When a person is bothered by pain in the right side from the back, many people are interested in potential diagnoses even before visiting the doctor’s office. The reasons are quite prosaic: the patient must know which doctor to see, whether it is necessary to go to the hospital or outpatient treatment is enough. The patient, like a commander plans a battle, gathers his strength and brings up his reserves. Some illnesses are insidious and deadly, others ultimately turn out to be a figment of the imagination.
The cause of discomfort on the right side of the back is acute diseases
Experts determine possible causes by the location of the pain and accompanying symptoms. An acute pain attack on the right under the ribs develops with acute cholecystitis, appendicitis and a number of other diseases. Aching pain provokes various pathologies of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and spine. The body, through pain, sends a signal of danger, which must be recognized in order to begin treatment in a timely manner.
Acute diseases as causes of sudden pain in the right side from the back:
- inflammation or abscess of the right kidney;
- cholelithiasis;
- cholecystitis (read about its treatment in this article);
- appendicitis;
- pleurisy;
- pneumonia;
- osteochondrosis;
- myocardial infarction.
Important! A patient with sudden intense pain with suspected acute appendicitis, renal colic, or myocardial infarction must be hospitalized.
The abdominal form of myocardial infarction is more common in women. Pain occurs in the right hypochondrium, in the side from the back, in the navel area. Other symptoms of the disease: dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness. A painful attack begins after physical exertion, during emotional stress, at the age of over 45 years. A dangerous disease can lead to death if measures are not taken in time.
In what cases do you need to urgently seek help?
Not only acute pain should be a signal to see a doctor. The greatest danger is mild pain that persists for several days and does not disappear even after a long rest. It is the body’s protective reaction to inflammatory or degenerative damage to internal organs and the spinal column.
You should immediately consult a doctor if there are severe concomitant symptoms - fever, surges in blood pressure, visual and auditory disturbances, dizziness, nausea, vomiting.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia and pleurisy are inflammatory diseases that are accompanied by fever, cough with purulent sputum, and difficulty breathing. If the process is localized in the lower lobe of the lung, then when inhaling and turning the body, the pain in the hypochondrium intensifies.
Among the causes of pain are malignant tumors. The development of a cancerous tumor in the right lung is accompanied by severe pain on the right side under the scapula. To make the correct diagnosis, specialists carefully listen to the lungs and refer for fluorography and chest x-ray.
Diagnostics: methods of diagnosis
If your back hurts above the lower back on the right, the causes can be found through careful diagnosis. Depending on the preliminary diagnosis, X-ray or ultrasound is chosen. Almost always, the patient needs to donate blood and urine. The process looks like this:
- Kidney problems are detected through blood and urine tests and ultrasound. Organ disorders affect the composition of urine - an increased content of salts is found in it, and sometimes blood is also found. Blood tests are also a good way to confirm (or refute) the diagnosis.
- When a patient has a spinal problem, their blood and urine are usually normal. An x-ray is required to check the condition of the vertebrae. It will show characteristic changes - osteophytes. It will also be possible to see problems with intervertebral discs.
- Ultrasound is used in most cases to diagnose internal organs. If the back hurts on the right side above the lower back, and the patient’s tests are normal, then the doctor may prescribe ultrasound diagnostics. In most cases it gives good results.
Making a diagnosis is sometimes difficult - the patient may have complex diseases. This is especially true for older people who experience degenerative changes in bone tissue, osteochondrosis, and organ diseases.
Diseases of the urinary organs
Against the background of relative well-being, renal colic appears. This is the name given to sharp, unbearable pain in the waist area and below due to injury to the ureter by a passing stone. Specialists diagnose acute kidney inflammation based on the nature of urination disorders, the results of laboratory tests of urine and ultrasound of the kidneys. Read about other symptoms, diseases and treatment of kidneys here.
With chronic inflammation in the right kidney, aching pain is localized in the right side, in the back below the waist. A person may not know that he has urolithiasis until he undergoes an ultrasound for another ailment. If there is sand in the kidneys, then the lower back hurts more during physical activity or uncomfortable body position.
Acute appendicitis
The typical localization of pain in acute and chronic appendicitis is the right iliac region. Sometimes the appendix “grows” upward and is located completely or partially under the liver. In these cases, pain occurs, radiating to the right side, where the liver and gall bladder are located. Self-administration of analgesics “blurs” the picture of acute appendicitis, so it is not recommended to use drugs before examination by a surgeon.
Aching pain below the waist on the right may intensify with abnormal development and atypical position of the appendix. A person may not be aware of this anatomical feature of his body. They help clarify the diagnosis: ultrasound, x-ray, laparoscopy.
Do you know where your appendix is located?
What to do if there is pain under the right shoulder blade?
It is not recommended to take any measures on your own to treat pain under the scapula, since the list of reasons that can provoke pain in such localization is quite extensive. To find out, you need to go to the hospital and undergo the necessary examination, which necessarily includes an x-ray of the scapula to exclude possible injuries and fractures.
First aid for a fracture
When a scapula is fractured, the first aid algorithm usually looks like this.
- Anesthetize the fracture site. If possible and the necessary knowledge, it is best to use a solution of novocaine or procaine for injection. In their absence, you can give the victim any analgesic, for example, metamizole sodium (Baralgin, Analgin).
