Diagnosis
As a further step, a physical examination is recommended. Depending on the symptoms, the doctor can palpate or tap the abdomen, listen to the patient with a stethoscope or perform certain simple maneuvers. In men, the doctor may also palpate the testicles or examine the rectal prostate.
With these measures alone, many diseases can be detected or ruled out. The third pillar of the diagnosis of lower abdominal pain in men is equipment supported. As a simple and non-invasive measure, the ultrasound examination is the absolute gold standard of abdominal diagnostics.
The doctor can see both inflammatory events and increased air, blood or water. Ultrasound is also used for tumor diagnostics. The imaging procedures are supplemented by CT or MRI examinations, which are only indicated in certain or unclear cases and produce detailed sectional images of the area of interest. In addition, laboratory values represent another piece of the puzzle of diagnosis. Thus, most diseases with lower abdominal pain in men are diagnosed quickly and correctly.
TherapyWhat to do?
The therapy of lower abdominal pain in men logically depends on the type of disease. Simple urinary tract infections are usually healed well with antibiotics, nutritional flatulence or constipation is usually self-limiting. Medications such as ibuprofen, aspirin or paracetamol are used to reduce fever.
Some causes, however, require surgical treatment. These include appendicitis as well as perforations and possibly chronic infections of parts of the intestine. In the case of urinary stones and tumors, the choice between surgery and conservative therapy is made according to the situation.
Cramp-like pain in the lower abdomen
The quality of the pain is an important feature to find out the underlying disease that is responsible for the pain. Cramp-like pain in the lower abdomen is typical for diseases of the internal organs. In addition to simple digestive disorders such as diarrhea, constipation or flatulence, which usually manifest themselves as cramping, infectious intestinal diseases can also be associated with cramping.
If the pain is very severe and also occurs in temporal waves in which painless and painful phases alternate, this can be an indication of the presence of acute kidney disease, disease of the seminal ducts, appendicitis or chronic inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. The presence of gallstones would also be typical, even if the symptoms are characteristically associated with the upper abdomen. Intestinal obstruction (ileus) and protrusion and inflammation of individual sections of the intestine (diverticulitis) also cause cramp-like complaints in the lower abdomen. In any case, a physician should be consulted for clarification in the case of very severe pain or pain that persists for a long time.
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