Back pain is one of the most common complaints for which patients seek medical attention. Such a symptom can have a different origin, localization, character, etc. In particular, if a person has a pain in the right side from the back, this can indicate both minor injuries and the development of serious pathologies.
It is noteworthy that the cause of pain in the right side of the back does not necessarily lie in the pathological processes associated with the spine or back. The pain can be radiating, that is, it can indicate diseases of various organs and systems. Now we will consider what types of painful syndromes are found, what are the causes of their occurrence, as well as the principles of diagnosis.
Types of pain
Before looking for the causes of any unpleasant sensations, it is necessary to understand their classification. In this case, the question is about what types of back pain are on the right.
The ability to recognize the pain syndrome, its specificity and nature, will give you the opportunity to more accurately convey the clinical picture to the doctor, telling about your feelings. At the same time, the doctor, having received a description of the symptoms, can make assumptions about the origin of the pain. This will greatly simplify the process of identifying the diagnosis and prescribing treatment in the future.
Pain is of the following types:
acute pain
One of the most common types of pain, and besides, the most severe. They are characterized by their increased intensity, as well as the suddenness of their occurrence. They are difficult to tolerate by patients, require the use of painkillers. In most cases, acute pain is successfully stopped with analgesics or antispasmodics. Such a pain syndrome is characterized by its short duration, it occurs as abruptly as it disappears, but these manifestations of cases are cyclical.
Sharp back pain
A subspecies of acute, characterized by intensity and suddenness. They are characterized as stabbing or cutting, while the backaches are so strong and unexpected that the person literally "twists". Patients experiencing sharp pains are always irritable, as they are constantly in a state of expectation of a new attack, which is impossible to predict. Acute pain in the right side often radiates to the back, that is, it radiates, even if its epicenter is in the front of the body.
Dull pain in right side
The second type of pain syndrome in terms of variety, which differs from the first in much less high intensity. The main disadvantage of dull pains is their methodical and constancy. Such painful sensations do not disappear for a long time, they disturb a person constantly, even in a dream. Due to the low degree of intensity, dull pains are easier to bear, but at the same time, they are worse relieved by drugs, because in such cases it is important to act directly on the causes of the pain syndrome.
Aching pain in the right back
One of the types of dull pain, which in most cases radiates to the back from another department, especially often this happens with various diseases of the organs. In addition, aching pains are often a sign of overexertion of the back muscles, which can occur not only as a result of physical exertion at work or in the gym. Pain on the right under the ribs behind appears due to muscle strain due to prolonged forced stay in an uncomfortable position.
Drawing pain in right side
The second kind of dull pain, which is also characterized by monotony, constancy and duration. The intensity of pain in this case is also low, but all dull pains have an unpleasant feature - they increase for a short time with unsuccessful, careless movements, a sharp change in body position, etc. In this case, a person feels a short-term pain outbreak, which can be replaced by numbness, the pain syndrome becomes sluggish again. Drawing pains therefore got such a name, they cause a feeling that something is pulling a muscle or bone, for example, when a pulling pain from the lumbosacral region radiates to the right leg.
In addition to the above gradation, the main division of the pain syndrome into types is the classification into weak and severe pain. Unfortunately, these indicators are subjective, since they depend on the individual characteristics of the organism of each individual person. First of all, we are talking about sensitivity, pain threshold, but in any case, the intensity of the experienced unpleasant sensations is very important to convey to the attending physician.
Information about the nature and intensity, as well as the localization of the pain syndrome, allows the doctor not only to suggest a possible cause of discomfort, but also to roughly understand at what stage of development the pathological process is.
Why does it hurt and why?
As mentioned earlier, there are a huge number of causes of pain in the right hypochondrium from behind from the back, as well as above or below the thoracic region, but also on the right. At the same time, the pain syndrome is strikingly different in terms of intensity, character, localization. In addition, the back, joints and spine are not always the cause of the pain syndrome.
Let's look at the most common causes of pain on the right side of the back:
Osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is the leader in frequency and prevalence, it is he who can cause the discussed symptoms. The pathological process is characterized by dystrophic disorders in the cartilage of the spinal column, followed by the development of an inflammatory process in adjacent tissues. At the same time, the condition of the spine worsens greatly, infringement of the roots of the spinal cord or narrowing of the lumen of the spinal canal occurs. Pain under the right rib or just on the side occurs with the development of pathology in the thoracic or lumbar region. By nature, the pain is often dull, aching or pulling, aggravated by bending over, careless movements, and physical exertion.
Radiculitis
A pathology that accompanies damage to the roots of the spinal cord, in which the patient suffers from intense pain, depending on the individual, dull or acute. With this disease, pain often radiates not only to the right side of the back, but also to the shoulder blade, right shoulder, etc.
Hernia
The formation between the vertebrae, contributing to the protrusion of the intervertebral disc. This pathology is accompanied by a constant pain syndrome with unpleasant sensations of aching or pulling character. With an intervertebral hernia, pain increases during the day, in the evening there is a peak in intensity. Pain is given to the right hypochondrium when formed at the level of the corresponding pair of vertebrae. Sharp movements, lifting weights or palpation of the place of hernia formation respond with a sharp strong backache.
