Cause: kidney stones
Also relatively often the cause is to be looked for directly in the urine-producing kidneys. Sometimes kidney stones may have formed in the kidneys and have so far remained symptom-free and undetected. In this case, they would only be detected by an ultrasound examination and this only by a routine random examination.
However, if the kidney stones come off in the kidneys, the friction can cause discomfort in the form of pressing or pulling pain. Sometimes patients complain of stabbing pain in the back area, even if they do not have to go to the toilet. When urinating, the kidneys continue to filter the urine, which can also cause the kidney stones to move, detach and cause discomfort due to friction. The patient notices this by pressing, dull or pulling, biting pain in the kidney area during urination.
Cause: kidney congestion
If the ureters become narrower in the course of the ureter and the flow is obstructed, the result is that the urine can no longer enter the bladder unhindered, and for this reason it accumulates back into one or both kidneys. This leads to changes in kidney tissue and structural damage to the kidney. Causes of a narrowing in the urinary tract can either be stones that have gotten stuck or severe inflammation that causes the ureters to stick together.
In rare cases, however, the constriction can also be caused by a tumor that causes the urine to accumulate. This urinary congestion can lead to pain in the kidney area either throughout the day or only when urinating. Immediate clarification of the narrowing cause is urgently required and must be remedied.
Kidney pain and burning sensation when urinating
When kidney pain occurs during urination, this is often accompanied by a burning sensation. Often the cause is an inflammation of the renal pelvis (pyelonephritis). In such cases, urination not only causes discomfort, but also leads to a frequent urge to urinate.
Inflammation of the renal pelvis is usually accompanied by a general feeling of illness, fever, fatigue and possibly headaches or abdominal pain.Women are more frequently affected than men, as inflammation of the renal pelvis often develops from an ascending urinary tract infection. However, it can also be triggered by urinary retention back into the renal pelvis. This is the case, for example, when stones or other organs that press on the ureters obstruct the outflow.
In the case of kidney pain and burning sensation when urinating, the affected person should in any case consult a doctor, as in most cases antibiotic therapy is necessary to treat the infection. This should be started as early as possible to prevent the development of chronic inflammation of the renal pelvis, which can lead to a permanent restriction of kidney function. If there is pain in the area of the kidneys, a prompt diagnosis should be started in any case, as it could be a serious disease of the kidneys.
In any case, a urinalysis should be performed. This can determine whether it is an infection of the urinary drainage system. With the help of test strips that are held in a urine sample, it can be determined whether blood, leukocytes, protein, nitrite or sugar are present in the urine.
The detection of leukocytes and nitrite strongly indicates a urinary tract infection. Often the presence of blood would also be an indicator of this. However, the mere presence of blood could also indicate kidney disease.
In this case, an extended urine diagnosis should be performed, which can detect cells that have been washed out by the kidney and are otherwise only present in the kidney. In the second step, an ultrasound image of the kidneys should also be performed. Here, kidney stones can be seen and it can be assessed whether they are responsible for the indicated symptoms.
A kidney congestion due to a reduced urine flow can also be seen relatively well in the ultrasound image. The kidneys seem to be worn down and appear very dark in the ultrasound. Depending on the extent of the congestion, the kidneys are better or worse distinguishable from the surrounding tissue.
In addition to these two routine examinations, other more complex and targeted examinations can be performed to clarify the cause of the pain in the kidney area. These would include contrast medium examinations of the kidneys. First of all, an abdominal x-ray is taken to get an overview of the abdomen.
This is intended to see whether any calcified kidneys are present. Then a contrast medium is injected into the patient’s vein, which is then distributed throughout the body. The contrast medium is excreted via the kidneys within a maximum of 30 minutes.
This process is documented by regular x-rays. The X-ray shows white pathways into which the urinary tract has been transformed by the contrast medium. Corresponding recesses indicate an irregularity or a narrowing.
If none of the described procedures lead to a successful result, one should consider taking a biopsy from the kidney tissue. A cannula is inserted into the kidney tissue by means of CT or ultrasound and a sample is taken. This sample is then examined microscopically in the pathology department and diagnosed accordingly.
