The causes of kidney pain are manifold and affect the kidney itself or the urinary tract. The following diseases can cause kidney pain: In rare cases, a simple cold can also be the cause of kidney pain.
- Inflammation of renal pelvis
- Kidney stones (nephrolithiasis) or ureteral stones (ureterolithiasis)
- Kidney Trauma
- Renal cancer (kidney cancer)
- Constrictions with subsequent urinary retention (stenosis)
- Urinary reflux (vesicoureteral reflux)
- Renal infarction
Inflammation of renal pelvis – a possible cause of kidney pain
An acute inflammation of the renal pelvis accompanied by kidney pain is usually triggered by bacterial pathogens. Often the renal pelvis becomes inflamed as a result of a urinary tract infection, as the germs ascend the urinary tract towards the kidneys, where they trigger the inflammation (germ ascension).
Kidney stones – a possible cause of kidney pain
Depending on the composition of the stones there are different causes for stone formation. There are stones containing calcium, urate, magnesium and carbon, which crystallize when the solubility of their ingredients is exceeded. If the stones causing kidney pain contain calcium (calcium phosphate, calcium oxalate stones), an excess of calcium in the blood causes stone formation (hypercalcemia).
Urinary reflux – a possible cause of kidney pain
Urinary reflux means that the urine takes the opposite path from the bladder to the ureter in the direction of the kidney. This is caused either by a congenital malformation of the connection between the ureter and the bladder (“leakage” of the orifice) or by acquired reasons such as urinary tract infection, a disorder affecting bladder innervation (neurogenic disorder) or a bladder voiding disorder. Furthermore, such a reflux can result from injuries of the ureteral orifice after medical examinations (iatrogenic). Regardless of the cause of the reflux, a person affected complains of kidney pain when germs enter the kidneys via the backflowing urine (germ ascension) and trigger an inflammation including kidney pain.
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