems with the spine.
The whole difficulty is that banal hypothermia can provoke any of the listed diseases. Therefore, a medical specialist should be involved in the diagnosis. He will prescribe the necessary tests and studies, determine the source of pain and prescribe treatment.
Your actions if your back is caught
What to do if a sharp pain “overtook” you? At the first signs of pain in the back, the following should be done:
- Take a horizontal position, that is, lie down. It is advisable to observe bed rest for several days.
- Wrap the area of the congealed back with something warm, such as a woolen blanket or scarf. A good option would be to put a dry heating pad under the lumbar region.
- If the pain is unbearable, then you should take a medication that relieves muscle spasm and pain.
- You can apply back ointment to the skin, which has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, or apply an alcohol compress (which will be discussed below).
- Call a doctor at home.
On a note! To fully recover from the disease, the doctor must issue the patient a sick leave. If he forgets this, he should be reminded.
Treatment process
How to cure a stiff back? The disease is serious and requires complex treatment. Before you begin to get rid of the disease, the doctor must make an accurate diagnosis. If your back is stuck, treatment should be started as soon as possible, as in this case the patient has a better chance of success.
After making sure that the patient suffers from inflammation of the muscles of the back, and not from another disease, the specialist prescribes the following medicines and recovery measures:
- It is necessary to provide the back with complete rest. Since it makes no sense to treat the lumbar region, while loading it and not giving time for recovery. Moreover, adhere to bed rest should be at least 3-4 days.
Important! It is recommended to sleep exclusively on a rigid and even bed, which does not bend under the weight of the body.
- Use the medications prescribed for each specific case. It’s unlikely that they can do without them.
- Apply topical preparations, namely ointments and gels, which have fewer side effects than other dosage forms. In treatment, they play an extremely important role and are very effective. Moreover, the question, if a nerve is caught on the back than spreading it, is not difficult, since the pharmacy network presents a wide selection of various means for rubbing. These can be warming drugs, as well as painkillers with an anti-inflammatory effect (read more about them below).
On a note! Gels have better ability to penetrate deep into the muscles and do not clog skin pores (compared to ointments). But, the latter have the best warming effect, since when they are applied to the skin, a protective film is formed.
- If the muscle spasm is very worrying for the patient, then relaxant injections can be prescribed.
- Physiotherapeutic procedures. They are prescribed only by a doctor.
- Warming up of the frozen area. It can be a warming wool belt, a dry heating pad or a compress. Remember: hot baths during inflammation are strictly contraindicated, as they can only aggravate the situation.
- To relieve edema, salt intake should be significantly limited.
- In order to improve blood circulation, massage may be prescribed. But, be careful. In the early days of the disease, these manipulations can be very painful. Therefore, it is better to go to massage during the recovery period, when touching the muscles will not be so painful.
- Introduction to the daily routine of physiotherapy exercises.
- Nutrition adjustment, the appointment of a specific diet.
Important! If the backache is not cured completely, then you will have to remember about the disease every off-season.
As a rule, the treatment process takes place at home under the vigilant supervision of a therapist.
On a note! If you have a question, have a cold, what to do, and you immediately grab the first painkillers that come across, then this is wrong. You can bring your ailment to chronic or purulent myositis. Only a medical specialist can prescribe the necessary drugs.
Warming preparations
Warming ointments for muscles and joints, as well as compresses (for example, Apizartron or Finalgon) are drugs that have a distracting effect. The heat generated by their use helps to relax the back muscles. In this case, the pain stops and the spasm is relieved.
Important! Warming ointments for muscles and joints should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor. Self-medication is unacceptable.
Annoying drugs
Ointments and gels, containing mustard or red pepper extract, snake or bee venom, as well as camphor, are irritating agents (for example, "Capsicum" or "Viprosal"). They can be used not only as a remedy for a backache, but also as a prophylaxis for this ailment. If you rub the lumbar region with a similar drug immediately after hypothermia, then the likelihood that the inflammatory process begins will be reduced to zero. These ointments and gels contribute to the activation of local immunity, improve blood circulation and speed up metabolism.
