Pain in the lower left side of the abdomen

If a patient complains of pain in the lower abdomen upon treatment, in medicine this nature of the pain syndrome (according to its localization) is called pelvic. Despite the fact that it can be felt both from the back and from the front, the cause is the organs and structures of the small pelvis experiencing pathology, disruption of blood vessels, lymph nodes, bone damage and other abnormalities in the operation of systems located in the lower abdomen. Pain that occurs mainly on the left, in the lower abdominal zones, or radiating to these zones, is characteristic of many acute and chronic painful processes occurring in this part of the trunk.

What can hurt

To begin with, you should consider the exact localization, which will help differentiate the diseases that have become the organizers of pain.

So, pain on the left can be felt:

• on the front plane, under the navel line to the left of it;
• on the back left side, under the lumbar line;
• deeper down, near the reproductive organs;
• at the level of the middle of the abdomen, giving to the side;
• at the level of the left buttock, radiating to the thigh.

By the way. This pain syndrome is relevant for almost all patients diagnosed with gynecology, urology, physiological pathology in the small pelvis, as well as all types of gastroenterology. The causes can also be diseases of orthopedic etiology and trauma.

Table. Pain in the left side from below - differentiation by types of diseases.

Pathology type	Pain symptom as a percentage
Gynecological	70%
Gastroenterological	60%
Urological	90%
Orthopedic	15%

In life, every sixth person on earth experiences unpleasant or painful sensations in the left side from time to time. These are statistics, which, however, do not give a holistic picture, due to the fact that the range of causes that give rise to the named type of pain is too wide.

Arrangement of organs

To understand the initial parameters of pain, it is necessary to remember which organs are located in a specified area or nearby and which systems pass.

1. Spleen - a single organ directly related to the immune system. It is a storehouse of blood, accumulating it according to the "depot" principle. If the spleen is removed, the patient will remain alive, the body will continue to work, since the function of the organ will be taken over by the liver and lymph nodes.
   

   Spleen anatomy

2. Parts of the small intestine - fragments of its loops are located on the left. And if a blockage occurs in them, inflammation or another pathological process begins, pain occurs precisely to the left from top to bottom of the abdomen.
   

   Small intestine

3. Parts of the colon, which, inflamed, or experiencing secretory dysfunction, also causes the indicated pain syndrome.
   

   The structure of the large intestine

4. Colon in its left transverse part is also here. Its ascending-descending branch immediately passes.
5. The left side of the organs of the genitourinary structure located in the small pelvis.
6. From unpaired birth organs of a woman - left side of the uterus and birth canal.
   

   Pain in the lower abdomen (namely, in the left side) in women may be due to some diseases of the reproductive system

7. Paired reproductive organs presented on the left, both in women and in men.
8. Also located here left kidney.
9. Orthopedic problems cause pelvic bones, cartilage fragments, lymph nodes and hip joint.

Formation of pain syndrome

Pain is known to be a complex process. It is capable of migrating or localizing at one point, starting from the source of pathology and in the absence of such. Pain can occur for the following reasons:

• the circulation of blood vessels at a local point is disturbed;
• impaired metabolism in cellular bodies;
• inflammation has begun;
• tissue degeneration has occurred;
• degenerative changes have occurred;
• in the internal organs, damage of a morphological nature is carried out.

According to the stages of onset and progression, pain can be divided into three stages.

1. Discomfort, discomfort in the primary focus.
2. Reflected pain in the secondary focus.
3. An increase in the pain impulse and pathological events.

Immediate causes of pain

The initial stage of the pathology that arose on the left is pain plus other symptoms indicating a disease of an organ located in the area of ​​pain.

Spleen

The first organ on the list of pain-generating candidates is the spleen. She can be susceptible to various pathologies.

Leukemia

An oncological disease called lymph or myeloid leukemia. It affects the hematopoietic systems and the organs included in them, in particular, the spleen and liver. There are three stages, one of which is chronic. It is during this stage that the pains are localized on the lower left. Associated signs are weight loss and fatigue, sweating and increased pain after eating.

Diagnosis in the early stages is carried out using ultrasound and blood sampling.

Heart attack

We are talking about a spleen infarction, which is expressed in the blockage of medium-sized arteries located in the organ. The reason for this phenomenon is a number of primary pathologies, including oncology, damage to blood vessels, and infection. The disease is difficult to differentiate from the symptoms of the cause, since the key symptom is similar - left-sided pain from below. But first, sensations are born in the hypochondrium, and only then they go down, intensifying with inhalation.

Diagnose a heart attack instrumentally. The condition must be urgently stopped, since a large blood loss is likely.

Volvulus

The spleen, like any organ, can be exposed to various influences and injuries from the outside. It is for this reason that a twist or twisting of this organ occurs. Individual physiological characteristics can provoke the phenomenon. In this case, an acute pain arises in the left side from below, radiating to the left side of the groin. It is accompanied by gagging and bloating of the intestines, the condition worsens quickly, so urgent medical attention is needed.

