Why does my right side hurt and what to do about it?


What is in the right side of a person's lower abdomen? Under the ribs front and back?

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The occurrence of any pain signals a dysfunction of the body. If you have pain in your right side, you need to help your health. Sometimes it is enough to adhere to a certain diet, and the pain will go away. But there are times when you cannot do without an ambulance. What is in a person’s right side, why does it hurt in this area, read the article.

Tests and diagnostics

Pulsation in the liver is one of those signals from the body that should not be ignored.
This unpleasant sensation in the right hypochondrium can be a sign of either a minor disruption in the functioning of the organ or a serious chronic disease. Therefore, if throbbing pain appears in the liver area, you should immediately seek help from a gastroenterologist and undergo the necessary examination. During the appointment, the doctor will conduct a visual examination of the patient, make a preliminary diagnosis, and write him a referral for laboratory tests and hardware diagnostics.

Diagnosis of the causes of liver pulsation:

  1. Biochemical blood test for the level of transaminases, bilirubin, protein, alkaline phosphatase;
  2. Urine examination;
  3. Intradermal allergy test for the presence of antibodies to echinococci (Cazzoni test);
  4. Coagulogram (test for blood clotting);
  5. Clinical blood test for eosinophil levels;
  6. Diagnostics of pathologies of the cardiovascular system to identify cardiac cirrhosis (electrocardiography, ultrasound of the heart, x-ray of the sternum, coronary angiography);
  7. Ultrasound of the liver;
  8. Liver tissue biopsy;
  9. Cholegraphy (x-ray examination of the biliary tract);
  10. Duodenal intubation (allows you to determine the condition of the gallbladder and take a bile sample for analysis);
  11. Sowing bile for microflora.

If during the diagnosis, abnormalities in the liver were detected, confirming the preliminary diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment to the patient.

The cause of discomfort on the right side of the back is acute diseases

Experts determine possible causes by the location of the pain and accompanying symptoms.
An acute pain attack on the right under the ribs develops with acute cholecystitis, appendicitis and a number of other diseases. Aching pain provokes various pathologies of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and spine. The body, through pain, sends a signal of danger, which must be recognized in order to begin treatment in a timely manner. Acute diseases as causes of sudden pain in the right side from the back:

  • inflammation or abscess of the right kidney;
  • cholelithiasis;
  • cholecystitis (read about its treatment in this article);
  • appendicitis;
  • pleurisy;
  • pneumonia;
  • osteochondrosis;
  • myocardial infarction.

Important! A patient with sudden intense pain with suspected acute appendicitis, renal colic, or myocardial infarction must be hospitalized.

The abdominal form of myocardial infarction is more common in women. Pain occurs in the right hypochondrium, in the side from the back, in the navel area. Other symptoms of the disease: dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness. A painful attack begins after physical exertion, during emotional stress, at the age of over 45 years. A dangerous disease can lead to death if measures are not taken in time.

How to treat constant and periodic pain in the abdomen on the right?

The duration of pain over time is important in diagnosis. If your stomach constantly hurts on the right side, the pain is usually moderate and dull. Chronic appendicitis, cholecystitis, gastritis, and hepatitis have a similar course. Sometimes the pain subsides completely, patients mistakenly rejoice at their recovery and break their diet. But the symptom appears again.

Periodic pain that recurs after several days, weeks, months and even years should be explained by the favorable course of chronic diseases with long periods of remission. Exacerbations appear only under certain conditions: violation of the regime, alcohol intake, stressful situations, spring and autumn (peptic ulcer).

Long periods of remission are characteristic of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. They are considered a positive result of treatment. It is not yet customary to talk about recovery, since the final causes of the disease are unclear and modern therapy does not solve all problems. We will consider additional signs of diseases of the right half of the abdomen according to the symptoms of the most common pathology.

What organs are on the right side of a person?

It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, holding their right side, “Oh, it’s probably a bad liver.” Such a statement rarely turns out to be true, since it is the liver that cannot hurt: there are no nerve endings in this organ. However, it is surrounded by Glisson's capsule. When the liver enlarges as a result of painful processes occurring in it, it puts pressure on the capsule, which causes pain. There are also many other organs on the side to the right, and each of them can produce painful symptoms.

Let's look at the right hypochondrium - what is in this place:

  • Gallbladder

All these organs are located on the side in front. Each of them can give off discomfort, dull and sharp, stabbing and encircling pain in the right hypochondrium in front. But even this is not an exhaustive list.

Pain may radiate to the right with:

Let's talk about the liver

It is important to know where a person’s liver is located, although it cannot become a source of pain. By enlarging due to the pathological processes occurring in it, the liver can put pressure on neighboring organs, causing a noticeable feeling of discomfort. If in your youth you can be forgiven for wondering whether the liver is on the left or the right, then at an older age it will make itself felt with a feeling of heaviness after a heavy or fatty meal.

