LUMBAGO  , a

term in medicine applied to a painful ailment affecting the muscles of the lower part of the back, generally regarded as of rheumatic origin . An attack of lumbago may occur alone, or be associated with rheumatism in other parts of the body . It usually comes on by a seizure, often sudden, of pain in one or both sides of the small of the back, of a severe cutting or stabbing character, greatly aggravated on movement of the body, especially in attempting to rise from the recumbent posture and also in the acts of drawing a deep breath, coughing or sneezing . So intense is the suffering that it is apt to suggest the existence of inflammation in some of the neighbouring internal organs, such as the kidneys, bowels, &c., but the absence of the symptoms specially characteristic of these latter complaints, or of any great constitutional disturbance beyond the pain, renders the diagnosis a matter of no great difficulty . Lumbago seems to be brought on by exposure to cold and damp, and by the other exciting causes of rheumatism . Sometimes it follows a strain of the muscles of the loins . The attack is in general of short duration, but occasionally it continues for a long time, as a feeling of soreness and stiffness on movement . The treatment includes that for rheumatic affections in general (see RHEUMATISM) and the application of local remedies to allay the pain .