Inflammation

The spleen becomes inflamed, as a rule, due to a secondary process that occurs after the onset of the pathology of another organ, such as the liver. Pain combined with fever and vomiting. Also, in addition to pain in the spleen on the left, there are other pains corresponding to the symptom of the underlying disease.

Abscess

Purulent inflammation like an abscess in the spleen develops for various reasons, mainly of an infectious nature. If the abscess is small, the pathology does not give severe pain, it is easily treated and ends with recovery in all cases. In the presence of a large abscess or several, severe pain occurs in the lower zone of the left side. If peritonitis begins, the outflow of pus into the peritoneum, the temperature rises, and the state of health deteriorates sharply, accompanied by an increase in pain to unbearable.

Extension

The spleen can expand for two reasons - inflammation and dysfunction of blood flow in the portal vein. Pain begins under the left rib and migrates downward. The character is dull, aching. An enlargement of the spleen with its inflammation is well observed on ultrasound.

Cyst

These formations can arise in any organ. The spleen is no exception. A capsule with watery mucus inside is most often formed after an abscess or as a result of a traumatic rupture of the spleen. If the cyst (there may be several of them) is small, there will be no significant pain. With a large formation, the pain on the left will begin immediately when pressing on the spleen area. Pains can be felt with physical exertion.

Small intestine

The small intestine includes the jejunum, duodenum and ileum. Its parts, passing along the left side, with the formation of pathologies in them, cause pain in the corresponding points.

Malabsorption

Acquired disease of the small intestine, in which the mucous membranes stop absorbing certain foods. It is accompanied by pain, frequent bowel movements, thinning of the stool and distension of the intestines from gas. The place of pain localization is the left side.

Celiac disease

Disease of gluten intolerance, mainly observed in children (when starting a complementary food from cereals) and very rarely in adults. Symptoms of pain are similar to malabsorption, but the sensation is more pulling than cramping.

Colon

Here is, in addition to the rectum, the colon, blind and sigmoid. The ascending and descending parts of the colon are located on the left. Also, the transverse part goes to the left. Pain in the left side of the abdomen from below is usually associated with lesions of all fragments of the colon.

Irritation syndrome

This ailment has no clear etiology. More often women who are in the middle-age group are sick with it. Moreover, exacerbation and severe pain syndrome is observed during menstruation. Painful sensations are chronic, accompanied by thinning or hardening of the stool, gases.

Hirschsprung pathology

The disease is hereditary and the prerogative of boys. Constipation is added to the soreness of the left side. The intestines are swollen. Treatment in this case is the only one - the operative removal of fragments of the intestine, in which the nerve endings are not formed. Only after that, the pain is completely relieved.

Crohn's pathology

Gives an inflammatory process of the gastrointestinal tract with the formation of nodules. When the inflammation spreads to the descending area of ​​the colon, the left side begins to ache. Vomiting with diarrhea is added. The etiology of the pathology has not yet been accurately established, therefore it is difficult to diagnose it and is often mistaken for another disease.

NUC

The abbreviation for ulcerative colitis of a nonspecific nature is also full of guesses and hypotheses, since there is no etiology. The first and main clinical manifestation of this pathology is abdominal pain on the left, in the lower part. It hurts with attacks, in the liquefied feces - blood and purulent masses.

Diverticulosis

With this disease, diverticula are formed in the colon, which are pathological sacs. Most patients have them in old age, and they, in addition to causing pain, interfere with peristalsis and accumulate calculi. The feces turn black, contains blood masses. It is treated surgically.

Polyps

Arising in the colon, its lower segment, give pain on the left. Formed due to the fact that the processes of water absorption by the intestinal walls are disrupted. Dehydration may occur, intestinal disorders, accompanied by diarrhea, alternate with constipation.

Cancer

This is the general name for several cancers that can affect the colon area. Usually pain arises from the side where the tumor-like formation is localized.

Genitourinary apparatus

It involves and functions excretory systems, reproductive organs and both kidneys. On the left is the left kidney and part of the unpaired, or one of the paired organs.

Hydroureteronephrosis

In case of illness, the renal pelvis expands due to disturbances in the process of urine outflow. Stones become the cause of violations. If they form on the left, the pain will be there. With an exacerbation, the lower back hurts sharply, then the pain goes down to the lower abdomen.

Allen-Masters pathology

Female syndrome, occurs after a rupture of ligaments from a difficult birth or as a result of an abortion. It hurts on the left sharply, the contractions intensify from straining. The pain can acquire a burning character and radiate to the iliac region.

Endometriosis

Also, female pathology that develops on the ovaries, in the uterus or fallopian tube. If the development is on the left side, the corresponding side hurts. Adhesions begin, this process intensifies the pain, as well as the onset of menstruation.

Other pathologies

With violations in the bones of the hip joint and other orthopedic causes of pain on the left are observed much less often. An exception is targeted injury directed to the bone joints located directly in the left side of the small pelvis.

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