Diseases that can cause pain in the colon
Many diseases of the large intestine can cause severe pain to the affected patients, which is mainly located in the area of the left upper abdomen. However, pain on the left side of the navel does not always indicate a problem of the colon. Possible causes for complaints in the left upper abdomen are also diseases of the spleen, stomach and kidneys.
Nevertheless, diseases of the colon are among the most common causes of pain on the left side of the navel. The exact localization of the colon pain in the left upper abdomen also allows conclusions to be drawn about the affected parts of this section of the intestine: If the pain occurs mainly on the left side of the navel, in most cases it is caused by a change in the sections of the colon located on the left. Pain in the right upper abdomen, on the other hand, indicates a disease of the right colon section.
Typical changes that provoke pain in the left upper abdomen can be of both inflammatory and infectious origin. Especially the so called “irritable bowel syndrome” causes in many cases pain which is perceived on the left side of the navel. In addition, patients affected by irritable bowel syndrome often experience non-specific symptoms and a pronounced feeling of discomfort throughout the entire abdominal cavity.
In addition, many of those affected suffer from accompanying diarrhea (diarrhea) or recurrent constipation (constipation). Furthermore, colon diverticula are among the most common causes of colon pain in the area of the left upper abdomen (see below). In the initial stage, diverticula of the colon usually do not cause any complaints.
Pain in the area of the left upper abdomen usually only occurs at an advanced stage of the disease. In addition, affected patients typically develop high fever, nausea and/or vomiting. Another disease that can lead to pain on the left side of the navel is the so-called “ulcerative colitis“.
This term refers to a disease of the large intestine that can be classified as a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (CED). Depending on which part of the large intestine is affected, different localizations of the felt pain occur.Pain in the left superstructure usually indicates the presence of inflammatory processes below the left colon curvature (left colonic flexure). In most cases, this disease of the colon begins immediately in the rectal region.
From there, the inflammatory processes can spread further in the course of the disease if suitable therapy is not administered and cause pain to the left of the navel when reaching higher sections of the colon. In most cases, the cause of this inflammatory bowel disease is the body’s own immune system. The disease known as “ulcerative colitis” is therefore an autoimmune disease.
In addition to the typical pain in the left lower and upper abdomen, affected patients usually complain of bloody diarrhea and pronounced general symptoms with fatigue and fever. In addition, malignant changes in the colon can also lead to pain in the left upper abdomen. Especially the so-called “colon carcinoma” (cancer of the colon) can cause severe pain in the affected patients, which is localized on the left side of the navel.
Colon carcinoma affects about six percent of the population and is observed in both women and men. Other typical symptoms indicating the presence of colon cancer are irregular stool, blood in the stool, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss. Besides diseases that lead to pain in the left colon, some of the most common diseases manifest themselves in the area of the right colon.
One of the diseases relevant in this context is the so-called “diverticulitis” (see below). Although most colon diverticulitis develops in the S-shaped part of the colon and therefore causes pain on the left side, such diverticulitis can also occur on the right side. A diverticulum in itself does not cause any symptoms in most of the patients affected.
Pain in the colon, which is localized either on the right or left side, only occurs when there is an inflammation of these intestinal protrusions. Another cause of pain in the right colon is the so-called “appendicitis. “Most diseases that occur in the large intestine are accompanied by similar basic symptoms.
The typical symptoms in this context include mild to severe pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. Depending on which section of the colon is affected, the symptoms are different. Diarrhea is one of the most common complaints caused by diseases in the area of the large intestine.
Both inflammatory changes of the colon mucosa and infectious diseases can lead to pain and pronounced diarrhea. In this context, the color, odor and consistency of the diarrhea can give a decisive indication of the underlying disease. The most common cause of pain in the area of the colon associated with pronounced diarrhea is the so-called “irritable bowel syndrome“.
