Abdominal pain and back pain are common symptoms that can have many different causes. Many diseases express themselves through one or both of these symptoms. According to this, almost every person suffers from them at least once in their life. Some patients also suffer from abdominal pain and back pain at the same time, whereby these two symptoms are not always directly related, but can often be attributed to two different causes.
Causes
The possible causes of abdominal and back pain are many and varied. Back pain is most often caused by diseases of the skeletal system, for example age-related wear and tear, lack of exercise and resulting muscular weakness, poor posture and tension. Osteoporosis (bone atrophy) and constrictions in the exit points of the nerves at the spinal column (spinal canal stenosis) as well as herniated discs are also among the possible triggers of back pain.
Abdominal pain is often due to food intolerances. Lactose intolerance, fructose and gluten intolerance are particularly common. Those affected often complain of other symptoms, such as flatulence, bloating and diarrhoea, which occur immediately after eating.
Another common cause of abdominal pain is a gastrointestinal infection (gastroenteritis). It is most often caused by viruses but also by bacteria or parasites. Gastroenteritis is usually accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea and/or vomiting.
Other possible causes of abdominal pain are gallstones, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach (gastritis), appendicitis, chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis) or irritable bowel syndrome. There are many other causes that can cause abdominal and back pain. If back pain and abdominal pain exist at the same time, a possible organ of origin of the complaints is the pancreas. It is located in the abdominal cavity in front of the spinal column and can therefore radiate into both the abdominal and the back area in case of complaints.
Accompanying symptoms as indications of illness
Depending on the cause, abdominal and back pain can manifest itself in different ways and to different degrees. For example, they can be permanent or periodic, stabbing or dull. Often other symptoms are added to the abdominal and/or back pain, which can then provide clues to the underlying cause.
A gastrointestinal infection often causes nausea, diarrhoea and/or vomiting. Fever can also occur. Food intolerances can also cause flatulence, bloating, nausea and diarrhoea.
In the case of an inflammation of the stomach mucous membrane, the pain usually only gets better immediately after eating, but it gets worse again shortly afterwards. Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases often cause bloody-mucus diarrhoea in addition to stomach pain. Crohn’s disease often also causes fistulae and abscesses in the bowel and anal region.
Due to muscular imbalance, back pain is often located in the lumbar region. Neck and shoulder pain is also typical. Besides the spinal column, hardened muscle strands can often be felt.
Depending on the size of the herniated disc in the lumbar spine, pain radiating into the legs or feet can occur, as well as sensitivity disorders on the corresponding side. A maximum prolapse (mass prolapse) leads to a disturbance of the bladder and rectum function. This is an emergency that must be surgically corrected as quickly as possible.
Abdominal and back pain associated with nausea is often due to gastrointestinal infections. Those affected often also suffer from diarrhoea and/or vomiting. However, nausea associated with abdominal pain can also occur with gastritis.
The pain usually improves immediately after eating, but then returns with a strong intensity. Severe abdominal pain radiating to the back and accompanied by nausea and other symptoms may also indicate inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). Constipation is often accompanied by abdominal pain because the intestines are unable to transport the accumulated bowel movements further.
Very solid stool displaces the intestine and the intestinal motor activity is not sufficient to transport it outwards. The intestine then tries with all its strength to press against the blockage, which can lead to cramp-like abdominal pain. Preparations that soften the stool and make it easier to remove the stool can provide relief.
If abdominal pain occurs in combination with diarrhoea, this indicates a disorder of the gastrointestinal tract or the digestive organs such as the gall bladder or pancreas. If back pain starts at the same time, it is often caused by the same cause in the abdominal cavity. A typical clinical picture that can cause abdominal pain, back pain and diarrhoea at the same time is inflammation of the pancreas.
It usually occurs in the context of alcohol dependency or gallstone disease. As a rule, patients complain of severe pain radiating from the upper abdomen in a belt-like pattern around the body, nausea, irregularities in the stool and yellowing of the skin. Such an inflammation of the pancreas must be treated in a hospital, as it can become life-threatening under certain circumstances.
Gallstones, if they prevent the outflow of bile, can cause diarrhoea and pain in the right upper abdomen, which radiates to the back, even without affecting the pancreas. In addition, abdominal pain, back pain and diarrhoea occasionally occur with diseases of the oesophagus or irritable bowel. If back pain already existed before the onset of gastrointestinal complaints, the causal diseases are usually independent of each other.
