Kidney pain can have many different causes. It can present as either a sharp, severe pain or a dull ache, usually on either the left or right side of your spine. The type of pain that you are experiencing is often the first clue to what is causing it.
Many people feel a dull ache in their back and believe it to be kidney pain, when in fact it is muscular or disc pain. Understanding exactly where your kidneys are and what kind of symptoms are produced by kidney problems will help you and your doctor choose what tests to have done so that you can get a correct diagnosis more quickly.
Kidney Pain Or Back Pain?
The first thing that you need to determine when you have pain in the area referred to as your flank (left or right of the spine, high on your back) is whether what you are experiencing is actually kidney pain or back pain. The kidneys are located just below your rib cage in your retroperitoneal space.
They are shaped like beans and are each roughly the size of an adult fist. Many people think that an ache that’s close to the center of the back is coming from their kidneys, but if it’s a dull ache, it is probably coming from your muscles, discs or ligaments.
The most common ailments of the kidney cause sharp, severe pain that comes in waves. Though there are a few kidney-
Causes
True kidney pain is most frequently caused by either infection or some kind of injury or blockage. A kidney infection is much more serious than a bladder infection and should be treated by a physician immediately. It causes an ache that is sharp and comes in waves. It is often accompanied by vomiting, nausea, high fever and chills.
An infection within the kidney causes swelling and inflammation, and the inflexible casing of your kidneys will become extremely painful as it stretches with the swelling. Treatment for this kind of illness requires immediate antibiotics, usually administered via IV.
Kidney Pain During Pregnancy
Generally speaking, when a kidney infection is present the pain begins on either the left or right side of your spine. If you are pregnant and experience back pain that is up high near your ribs, on the right side and accompanied by symptoms of fever, contact your physician immediately. Kidney infections during pregnancy consistently present on the right side.
Left Side
If the pain you are experiencing is coming from kidney stones, the pain generally does not begin until the stone has left your kidneys and has started traveling down to your bladder. Kidney stone pain is caused by the stone getting stuck and your urine getting blocked. The backed up urine will make your kidney swell, and the pain in this situation is severe. It is referred to as colic and has been compared to the intense pain of labor.
Right Side
The other, less common causes of kidney pain include kidney cancer or tumor, polycystic kidneys, injury leading to your urine flow being blocked, or a condition called an infarction. An infarction describes the kidney twisting on itself and the blood flow stopping. Whatever its cause, if you are experiencing kidney pain you should contact your doctor immediately so that you can get a diagnosis and begin a course of treatment.