Left-sided kidney pain

Kidney pain can occur on either side, left or right side. Depending on where they are located, the pain suggests different diseases. If the pain occurs only on the left side, a pathological process is most likely to be expected, which only occurs in the left kidney. If you tap the area of the left kidney with the edge of your hand (on the left side of the spine about two to three fingers above the palpable iliac crest) and this triggers or aggravates the pain, this indicates that the kidney is actually the cause of the pain. In some cases, back pain caused by the spinal column or diseases or inflammatory processes of other abdominal organs (such as the ovary on the left side or the bladder) can fake kidney pain.

Causes

Typical causes for pain in the left kidney are also the same as for the right kidney. The most common cause of unilateral kidney pain is the various forms of kidney stones. These can develop due to various factors, mostly they are caused by nutrition, autoimmune diseases or anatomical irregularities.

The so-called wandering kidneys can also cause severe pain in the kidney area. These are caused by abnormal mobility of the kidneys, which can sink very far, thus obstructing the flow of urine, which can be extremely painful in some cases. Another cause of left-sided kidney pain can be inflammation of the kidneys (pelvis).

This disease, also known as “kidney cold”, can be caused by draught or generally, if the kidney is not kept warm enough, for example also if one sits on a cold floor for a longer period of time or wears wet bathing clothes or does not cover the kidneys when it is cold for a longer period of time. If one of these risk factors has primarily affected the left side (for example, due to drafts from the left), the result is pure left-sided or left-stressed pain. Furthermore, renal insufficiency can cause pain in the kidneys.

However, this disease usually affects both kidneys at the same time and is therefore not likely to occur if the pain is exclusively on the left side. Very rare causes are cysts (= fluid-filled cavities), tumors or an inflammation of the filtering apparatus of the kidneys, the so-called glomeruli (= glomerulonephritis). From a psychosomatic point of view, the kidneys represent the partnership area.

If no physical cause for the pain of the left kidney is found, psychosomatic causes should be considered. Often people who are in conflict with a close person or their partner complain about kidney pain. This is often difficult to recognize and accept, but it is important that such a person is treated on a psychosomatic level.