Abdominal pain, back pain and flatulence are very common and unspecific symptoms. Mild abdominal pain and flatulence occur briefly in many people as part of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, for example as a result of over-nutrition or a gastrointestinal infection. Such disorders can cause slight back pain, even if only rarely.
Such complaints often disappear within hours or a few days. In most cases, however, back pain is already present in the abdominal cavity long before the complaints. They then have other, independent causes such as a lack of back training, overweight, previous slipped discs or osteoporosis.
In rare cases, severe abdominal pain, flatulence and back pain occur simultaneously or shortly after each other. They can then be a sign of a disease requiring treatment and should, if they do not improve significantly within a short time, be clarified by a doctor. Important triggers in this context are diseases of the pancreas.
These include inflammation of the pancreas and cysts and tumours developing in the pancreas. In addition, diseases of the gall bladder – for example gallstones or inflammation of the gall bladder – can cause severe complaints in the right upper abdomen and the right part of the back. The cause of heartburn is usually the overproduction of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.
The excess acid passes into the oesophagus where it damages the mucous membrane. Burning pain develops in the upper abdomen and behind the sternum. Many pregnant women also complain of heartburn.
The growing baby puts pressure on the organs – including the stomach – and thus promotes the transfer of stomach acid into the oesophagus. Heartburn is very unpleasant and, if it persists, can cause serious damage to the mucous membrane of the oesophagus. Therefore, it is often treated with acid blockers.
The most tried and tested preparations are the so-called proton pump inhibitors, which lead to a reduction in the production of stomach acid. This allows the damaged mucous membrane to heal and the discomfort decreases. If there is a general imbalance between acid production and protective mucus production in the stomach, this can otherwise lead to an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach or even to the development of a stomach ulcer.
Abdominal pain is the result. Abdominal and back pain in combination with fatigue can have different causes. They are not always directly related.
Infectious diseases, such as a gastrointestinal infection, often cause nausea and vomiting. The patient feels tired and weak because the infection is strenuous for the body. Fatigue can also be a symptom in malignant diseases, although it is very unspecific and can have many different causes.
Patients with tumor diseases can have back pain if bone metastases are present. Abdominal pain can be caused, for example, by large lymph nodes in the abdomen. Rheumatic diseases, which can cause joint pain, for example, can also cause back and abdominal pain accompanied by fatigue.
Due to the very unspecific symptoms, a visit to a doctor is advisable if the problem persists. Abdominal, back and headaches that occur at the same time or in close temporal relation rarely have a common, organic cause. In most cases a “psychosomatic” illness is the trigger.
Psychosomatic” is the term used to describe illnesses in which the psyche and body have a strong influence on each other. For example, originally strong psychological stress can lead to physical symptoms and the increased perception of pain. Psychosomatic disorders are viewed with scepticism by many patients, but they have been proven by modern science and, contrary to the belief of many, even occur very frequently.
With treatment methods such as behavioural therapy, biofeedback or relaxation techniques, psychosomatic complaints can be significantly improved in many cases. Abdominal pain and back pain associated with shortness of breath suggest a cause that has to do with the heart or lungs. For example, a heart attack can manifest itself in this way.
The typical pain in the left arm does not always occur. Instead, there may be pain in the neck and jaw area, on the back and in the stomach. The shortness of breath is explained by the reduced pumping capacity of the heart, which means that the cells of the body no longer have enough oxygen available.
Another possible cause is for example a pulmonary embolism. In this case the pulmonary arteries are blocked, for example by blood clots (thrombi). As a result, the blood is no longer sufficiently charged with oxygen and the right ventricle pumps against an ever-increasing resistance.
If left untreated, right heart failure can eventually occur. Abdominal, back and chest pain rarely occur all at the same time. They are usually due to different causes.
A common cause may be blockages in the vertebral joints, which can cause radiating pain through the nerves running there. Even with serious diseases of the abdominal cavity, for example the acute abdomen, which can have various causes, disseminated pain can occur in the abdomen, back and chest. This is then often a subjective impression, as the pain in the acute abdomen is so severe that the patient feels it everywhere. Chest pain can indicate not only pinched intercostal nerves but also a heart attack or pulmonary embolism.
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