Other symptoms
If left-sided abdominal pain is accompanied by back pain, the vision and involvement of the triggering organs must be extended. It is also important to find out whether it is isolated abdominal pain with isolated back pain or whether both pains are related. Often a pulling in the abdomen is also described.
A typical description would be that the abdominal pain is located on the left side and then radiates into the back. This can be present in diseases such as the pancreas. Sometimes, however, belt-shaped abdominal pain is also described, which then radiates into the back.
In this case, one should always check the liver values and the pancreas values in the blood count. Another important disease that can be the combination of abdominal pain on the left and back pain is an infection of the urinary tract. This is a urinary tract infection where bacteria can cause inflammation of the bladder and ureters.
If a urinary tract infection is not treated early, it can lead to an ascending urinary tract infection. In this case the bacteria then rise up the ureters and can reach the calyx systems of the kidneys and the renal pelvis. If an infection occurs here as well, pain in the area of the back can always occur in addition to characteristic laboratory chemical urine changes.
If pain is indicated in combination of left lower abdominal pain and left back pain, a unilateral urinary tract infection must always be considered, which then urgently requires antibiotic treatment. In order to get indications for this disease, the abdomen should be palpated to see at which pressure depth the pain is indicatedThis should be combined with tapping the back. While the abdominal examination is performed on a lying patient, the back tapping should be performed on a standing patient.
If moderate to severe abdominal pain is indicated and back pain when tapping the back is indicated, it is essential to perform an ultrasound of the kidneys to see if the renal pelvis is inflamed. In this case, one would speak of an inflammation of the renal pelvis, which urgently needs antibiotic treatment. In addition to urological diseases, orthopaedic diseases can always trigger a combination of the two pain types abdominal pain and back pain on the left (tension of the back muscles).
There can be various causes for the development of abdominal pain on the left, which is accompanied by pronounced nausea and/or vomiting. Above all, bacterial and viral infections of the gastrointestinal tract can cause abdominal pain on the right or left side of the affected patients. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are also typical symptoms of an infectious gastrointestinal disease.
Especially abdominal pain and nausea often occur together. In order to be able to identify the actual problem, both the exact location of the abdominal pain and all symptoms associated with the pain must be observed. Abdominal pain on the left side of the upper abdomen can, for example, indicate a stomach disorder.
Above all, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach is one of the typical illnesses that can lead to abdominal pain on the left and nausea. The reasons for the occurrence of an inflammation of the stomach mucous membrane can be very different. Both acidic foods and drinks and the regular consumption of alcohol play a decisive role in the development of gastritis.
In addition, psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and depression can lead to gastritis with abdominal pain on the left. Due to the impairment of the stomach function caused by the inflammatory processes, many of the affected patients also experience pronounced nausea. Other causes of the development of abdominal pain on the left that are accompanied by nausea are diseases of the left kidney, colon or spleen.
In addition, inflammatory processes in the area of the pancreas can lead to abdominal pain to the left of the navel. If the abdominal pain experienced by the patient is predominantly on the left side of the lower abdomen, this is often due to a disease of the colon. A typical example of such a disease is the so-called “diverticulitis“.
Diverticulitis is a disease in which inflammation of small intestinal protuberances occurs. Persistent abdominal pain on the left side requires medical treatment in most cases. For this reason, affected patients should urgently consult a specialist as soon as possible and have the underlying problem clarified.
Some of the diseases typical for the development of abdominal pain on the left, which are accompanied by nausea, can otherwise take a dangerous course. One of the most common causes of abdominal pain with diarrhoea is an infection of the gastrointestinal tract. Even isolated abdominal pain on the left side is not unusual.
Such infections are usually caused by viruses and heal without consequences within a few days. To promote healing, various home remedies can be used. It is especially important to eat little and drink a lot at the same time until the end of the diarrhoea.
Another common cause of left-sided abdominal pain and simultaneous diarrhoea is food intolerance. It occurs when certain foods cannot be digested properly, such as lactose or histamine intolerance, or is caused by an allergy. Food intolerances and allergies can also develop in adulthood.
If antobiotics have been taken a few days or weeks before the onset of symptoms, a certain germ called “Clostridium difficile“, which is resistant to many antibiotics, may have multiplied in the intestine. The diarrhoea caused by infection with this germ often has a very strong smell and can contain mucus or blood. If abdominal pain on the left side and diarrhoea occur repeatedly within a few weeks, a chronic disease of the intestine may be the cause.
Common diseases from this group are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative collitis. Rarer diseases that cause both abdominal pain on the left and diarrhoea are inflammation of the pancreas or irritable bowel syndrome. If a patient reports pain in the area of the left abdomen when pregnancy is diagnosed, then in addition to the urological diseases that can cause such complaints (urinary tract infection), a gynaecological disease must always be considered.
Both pregnant and non-pregnant patients can always develop an inflammation of the fallopian tubes, also known as pelvic inflammatory disease. This can cause either right or left lower abdominal pain. Often the abdomen does not need to be palpated at all to trigger the pain and is indicated by the patient to varying degrees, regardless of movement.
The diagnosis is based on an ultrasound image in which characteristic changes in the fallopian tube can be seen. A blood test with a determination of the inflammation value can also provide indications of an inflammation of the fallopian tube. Mild courses of the disease can be treated conservatively with antibiotics, while severe courses require surgery.
If a pregnancy has been diagnosed in a patient and is in an early stage (only pregnancy test positive), an ectopic pregnancy must always be assumed in the case of indicated lower abdominal pain. In this condition, also known as ectopic pregnancy (EUG), the fertilised egg has not been able to implant itself in the uterus but has remained in the fallopian tube. The further the pregnancy progresses, the greater the pain usually becomes.
The pregnancy hormone continues to be produced, which is why the pregnancy test also turns out positive despite the incorrect position of the egg. Often patients come to the clinic with very severe lower abdominal pain, which is why quick treatment is necessary. The treatment of an ectopic pregnancy is purely surgical, as the pregnancy cannot be continued in this way.
If the pain is very severe, a rupture of the fallopian tube (rupture of the fallopian tube) must also be considered, which threatens if the nested egg becomes larger. In uncomplicated cases, the operation is performed endoscopically (minimally invasive through the keyhole) without major incisions. The egg is removed and the fallopian tubes are sutured back up.
The pregnancy is thus terminated due to the incorrect position. If there has already been a rupture (tear) of the fallopian tube, or if there are unfavourable anatomical conditions of the fallopian tube, it can also happen that the patient has to undergo open surgery, i.e. the skin incisions in the area of the left lower abdomen are correspondingly larger. As a rule, the fallopian tube can be reconstructed without any further problems for the patient.