Painkillers
If I got a cold, what should I do? Relieve inflammation. This can be done (naturally, after consulting with your doctor) using non-steroidal medications that are taken orally (for example, Movalis or Ortofen) and injections (for example, Analgin or Ketanov). They are prescribed both for quick (emergency) pain relief, and for the protracted nature of the disease.
Important! The duration of taking non-steroid medications should not exceed 7 days.
Also, the use of analgesic ointments for the back with an anti-inflammatory effect (for example, Movasin or Diclofenac) and drugs with an antispasmodic effect (for example, Spazmalgon or No-Shpa) also gives a good effect.
Anti-inflammatory drugs
Anti-inflammatory drugs (for example, Fastum, Dolaren or Voltaren), which contain such active substances as methyl salicylate, ibuprofen and others, are very effective in combating inflammation of the nerve endings and muscles of the back. Their characteristic feature is that they penetrate deep into the tissues, preventing the inflammatory process.
On a note! During the day they should be applied quite often - 4-6 times, carefully rubbing the congealed area. Perhaps their use as a compress.
Combined action drugs
These medications contain components of a warming, analgesic and anti-inflammatory nature. For example, the drug "Dolobene" contains a substance such as heparin. It is removed from snake venom and prescribed not only in case of a cold inflammatory process, but also with bruises and injuries. "Heparin" performs many functions:
- relieves swelling;
- dilutes blood;
- removes hematomas.
On a note! Many preparations used for grinding, in their composition have a substance such as menthol, which is obtained from mint. This component, which has vasodilating and cooling properties, is referred to as a therapy that is distracting in nature. Ointments and gels with menthol besides the fact that they smell pleasant, cause a pleasant sensation in the patient and relieve pain.
Traditional Medicine Tips
Caught a backache, what to do at home? There are a huge number of folk remedies for combating inflammation of the back muscles, which can be used as first aid for malaise or in addition to the recovery measures prescribed by the doctor. All of them are mainly aimed at warming up the back, improving blood circulation and activating muscles. As compresses suggest using:
- Salt, heated either in a dry frying pan or in a heated oven, wrap in a cloth and place on a frozen area.
- Lubricate the cabbage leaf with either mustard or honey. Then we proceed in the same way as described above.
- We put pepper patch and mustard on the lumbar region.
- With vegetable oil, lubricate the cured area. It creates a film on the skin that significantly complicates heat transfer and thereby contributes to the heating of the sore spot;
- Any animal fat (goat or badger) with which we do the same as with vegetable.
- Warm potatoes mashed and wrapped in cloth.
- Gauze or any cotton fabric soaked with diluted alcohol or vodka.
Important! Do not hold compresses for very long, especially when using pepper plasters and mustard plasters. Otherwise, there is a great danger of an allergic reaction or burns.
After the compress is removed, you can make an afflicted massage using rubbing ointments. But one should not be too zealous, that is, such manipulations should not cause painful sensations. After all, the main goal of any massage is to stimulate the work of muscles and improve blood circulation.
Remember: before you start using traditional medicine methods, you should make sure that:
- Diagnosis is correct. A situation should be excluded when a person thinks that he has a cold in his back, but in fact he has kidney problems. In this case, all your efforts will be in vain. In this case, the disease will only progress, and valuable time for successful treatment will be lost.
- As a result of using the proposed methods for warming up the back muscles, there will not be an allergic reaction to any component.
Important! The use of folk remedies also needs approval from a medical specialist.
Finally
Now you know, if you have a cold, what to do. Your home medicine cabinet should have ointments and rubbing gels. And it is also important to remember that in order to prevent the inflammatory process of the back muscles, it is necessary that the patient is in a horizontal position for several days. Do not forget about compresses, massage and therapeutic exercises, which must be carried out as pain decreases. Do not despair, you will succeed!