This disease is a functional disorder of the large intestine without any pathological change in this part of the intestine. In affected patients, the colon tends to react to certain stimuli. Typically, psychological stress, worries and/or certain foods lead to an acute occurrence of the symptoms.
The most common symptoms that can be observed in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome are pain in the colon, diarrhea, constipation and nausea. In principle, irritable bowel syndrome patients describe a constant change between diarrhea and constipation. However, one of these two symptoms (diarrhea or constipation) often predominates.
Observations show that women are significantly more frequently affected by irritable bowel syndrome with pain in the colon and diarrhea than men. In a patient with irritable bowel syndrome, the malfunction of the colon is due to a hypersensitization of the nerve fibers of the colon. The causal stimuli cause strong nerve impulses that lead to an involuntary contraction of the muscles in the colon.
Due to these spasms, the food pulp inside the intestine is transported too quickly. Excess fluid can no longer be adequately withdrawn and those affected develop diarrhea. Since there are a variety of causes for the development of irritable bowel syndrome with pain in the area of the colon and diarrhea occurring at the same time, treatment is often difficult.
Affected patients should always be examined for possible food intolerances.In addition, the patients concerned should closely observe the occasions on which the symptoms occur. In this way, possible stressors can be identified which lead to an acute occurrence of irritable bowel syndrome. The symptoms can be alleviated in most patients by changing their eating habits.
In addition, regular exercise can help to eliminate the causative dysfunction of the colon and thus effectively treat irritable bowel syndrome. Drug treatment only makes sense in very rare cases. Some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can cause pain in the area of the colon that radiates into the back (back pain).
Since the affected persons often perceive the back pain as much more intense and try to consult an orthopedic specialist, the underlying disease is usually diagnosed very late. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that cause pain in the large intestine are in most cases projected directly onto the lumbar spine. Since it is precisely in this area that slipped discs often occur, the symptoms can quickly be misinterpreted.
In this context, inflammatory processes in the colon are particularly relevant. However, pain in the large intestine is much more frequent when the spinal column is severely impaired. In these cases, the gastrointestinal tract therefore does not cause pain radiating into the back, which is perceived by the affected patients as back pain.
Instead, long-lasting and/or very severe back pain can have a lasting effect on the gastrointestinal tract. The affected patients develop pain in the area of the colon, constipation or diarrhea in the course of the persistent back problems. In addition, the long-term use of painkillers plays a decisive role in this context.
Patients with severe back pain who increasingly resort to painkillers from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs often damage certain parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Flatulence can be so pronounced in some people that it causes pain in the area of the colon. In most cases, flatulence is not a cause for concern.
Often, flatulence (air in the abdomen) is caused by an incorrect diet and can therefore be treated simply by a targeted change in diet. Occasionally, however, flatulence with pain in the area of the colon can also be caused by food intolerances. Above all, intolerances to fruit sugar (fructose intolerance), milk sugar (lactose intolerance) or gluten (celiac disease) can lead to severe flatulence in affected patients.
The boundaries to the pathological are not clear for those affected. One of the most common causes of flatulence and pain in the large intestine is the so-called “irritable bowel syndrome”. In addition, the consumption of flatulent foods leads to a release of air in the intestine.
In many cases, however, such digestive problems can be influenced by the psyche. Especially people who are permanently under time pressure, have a lot of stress or eat too fast out of habit often suffer from flatulence and pain in the area of the large intestine. When eating too hastily, large amounts of air are often swallowed.
This air reaches the stomach via the esophagus and can only be partially reabsorbed. In the end, only a small part of this air reaches the intestine. However, this is usually sufficient to cause severe flatulence and pain in the colon.
In addition, flatulence can often be observed in
- Pregnant women (the main cause here is the change in hormone balance)
In general, a diverticulum is a bulge outward in the wall of a hollow organ. Colon diverticula mostly affect people of advanced age. They usually develop in the S-shaped part of the colon, the sigmoid colon, and do not initially cause any symptoms.
