Where Kidney Pain Is Felt

… Continued …

Type of the pain – how does it feel like?

Pain sensation arising from the kidneys may vary, typically depending on the underlying cause. It’s likely to feel like a deeper, dull ache if it has to do with infection.

On the other hand, it can be sharp if the cause is a kidney stone. It may fluctuate (flare up and settle back down) as the stone moves – and it’s usually more severe than renal pain due to infection.

Renal problem may cause soreness or dull ache that remains stable if the cause is infection.

And unlike most cases of back pain, your body’s movement is less likely to affect renal pain. Also, lifestyle measures are not enough – the pain would not improve without treatment (so treatment is usually necessary). Once the underlying cause addressed, the pain should improve and go away afterwards.

Do you experience other symptoms?

If the pain really has to do with the kidneys, it may also come with other symptoms. These include:

1. Urination problems. It’s possible to get painful urination, too. Or you’re likely to have a persistent urge to urinate.
2. Stones (gravel look-like) found in the urine.
3. Cloudy urine.
4. Nausea or/and vomiting.
5. Digestive issues, constipation and diarrhea.
6. Dizziness (lightheadedness).
7. Or fatigue.

When the kidney problem is serious (severe), you may also experience more advanced symptoms such as shortness of breath, bad breath, irregular heartbeats, muscle ramps, metallic taste, edema (swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet), blood in urine, or confusion [10].

When should you seek medical help?

Kidney pain could be serious, especially if the underlying cause has become advanced. Again early treatment would help a lot for the outcome.

So it’s much better to see a doctor without delay if you do believe that the pain is linked to your kidneys. This is particularly true when it doesn’t improve with lifestyle measures or if it has accompanying ‘abnormal’ symptoms.

Your doctor may suggest some of the following tests for accurate diagnosis [11]:

1. Blood tests to find out abnormal indicators found in the blood that may signal abnormality function of the kidney.
2. Urine tests such as urinalysis, urine protein, creatinine clearance, or microalbuminuria.
3. Imaging test like CT scan or ultrasound test.
4. And (if necessary) kidney biopsy.