A few more signs that the liver is the culprit of the problem:

  • Bitterness in the mouth

If such symptoms appear, you don’t have to think about where the liver is, but feel free to take a ticket to a hepatologist or, in extreme cases, a gastroenterologist.

Liver disease usually extends directly under the ribs. However, on the lower surface of the organ there are so-called gates. At the porta hepatis there are the hepatic artery, portal vein, common hepatic duct, lymph nodes and lymph vessels. Problems can also arise here - thrombosis, cysts, inflammation of the lymph nodes. All these pathologies are easily detected by ultrasound.

Can the appendix under the ribs hurt?

Everyone knows in which direction a person’s appendicitis is located, and they begin to remember it if the localization of pain is located deep in the lower right abdomen or around the navel. However, not all so simple. As pain develops, it may well radiate to the liver area. In addition, in 17% of people the appendix may be located atypically. If the process of the cecum is turned upward, then the pain will radiate precisely under the right rib in front.

Gallbladder problems

Cholecystitis is the most common pathology of the gallbladder. Inflammation of the gallbladder occurs in both children and adults. It is characterized by: prolonged pain after eating fatty foods, nausea, fever. Cholecystitis is perhaps the most common cause of pain in this area. As the disease progresses, stones may form in the gall bladder, obstructing the release of bile. With further development of gallstone disease, pain in this area will increase, and the pain may begin to radiate to the upper abdomen and sternum.

The root of the problem is in the pancreas

Inflammation of the pancreas is called pancreatitis. The incidence of pancreatitis in children is 9-12 cases per 100,000, and in adults – up to 50 cases per 100,000 people. Pancreatitis is a disease of poor nutrition. Indulgence in fast food, fatty foods, and sweets can cause its development. The disease also develops rapidly in those who abuse alcohol. Pain with pancreatitis can occur in the right hypochondrium or on the right at waist level, spread to the middle of the abdomen, be localized to the left of the navel, and even shoot under the shoulder blade.

Can the diaphragm hurt?

When thinking about what organ is located under the right rib, few people remember the diaphragm. Meanwhile, this is a very important organ that stimulates the breathing process. The diaphragm may hurt due to physiological reasons during pregnancy, a hernia may form in it, and an abscess may begin. Diaphragmatic pain can be similar to gastroenterological pain. Diseases of the diaphragm manifest themselves in severity in the epigastric region, under the ribs. Symptoms may increase after eating and may be aggravated by vomiting. In addition, breathing becomes more difficult, heart rhythm is disturbed, and shortness of breath occurs when lying down.

The right kidney is the source of pain in the right hypochondrium

We looked at which organ is located under the right rib in the front, but we must not forget about the organs located below and behind. Pain in them can also radiate to the right side and right hypochondrium. Kidney diseases are diagnosed after tests for OAM, etc. The most common are pyelonephritis, kidney stones, and renal failure. More often, with kidney disease, the lower back hurts or the pain goes lower.

However, pain in the right hypochondrium may be accompanied by the following symptoms characteristic of kidney disease:

Renal pathology

The right kidney is anatomically located slightly lower than the left. She often suffers from prolapse when losing weight, after childbirth. In this case, patients feel pain in the right side and abdomen while standing upright. The decrease occurs in a supine position.

Acute right-sided pyelonephritis is accompanied by intense pain in the lower back, frequent urination, pain, chills with high fever. The chronic disease gradually moves from the pelvis to the parenchyma of the organ and disrupts the function of the nephrons. The pain is dull, but intoxication is accompanied by an increase in renal failure.

Kidney stone disease with right-sided attacks of colic is activated after shaking and jumping. The pain syndrome is very intense. Irradiation along the ureter to the groin, scrotum in men, genitals in women. After an attack, blood is observed in the urine.

Right-sided abdominal pain is possible with injury to the liver, kidney and intestines, gastritis, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis. A full examination is necessary to identify the exact cause. Only after this can a diagnosis be made and treatment prescribed.

When pain occurs in the right side, you should not immediately take analgesics in an attempt to get rid of the discomfort that has arisen. On the right are important organs, and the appearance of a symptom indicates the development of the disease.

The cause is moderate functional disorders or serious pathological disorders requiring emergency medical attention.

What can hurt on the right?

In most patients, when the right side hurts, they think about liver disease or an appendiceal attack. But these are not the only causes of pain on the right.

What is in this place in a person?

When figuring out why it hurts, you need to look at what is in a person’s right side:

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  • gallbladder;
  • liver;
  • part of the small intestine;
  • cecum;
  • appendicitis.

In women, the ovary and fallopian tube are located in the lower abdomen.

In addition to internal organs, muscles, tendons, nerve processes and blood vessels can also hurt.

Why does it hurt?

