Flat back - a condition in which physiological bends in the spinal column are significantly reduced. Patients with this symptom cannot maintain one position for a long time, as this provokes severe pain in the spinal column. Such people get tired quickly, cannot work normally, complain of unpleasant pain. Due to the decrease in depreciation of the spine in a person, microtraumas of the spinal cord and brain can occur, which lead to pain and other unpleasant symptoms.
Status Description
The main symptoms of a flat back are severe pain in the groin, hips, and upper back. To maintain the position of the body, patients have to bend and unbend their legs in the hips and knees. Such symptoms are considered very dangerous, since as a result they can lead to disability, significantly limit a person's mobility, lead to the need to regularly use narcotic and pain medication. There are many photos of a flat back.
With this syndrome, doctors distinguish the following symptoms:
- elongated neck;
- straight head;
- shoulders lowered and extended slightly forward;
- flat stomach, chest and buttocks;
- scapulars lagging behind the back, which are strongly expressed against the background of the body.
Such a disease can, with untimely treatment and diagnosis, lead to the development of scoliotic disease.
Why does it appear?
The physiologically correct spine has some curvature, which are important for maintaining the posture in one position and ensuring upright posture to the person. With weakly expressed or smoothed curvatures, a person begins to actively develop a condition such as a flat back.
Also, the cause of such a lesion may be a violation in the structure of the intervertebral discs with their rapid wear. Disorders in the anatomy of the back can develop with compression cracks in the vertebrae, ankylosing spondylitis and osteoporosis. It is important to remember that a flat back and disturbances in posture are directly dependent on each other.
Often this condition is diagnosed in children with any physical impairment or lack of activity, for example, those who have been in bed for a long time due to a certain disease. Often such a disease occurs against the background of flat feet and other disorders in the structure of organs.
In addition to children who are lagging behind in physical development, damage can also occur when the body grows too fast, as well as when muscle development lags behind the bones of the skeleton.
Lesion diagnosis
When diagnosing a flat back in a child, the doctor collects an anamnesis about the patient's condition (pain, discomfort, recent surgery), he also draws special attention to the symptoms that appear in the patient with a long stay in one position.
The main diagnostic study that helps to make an accurate diagnosis is considered an X-ray examination with a side scan. It provides accurate information about the condition of the discs, vertebrae and patency of the spinal cord. Additionally, the doctor prescribes a CT scan and an MRI.
Treatment features
Treatment of a flat back will be prescribed by the attending specialist after carrying out all diagnostic measures and establishing an accurate diagnosis. Before starting treatment, it is important to accurately determine the cause of the deformation, which requires correction of the axis of the spine.
With standard treatment, the doctor prescribes the patient a course of physiotherapy exercises, which helps to correct the axis of the spine and quickly restore its condition.
General therapeutic measures
All patients, regardless of the diagnosis, are recommended to follow the following general therapy plan for the treatment of a flat back:
- Wear only corrective shoes that will help restore your posture and form the correct bend. Based on orthopedic examinations, in childhood, the back can form due to different lengths of the legs or inappropriate footwear.
- Rest on a hard or semi-rigid bed. The mattress in the child's bed should be chosen according to the sensations. If the child has an unpleasant pain after waking up, it is important to choose a softer bed for him, as well as a pillow across the width of the shoulders.
- In order to strengthen the muscular skeleton of the back, it is important to regularly move, do physical exercises, play sports.
- During a long stay at the table, it is important to carefully monitor the state of your posture with a flat back, not to stand on one leg for too long, and not to carry a briefcase on one shoulder.
Medication
The use of medications helps to eliminate unpleasant symptoms of the disease and other disorders that prevent a person from moving normally and playing sports. To eliminate ailments and improve the general condition, a specialist prescribes drugs aimed at improving blood circulation, anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants. To eliminate the pain syndrome, the Novocaine anesthetic is most often used.
Physiotherapy
Exercises for gymnastics with a flat back are selected for each patient individually. The main goal of such physical education is to restore the previous mobility of the spine when tilted in different directions, to strengthen the muscles of the shoulders and chest.
Physiotherapy exercises and exercises for flat back syndrome are used to eliminate deformation, increase mobility and restore the condition of the spinal column, improve the body's endurance to stress, and normalize the patient’s nervous system. When performing exercises, the doctor does not allow intense arching, as they can only intensify the pain syndrome and worsen the general condition.