Spondylosis
Deformation of the spinal column caused by the proliferation of the bone tissues of the vertebrae. Due to the expansion, the nerve endings of the spinal cord are compressed, a stable and constant pain syndrome develops. Unpleasant sensations at the same time are dull, aching, pulling in nature, do not weaken even when lying down or during sleep.
The four points described above refer to pain caused exclusively by diseases of the back and spine, hernias, osteochondrosis, protrusions, etc. But in addition to this, it is important to know other possible causes of pain:
Pathologies of the urinary system
A striking example of pathologies of this type is urolithiasis, which is accompanied by the formation of stones. In this case, the localization of pain depends on the localization of the stones. If they are formed in the lower part of the ureter, severe pain will appear in the lower back, giving to the side.
Sciatica
A feature of sciatica is the infringement of the sciatic nerve, after which it becomes inflamed in a certain area. Due to the fact that the sciatic nerve is the largest in length in the body and begins in the lumbar region, with this disease, pain radiating to the back is not uncommon. By nature, they are sharp, strong, stabbing, but they occur in attacks that are described by patients as severe backache.
kidney problems
The most common disease in this category is pyelonephritis, that is, an inflammatory process in the kidneys of bacterial etiology. In this case, pain is felt in the lower part of the right or left side, depending on which kidney has become inflamed. The pain is often dull and aching, but can also resemble renal colic. In this case, renal colic is a separate kidney disease, also accompanied by pain in the right side from behind. However, in this case, the pain syndrome is very strong and, with the development of pathology, is able to cover the entire lumbar region.
Liver disease
As you know, the liver is located on the right side of the abdomen. Accordingly, the pathologies of this organ are very often accompanied by pain in the right side from the back. Among the pathological processes, the most unpleasant and painful are hepatic colic or cirrhosis of the liver. An even greater level of threat is a rare rupture of the liver, in which a person suffers from severe pain, accompanied by internal hemorrhage.
Pathologies of the stomach and intestines
There are many different diseases of the stomach and intestines, accompanied by unpleasant sensations radiating to the back. These are acute forms of gastritis, peptic ulcer, intestinal colic, etc. However, diseases of this nature are accompanied by other symptoms (nausea, stool disorders, vomiting, etc. ).
Diseases of the respiratory system
In this case, lung diseases are directly implied, among which pleurisy (inflammation of the pleural tissue), pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) are considered the most common, and tuberculosis is also among the possible problems. In each case, pain in the right side will be present when the right lung is affected. The pains are of a different nature, mostly sharp and stabbing, tend to intensify during coughing.
Cardiac pathologies
Mainly coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction are taken into account. At the same time, pain sensations in the back, in the right side of the back in the thoracic region, appear due to girdle pains, they are acute and stabbing in nature, aggravated by exertion, coughing, deep breathing, etc.
Inflammation of the gallbladder or acute cholecystitis
Another common problem in which patients complain of severe pain in the right side of the abdominal cavity. However, the pain radiates to the right side or even under the right shoulder blade. All unpleasant sensations arise mainly after eating junk food, alcoholic beverages. The clinical picture is complemented by nausea, vomiting, a feeling of bitterness in the oral cavity.
Pregnancy
Pain in pregnant women occurs more often at the beginning or middle of the third trimester. This is explained by the growth of the fetus, because in the later stages it reaches a rather large size, which significantly increases the load on the back of the expectant mother. In addition, painful sensations also arise due to the fact that the center of gravity is shifting, respectively, more load is placed on individual muscles. In such cases, pain may appear at the bottom right, they occur mainly in the lumbar region and disappear when the woman is resting.
Of course, we must not forget about another very common factor - mechanical damage. In this case, the cause of any discomfort is blows, bruises, sprains, dislocations and fractures. Also, this item can be attributed to muscle pain caused by excessive physical exertion on the back.
In any case, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the pain syndrome on the right side from the back, even knowing all the possible variables. That is why the diagnosis of causes and treatment of pain are inseparable concepts. To accurately establish the diagnosis, be sure to consult a doctor.
Diagnosis - who to contact?
First of all, you should go to the local therapist, who, based on complaints, will refer you to a narrow specialist. Depending on the underlying cause of pain in the right side of the back, this specialist may be a neurologist, urologist, gastroenterologist, or cardiologist.
To understand why the back hurts on the right, a number of diagnostic measures are required, which also differ depending on various factors. Initially, the doctor conducts an initial examination with palpation of the place indicated by the patient. Only after the examination it becomes clear what examinations are needed:
- radiography;
- Computed tomography (CT);
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
- Fluorography;
- Blood, urine, stool tests;
- Measurement of pressure and heart rate;
- Fibrogastroduodenoscopy with the possibility of gastric juice sampling and tissue biopsy;
- Ultrasound of a specific organ, etc.
Each method allows you to establish a problem in a particular area, to detect damage to organs, the spinal column, and so on. It is only important to remember that contacting a doctor in such cases is a mandatory action, and self-medication is strictly prohibited.