Back pain is one of the most common complaints for which patients seek medical attention. Such a symptom can have a different origin, localization, nature, etc. In particular, if a person has pain in the right side of the back, this can mean both minor injuries and the development of serious pathologies.
It should be noted that the cause of pain in the right side of the back does not necessarily lie in pathological processes related to the spine or back. Pain can be radiating, that is, it can indicate diseases of various organs and systems. Now we will consider what types of painful syndromes occur, what are the reasons for 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 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 by telling about your feelings. At the same time, the doctor, after receiving 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.
The pain is of the following types:
sharp pain
One of the most common types of pain and also the most severe. They are characterized by their increased intensity, as well as by the suddenness of their occurrence. They are difficult for patients to tolerate, they require the use of painkillers. In most cases, acute pain is successfully controlled with analgesics or antispasmodics. Such a pain syndrome is characterized by a short duration, it arises as suddenly as it disappears, but these manifestations of cases are cyclical.
Sharp back pain
A subspecies of sharp, characterized by intensity and suddenness. They are characterized as stabbing or cutting, and the back pain is so strong and unexpected that the person literally "squirms". Patients experiencing sharp pain are always irritable, as they are constantly in a state of expectation of a new attack, which isimpossible to predict Sharp pain in the right side often radiates to the back, that is, 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 by much less high intensity. The main disadvantage of dull pains is their methodicality and persistence. Such painful sensations do not disappear for a long time, they disturb a person constantly, even in sleep. Due to the low degree of intensity, dull pains are more easily tolerated, but at the same time they are relieved worse by drugs, since in such cases it is important to act directly on the causes of the pain syndrome.
Pain in the right side of the 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 back muscle strain, which can occur not only as a result of physical exertion at work or in the gym. The pain on the right under the ribs in the back appears due to muscle tension due to a long forced stay in an uncomfortable position.
Drawing pain in right side
The second type of dull pain, which is also characterized by monotony, persistence and duration. The intensity of pain in this case is also low, but all dull pains have an unpleasant characteristic - they increase in a short time with unsuccessful, careless movements, a sharp change in body position, etc. In this case, a person feels short-term pain, which can be replaced by numbness, the pain syndrome becomes slow again. That's why pulling pains got such a name, they create a feeling that something is pulling on 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 by types is the classification of weak and severe pain. Unfortunately, these indicators are subjective, as 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 it is very important to convey to the attending physician the intensity of the experienced unpleasant sensations.
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 behind the back, as well as above or below the chest, but also on the right. At the same time, the pain syndrome is strikingly different in terms of intensity, nature, 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 spine, followed by the development of an inflammatory process in adjacent tissues. At the same time, the condition of the spine deteriorates significantly, there is a violation of the roots of the spinal cord or a narrowing of the lumen of the spinal canal. The pain under the right rib or only on the side occurs with the development of pathology in the thoracic or lumbar region. In 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 sharp. In this disease, the 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 that contributes to the bulging 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, the pain increases during the day, there is a peak of intensity in the evening. The pain is given to the right hypochondrium when it is formed at the level of the corresponding pair of vertebrae. Sharp movements, lifting weights or palpating the site of hernia formation react with sharp, severe pain in the back.
spondylosis
Deformation of the spine caused by the proliferation of the bone tissue 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, painful, pulling in nature, do not weaken even in a lying position or during sleep.
The four points described above refer to pain caused exclusively by diseases of the back and spine, hernia, osteochondrosis, protrusions, etc. But in addition to this, it is important to know other possible causes of pain:
Pathologies of the excretory system
A vivid example of pathologies of this type is urolithiasis, which is accompanied by the formation of stones. In this case, the localization of the pain depends on the localization of the stones. If they form in the lower part of the ureter, there will be severe pain in the lower back, which is given to the side.
sciatica
A characteristic of sciatica is the violation of the sciatic nerve, after which it becomes inflamed in a certain area. Due to the fact that the sciatic nerve is the longest in the body and begins in the lumbar region, pain radiating to the back is not unusual in this disease. By nature, they are sharp, strong, piercing, but occur in attacks that patients describe as severe back pain.
kidney problems
The most common disease in this category is pyelonephritis, i. e. 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 is inflamed. The pain is often dull and aching, but it can also resemble renal colic. In this case, renal colic is a separate kidney disease, also accompanied by pain in the right side behind. However, in this case the pain syndrome is very strong and as the pathology develops, it can cover the entire lumbar region.
Liver disease
As you know, the liver is located on the right side of the abdomen. Accordingly, pathologies of this organ are very often accompanied by pain in the right side of the back. Among the pathological processes, the most unpleasant and painful are liver colic or cirrhosis of the liver. An even greater degree of threat is a rare rupture of the liver, in which a person suffers from severe pain accompanied by internal bleeding.
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 the most common are pleurisy (inflammation of the pleural tissue), pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs), and among the possible problems is tuberculosis. In any case, right-sided pain will be present when the right lung is affected. The pains are of a different nature, mostly sharp and piercing, tending to intensify during coughing.
Cardiac pathologies
Coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction are mainly taken into account. At the same time, pain sensations in the back, on the right side of the back in the chest area, appear due to pain in the girdle, they are sharp 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 spreads to the right side or even under the right shoulder blade. All unpleasant sensations arise mainly after eating unhealthy 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 in the beginning or middle of the third trimester. This is explained by the growth of the fetus, since in the later stages it reaches a rather large size, which significantly increases the load on the future mother's back. In addition, painful sensations also arise due to the fact that the center of gravity shifts, accordingly, more load is placed on individual muscles. In such cases, the pain may appear in the lower right, they appear mainly in the lumbar region and disappear when the woman rests.
Of course, we should not forget another very common factor - mechanical damage. In this case, the cause of any discomfort is blows, bruises, sprains, dislocations and fractures. Also, this element can be attributed to muscle pain caused by excessive physical strain on the back.
In any case, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the pain syndrome on the right side of the back, even knowing all the possible variables. That is why the diagnosis of the causes and the treatment of pain are inseparable concepts. To establish an accurate diagnosis, be sure to consult a doctor.
Diagnosis - who should I 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 right back pain, this specialist may be a neurologist, urologist, gastroenterologist or cardiologist.
To find out why the back hurts on the right side, a number of diagnostic measures are needed, which also differ depending on various factors. Initially, the doctor conducts a primary examination with palpation of the place indicated by the patient. Only after the examination does it become clear what tests are needed:
- radiography;
- Computed Tomography (CT);
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI);
- Fluorography;
- Blood, urine, stool tests;
- Measurement of pressure and pulse;
- Fibrogastroduodenoscopy with the possibility of taking samples of gastric juice and tissue biopsy;
- Ultrasound of a specific organ, etc.
Each method allows you to identify a problem in a certain area, detect damage to organs, the spine, etc. It is only important to remember that contacting a doctor in such cases is a mandatory action and self-medication is strictly prohibited.