Professional doctors, together with a set of flat back exercises for treatment, add procedures on the inclined Evminov board, gymnastic stack and other devices that additionally help strengthen the muscles of the body. Also, it is customary to use massages, breathing exercises and mechanotherapy during treatment.
When straightening chest kyphosis, the chest is badly damaged, which as a result can lead to the development of problems with the respiratory and cardiovascular system in the body.
To stop the process of lung contraction, specialists often add classes in Strelnikova and Katarina Shrot to the complex of therapeutic exercises. To strengthen the body of the child, you should additionally begin to engage in active games, swimming and hiking.
Massage
When treating a flat back, a good effect can be achieved by using massage sessions. This procedure improves the metabolic process, restores normal blood circulation, suppresses pain during movement. At the same time, a professional masseur corrects the spinal column, strengthens the muscles, improves the functioning of the respiratory system and other important departments.
In this condition, the patient can choose one of the following massage methods:
- Local. This type of massage affects the joints and muscles, which have the greatest load from exercise. The time of the procedure varies from 15 to 20 minutes, is carried out daily.
- General massage is carried out every week for 30-40 minutes per session.
- Preliminary massage. Such a procedure is needed to prepare the muscles and joints for a comprehensive physiotherapy exercise. The procedure lasts 10 minutes.
Paul Bragg Exercise Set
A set of exercises helps to achieve the curvature of individual sections of a flat back. In just 6 months, the patient will be able to stop the development of the pathological process and even completely get rid of it. For this, the patient only needs to perform 5 exercises. This treatment is based on observing dogs and cats, which constantly arch their backs when they stretch.
This method of treatment is an exercise designed taking into account the physiological capabilities of a person, without the use of sudden movements.
Initiating physical therapy should first be with swaying movements, which over time will increase the overall amplitude.
Execution technique
The correctness and duration of the exercise will directly depend on motivation:
- Eliminate pain in the head and lower back, alleviate the condition of the upper back, using the following exercise: lie on the floor, face down, palms should be placed under the chest, legs should be spread to the width of the shoulders. Over time, you should raise the torso up, bend your back and rest on your palms. The pelvis should be above the head, the limbs are straightened. The number of repetitions for the first time reaches 2-4 times, after this figure increases to 12.
- Strengthen the muscles of the lower back and skeleton, restore the functioning of the kidneys, liver and gall bladder using the following method: the position remains, as in the previous exercise, but when lifting the pelvis in this case, it should be turned first to the right, then to the left.
- You can lighten muscles and relieve heavy loading by the following exercise: sit on the floor, put your hands behind your back, lean on them, then you should lift your pelvis up, resting on straightened legs and arms. Raise the body to a horizontal position, then lower it back.
- You can improve the condition of the spine and spinal nerves with the following exercise: lie on your back, grab the body with your hands, touching the chin of the knees. In this position, it should be fixed for 5 seconds, make 2-4 repetitions.
- Another effective exercise is crawling around the room on all fours. When performing the exercise, the head should be lowered, the back curved, and the pelvis raised.
Additional exercises
Specialists distinguish other exercises for a flat back, they are performed with legs raised from a prone position:
- Scissors. Straight legs rise up, get divorced to the sides, then come together, the right and left legs alternate. The lower the legs will be located in relation to the floor, the harder it will be to conduct a workout, but the effect of this can be achieved much more.
- Bike. The limbs take turns lifting up, bending and unbending, simulating a bicycle ride. The legs need to be twisted first forward, then backward.
- Angle. Raise immediately two legs up to obtain a right angle between the trunk and legs. Hold in this position for 30 seconds, then repeat.
Also, the patient's doctor can prescribe exercises aimed at developing the chest and increasing lumbar lordosis. For example, torsion of a hoop helps to develop coordination, improve overall balance and bring all muscles to work.
With a flat back, you should adhere to gymnastic exercises in accordance with all the recommendations of a specialist. It is important to remember that with such a lesion of the back, the muscles are constantly in a relaxed state, so exercises help to maintain normal posture and get rid of the syndrome. The most important in this case is the regularity of execution.
Additional sources of assistance
If you do not start to correct your back in time, then the syndrome can lead to complications that are dangerous for the health of the child. The following treatment methods are distinguished:
- wearing an orthopedic corset, which does not always give a good result, and sometimes even more weakens the condition of the back muscles;
- surgery - is appointed only when the curvature of the axis of the back threatens the life of the child;
- manual therapy - massage, therapeutic exercises and kinesitherapy.
Before starting a flat back correction, it is important to carefully prepare for the procedure and visit a doctor.