Back pain is common cause of medical consultation

Santo Domingo, DR

The spine can be affected by pathologies that merit the attention of a specialist, with the lumbar region being where the most significant number of ailments that merit surgical intervention are concentrated.

Giovanni Ureña, Coordinator of the Spine Clinic of the Centers for Diagnostic and Advanced Medicine and Medical Conferences and Telemedicine (CEDIMAT), said that among the most common clinical syndromes is low back or lumbar pain, which is the second most frequent cause of consultation with a physician and represents the main reason for sick leave in industrialized countries.

Ureña explained that this is due to the biomechanical factors of the lumbar area, which is the spinal segment that supports the greatest amount of weight (head, neck, trunk, and upper extremities) and presents great mobility.

“In most patients, the origin of the pain is muscular, especially between the second and third decade of life, which in most cases responds well to rest, medication and exercise. If the pain persists, a neurosurgeon specialized in the spine should be visited to investigate and make an accurate etiological diagnosis,” he indicated.

He also explained that lumbar disc herniation is among the frequent pathologies, which originates when a fragment of the intervertebral disc is displaced through the walls that contain it (fibrocartilaginous ring and common anterior, posterior vertebral ligaments).

The specialist pointed out that this displacement causes a compression of the nerve roots that run inside the spinal canal and of those that emerge through the radicular holes or foramen, generating a picture of pain that compromises the lumbar region and extends or radiates to the leg, giving rise to the pain known as lumbar sciatica.

Ureña added that the origin of this pathology is multifactorial; among the most relevant are the degenerative and the microtrauma generated by posture, type of work, weight, or the traumatic component (frequently, the situation starts after a physical effort).