"Analgin" - If there are no visual signs of displacement of bone fragments, place a rolled up towel or jacket in the armpit.
- Bend the arm on the side of the injury at the elbow and secure it on the chest with a scarf or scarf.
First aid
After specialized care is provided in the emergency room, the bandage should be worn for another 14-20 days.
Muscle strain: what to do?
When the subscapularis muscles are sprained, the most effective method of pain relief in the first two days is cold compresses (a heating pad with ice, a wet cloth, etc.). You need to hold them for about 10-15 minutes, repeat the procedure up to 5-6 times a day.
Using an ice pack
Starting from the third day, treatment usually includes the following drugs:
- NSAIDs in the form of ointments and tablets (Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Nimesulide);
- warming ointments with bee venom or camphor alcohol (“Capsicam”, “Viprosal”);
- gels and ointments with angioprotective effects (“Troxerutin”, “Heparin ointment”).
"Viprosal"
After the pain disappears, the use of gentle exercise therapy techniques and physiotherapeutic treatment is indicated, which is necessary for the complete restoration of the damaged muscle.
Women Health
Loads on the spine increase during pregnancy after five months. During this period, you may experience discomfort in the lower back or one side, or from the back. In the second half of the term, the greatly enlarged uterus displaces the colon along with the vermiform appendix towards the liver.
Important! With acute appendicitis, pregnant women feel a sharp pain in the side from behind the back, in the right hypochondrium.
Menopause in women is manifested by pain that occurs when blood flow in the pelvis is impaired. This is a reaction of organs to a decrease in the level of female sex hormones and metabolic disorders.
Classification of pain syndrome
In general, it is customary to distinguish several types of back pain, which occur in different conditions. Namely:
- nonspecific;
- radicular;
- specific.
Nonspecific ones are the most “harmless” ones, and they occur most often. Often such pain is a consequence of osteochondrosis, which was not treated in a timely manner, and is also associated with dysfunction of the skeleton and muscles. Radicular pain is a consequence of irritation or inflammation of the nerve roots. The cause may be a hernia, pinched or displaced vertebrae. The most dangerous are specific pains: the cause of such pain in the lower back on the left in men and women can be bone tuberculosis, fractures, oncology, etc.
Damage to the digestive tract
With chronic inflammation in the liver and gall bladder, dull, aching pain occurs above the lower back in the right hypochondrium. Unpleasant sensations persist for weeks and months, years. To restore their full functionality, attention should be paid to the entire digestive tract. If parasites are diagnosed in the liver, then you need to take antihelminthic drugs.
Comprehensive treatment of parasitic disease:
- adherence to the “Table No. 5” diet;
- choleretic agent;
- enzyme preparation;
- antimicrobial agent;
- anthelmintic drug;
- enterosorbent to cleanse the intestines of toxins;
- probiotics to restore intestinal microflora;
- collection of herbs chamomile, rose hips, corn silk.
Cholecystitis is accompanied by pain in the abdomen on the right under the ribs, which radiates to the right shoulder blade and shoulder. Alcohol, fried and fatty foods provoke an attack. Pain from the pancreas is rarely felt from the back. However, this organ is interconnected with the stomach and gall bladder. The pancreas becomes inflamed when the acidity of the gastric juice increases and the bile duct is blocked. A severe pain attack occurs.
In the case of pathologies of the gallbladder, the pain is localized above the waist - in the right hypochondrium, and radiates to the right shoulder blade. It is recommended to follow a diet and avoid alcohol intake. To relieve spasms, take the drugs Buscopan and No-shpa.
Doctors usually suggest removal of the gallbladder to a patient with acute cholecystitis, as there is a high risk of developing peritonitis. A modern, low-traumatic method is endoscopic surgery. No incision is made, but the gallbladder is removed through small punctures.
Osteochondrosis of the spine and intercostal neuralgia
80% of the population experiences back pain. Many people blame fatigue, exhausting physical work, or hypothermia as the cause. These assumptions are partly true. Nonspecific pain in the right side of the back occurs with an uncomfortable posture and stereotypical movements. As a rule, discomfort disappears after rest.
What can cause pain in the right side from the back:
- intervertebral hernia;
- spinal injury;
- osteochondrosis;
- spondylosis.
With osteochondrosis, the nerves emerging from the spinal cord canal are affected, and aging of cartilage and bone tissue occurs. Attacks of pain are provoked by hypothermia, excess salt and acid in food, and excessive stress on the spine. Discomfort increases when inhaling, turning the body, performing physical work or sports exercises.
How to cope with pain?
More often than not, we ignore the dull pain in the hope that it will go away on its own. But, as a rule, such manifestations do not pass without consequences, which means that the pain will only intensify. But you shouldn’t self-medicate, as you can simply harm yourself. Therefore, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible, who can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Before you can see a doctor, you must:
- lie down on the bed and try not to make sudden movements. Brew yourself some chamomile tea to help you relax;
- try not to eat. Perhaps it was the foods you consumed that triggered the occurrence of such pain;
- do not be nervous, as this can only worsen the general condition of the body, weakening it even more.
Pain in the right side at the waist level occurs to each of us from time to time, although we often try not to notice it. You shouldn’t ignore the problem, because it won’t go away on its own, no matter how much you want it to. Instead of panicking, it is better to contact a specialist who will help you deal with the problem.