However, if a diverticulum becomes inflamed, it is called diverticulitis, which causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever and nausea and is a serious complication of colon diverticula, causing severe pain in the colon. Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix vermiformis of the appendix, which is also called “appendicitis” in layman’s terms. This disease is characterized by pain in the right lower abdomen, nausea, vomiting and fever.Even now, diagnosis is still a challenge and a need for quick action for physicians in the form of surgical removal of the appendix (appendectomy).
A dreaded and serious complication of appendicitis is the perforation of the appendix, which can be accompanied by a life-threatening peritonitis. This chronic inflammatory bowel disease (CED) can theoretically affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from the oral cavity to the anus. However, Crohn’s disease preferentially affects the lower small intestine (terminal ileum) and the colon.
Crohn’s disease often appears with symptoms such as cramping abdominal pain and mucous diarrhea (diarrhea). The characteristic feature of this autoimmune disease is the segmental (sectional) attack of the intestinal mucosa. Ulcerative colitis is also a disease from the group of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (CED) that cause pain in the colon.
It is particularly characterized by an affection of the large intestine and usually begins with the inflammation of the rectum, but can also sometimes affect the small intestine in the form of a so-called “grown-in” inflammation of the small intestine (“backwash ileitis”). Ulcerative colitis is also autoimmunologically triggered and manifests itself with abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea (diarrhea). This common cancer affects about 6% of the population and is the second most common cancer in both women and men.
The causes of colon cancer are mainly discussed as eating habits. In most cases, the tumor causes late symptoms such as stool irregularities and hidden blood in the stool, which are rather unspecific. Since colorectal cancer grows slowly compared to other types of cancer, it gives the patient enough time to be diagnosed by colonoscopy and thus to be able to fight it at an early stage.
Synonyms Hirschsprung’s disease, Hirschsprung’s disease, megacolon congenitum, anganglionotic megacolon, congenital megacolon. Symptoms/Causes/Treatment: Hirschsprung’s disease is a disease of the colon which belongs to the group of aganglionoses. In general, it is a congenital lack of nerve cells in the intestinal wall.
The large intestine is particularly frequently affected. This results in a disturbed peristalsis of the intestine and a massive enlargement, which is called megacolon. The disease is named after its first descriptor, the pediatrician Harald Hirschsprung, and occurs with a prevalence of 1 in 5000.
Boys are more frequently affected than girls. The lack of nerve cells, also called ganglion cells, leads to massive hyperplasia (enlargement) of upstream nerve fibers. These secrete more of the messenger substance acetylcholine, which leads to a very strong contraction of the intestine.
Possible causes are a malformation during embryonic development or a viral infection of the embryo. The disease also occurs more frequently in families in which relatives conceive children together. The constant contraction of the intestine causes constipation within a few days after birth.
There is a risk of intestinal obstruction. Other symptoms are vomiting and nausea. The intestinal obstruction is of course accompanied by pain.
Hirschsprung’s disease occurs less frequently in adults, but then it also causes chronic constipation and possibly pain. However, since the symptoms are not so pronounced here and the nerve cells are usually only missing in a very short section of the intestine, the diagnosis is often made very late. A biopsy (tissue sample) of the intestinal wall usually provides certainty.
Treatment is possible by surgery, in which an artificial intestinal outlet is first placed in newborns until the operation. Then a piece of the malformed intestine is surgically removed, if this is possible. Adenomas are thickenings of mucous membrane or glandular tissue that can generally occur anywhere.
They can be found in almost every organ system. However, they are particularly common in the intestine as so-called polyps. Polyps are benign changes, but have the potential to mutate malignantly.
The findings are often accidental, since most patients are free of symptoms. However, symptoms such as mucus secretion and diarrhea, pain, bleeding and constipation can also occur. Adenomas are dangerous when they degenerate.
Due to their frequent occurrence, cancer screening is recommended from the age of 45 onwards. In case of very large polyps and severe symptoms, surgical removal is performed.
