Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Assessing Pain
• Part 2 of 3: Recognizing Other Symptoms
• Part 3 of 3: Making a diagnosis

It is not immediately possible to establish the cause of back pain. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish back pain or vertebral pain from kidney pain. The difference lies in the details. To distinguish kidney pain from back pain, you need to focus on identifying the source of the pain, determining whether the pain is persistent, and recognizing the presence of other symptoms. If you can do this, you can easily tell the difference between back pain and kidney pain.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Assessing Pain

1. 1 Recognize pain that radiates down your lower back and buttocks. If pain occurs in these areas, it is most likely caused by an injury to the muscles in the back and not by kidney problems. Vertebral pain most often occurs in these areas and, as a rule, spreads throughout this area. Kidney pain has other symptoms.
   • Back muscle injury can affect performance and pain thresholds in various muscles in the lower back, including the gluteus muscles.
   • If you experience widespread pain, weakness, or numbness, especially in your legs, seek immediate medical attention.
2. 2 Check if you feel pain between your ribs and hips. Kidney pain most often occurs from the side or back, in an area called the lateral or iliac abdomen. This is the area at the back of the body where the kidneys are located.
   • Pain in other parts of the back, such as the upper back, is definitely not caused by the kidneys.
3. 3 Recognize abdominal pain. If lower back pain is accompanied by abdominal pain, then it most likely has something to do with the kidneys. Vertebral pain is usually only felt in the back. Enlarged or infected kidneys can cause inflammation not only in the back but also in the front of the body.
   • If the pain occurs only in the abdomen and not in the back, chances are good that it has something to do with the kidneys.
4. 4 Determine if the pain is persistent. In most cases, when it comes to kidney problems, they hurt all the time. Throughout the day, it can decrease or increase without completely disappearing. On the other hand, back pain often goes away and then comes back after a while.
   • Most causes of kidney pain, including urinary tract infections and kidney stones, do not go away on their own. The back muscles, on the other hand, can recover without outside interference.
   • Sometimes kidney stones pass out of the body on their own, without any treatment. However, a doctor must determine the cause of the kidney pain.
5. 5 Determine if you only feel pain on one side of your lower back. If the pain occurs in only one iliac region of the abdomen, it is likely that the cause is in the kidneys. The kidneys are located just along the iliac region of the abdomen, and kidney stones can only cause pain in one of the kidneys.

Part 2 of 3: Recognizing Other Symptoms

1. 1 Identify the source of your back pain. To distinguish vertebral pain from kidney pain, remember if you have performed any activity that may have caused back pain. For example, if you have been lifting a lot of weights or have been in a bent position for a long time, then this is most likely vertebral pain, and not pain in the kidneys.
   • If you recently sat or stood for a very long time, it could cause back pain.
   • Also, if you have recently injured your back, chances are good that your current pain is related to the injury.
2. 2 Pay attention to urinary problems. Because the kidneys are an integral part of the urinary tract, infections and other kidney problems often manifest during urination. Look for blood in your urine and for increased pain when urinating.
   • If the pain comes from the kidneys, the urine may also be cloudy or darkish.
   • If you have kidney problems, such as kidney stones, you may have a strong need to use the toilet.
3. 3 Look for numbness in your lower back. Back pain can cause numbness as a result of nerve compression and congestion in the buttocks and legs. This symptom often occurs in people with vertebral pain due to inflammation or pinching of the sciatic nerve.
   • In extreme cases, numbness can spread to the toes.

Part 3 of 3: Making a diagnosis

1. 1 If pain persists, see your doctor. Health problems that cause pain need professional treatment. If treatment is delayed, they can develop into something serious and lead to even more severe pain.
   • Make an appointment with a therapist at the local clinic to which you are assigned, or visit a paid clinic.
   • Over-the-counter pain relievers are a good temporary solution if you are in severe pain. Prolonged pain requires medical treatment to correct the problem rather than mask it with drugs.
2. 2 Get a medical examination and tests. When you see your doctor, he will ask you about your symptoms — when they started and how intense they were. Then the doctor will examine you and feel the sore spots. At this stage, he will be able to guess what is causing the pain, but in order to make an accurate diagnosis, you will have to go through a series of studies and tests.
   • If your doctor suspects a serious back problem, such as a herniated disc or a kidney problem, they will ask you to have a visual examination (X-ray, ultrasound, MRI of the spine, or CT scan).
   • If your doctor suspects a kidney problem, you will be asked to have a series of blood and urine tests that will also detect abnormalities in blood cell and protein counts.
3. 3 Treat the cause of the pain. When the cause of the pain is established, your doctor will suggest a course of treatment. This course will include the treatment of the pain experienced and its source. You will be prescribed pain relievers and medications to treat the infection or injury.
   • If kidney pain is caused by kidney stones (a common cause of kidney pain), your doctor will prescribe pain relievers and talk with you about surgical options if the stones are too large to pass out of the body on their own.
   • If you have stretched your back muscles, which is a common cause of pain, your doctor will discuss with you how to relieve pain, how to restore and strengthen your muscles, and talk about physical therapy.