There are many reasons why the right side hurts. Conventionally, they can be divided into groups:

  1. Functional disorders caused by poor nutrition. The appearance or increase in pain is associated with food intake.
  2. Infectious and non-infectious inflammation of organs, muscles or blood vessels.
  3. A metabolic disorder that causes stone formation in the liver or gall bladder. It begins to hurt when the formed calculus, moving, irritates the mucous membrane of the organ or disrupts the outflow of physiological fluid (bile).
  4. Insufficient blood supply. A decrease in blood flow due to vascular spasm or the formation of an intravascular thrombus provokes tissue ischemia, which impairs the proper functioning of the organ.

After meal

If it hurts after eating, the cause is almost always diseases of the digestive system:

  • gastritis;
  • ulcers in the stomach and intestines;
  • cholecystitis;
  • malignant neoplasms;
  • irritable bowel syndrome.

Pain in the right side after eating is almost always accompanied by dyspepsia.

The right side can also get sick due to abnormalities in the pancreas. The pain is localized in the epigastrium and radiates to the right.

After alcohol

The right side may hurt after drinking alcohol if you have drunk large doses of alcohol or consumed low-quality drinks.

This is due to the fact that the blood is cleansed of toxic ethyl compounds by the liver cells, and the increased load on the organ causes pain in the right hypochondrium.

If you constantly have pain in your right side after drinking alcohol, then you should suspect:

  • abnormalities in the functioning of the pancreas;
  • liver diseases;
  • cholecystitis or cholelithiasis.

Ethyl alcohol irritates the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, so the right side periodically hurts after drinking alcohol in people with a history of gastritis, peptic ulcers or intestinal pathologies.

When inhaling

Pain in the right side when inhaling is one of the common complaints. The occurrence of a symptom is provoked by:

  1. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. When you inhale, the diaphragm moves slightly downward and the pressure on nearby organs (gallbladder, liver) increases. In diseases of the digestive system, inhaling air increases pain discomfort. In addition to pain, decreased appetite and dyspepsia are noted.
  2. Neurological pathologies. Right-sided nerve pinching in diseases of the spine provokes pain that intensifies when inhaling air.

Pain when inhaling in the right side occurs with an atypical form of heart attack. Painful sensations radiate to the shoulder, jaw or arm, and intensify when trying to take a deep breath. Taking Nitroglycerin provides minor relief in the condition that has arisen, and traditional painkillers and antispasmodics do not help. In case of a heart attack, emergency medical attention is required.

If you feel sick and are accompanied by a bitter taste in your mouth

These symptoms occur when bile enters the stomach and then into the esophagus. When your side hurts and you feel nauseous, and there is an unpleasant bitter taste in your mouth, you should suspect:

  • cholecystitis;
  • chronic liver diseases (hepatitis, cirrhosis).

In these conditions, the right side constantly hurts, and bitterness in the mouth occurs in the morning or after prolonged abstinence from food.

How to assess the nature of pain?

Patients describe their pain sensations in different ways. The doctor has to analyze subjective information, ask additional questions about the conditions for the occurrence of right-sided abdominal pain, their changes, duration, and connection with food. We will present an assessment algorithm for the nature of pain in accordance with the wording of complaints.

Right stomach hurts when running and walking

The movement of the legs is accompanied by intense work of the abdominal muscles, changes in intra-abdominal pressure, and a massaging effect on the intestines, so atony occurs in the absence of physical activity.

Various diseases in the hidden (latent) stage manifest themselves during movement. In such cases, you cannot force yourself to walk and endure. Pain on the right side of the abdomen indicates activation of the pathology and can quickly lead to complications.

Pain occurs after traveling in public transport

Any movement in a vehicle, whether sitting or standing, causes the body to shake. This effect promotes the movement of stones and salt conglomerates through the gallbladder, passages, and ureter. Patients with cholelithiasis and urolithiasis often associate the onset of an attack with sudden jerking movements of the body. In addition to traveling in public transport, jumping and running have a similar effect.

Stomach hurts only when pressed

This is what patients say when the doctor palpates the abdomen. They hope that if they do not touch, the disease will not occur.

The palpation method makes it possible to determine the location of pain and identify the patient’s reaction. Any pressure on the abdomen contributes to an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. It provokes hidden pain.

In addition, the outer layer of the peritoneum is pressed against the area of ​​inflammation, this causes local pain in the right half of the abdomen and helps to distinguish local inflammation from referred pain (myocardial infarction, lobar pneumonia, pleurisy).

Pain on palpation of the lower abdomen on the right makes one suspect acute appendicitis. In women, gynecological diseases (adnexitis, ovarian cyst) should always be excluded. If pain is localized in the upper hypochondrium when pressing on the right, one should think about inflammation of the gallbladder, hepatitis, and less commonly, duodenal ulcer. The symptoms of peritoneal irritation are based on this principle.

A woman has a stomach ache on the lower right side during menstruation

Pain in the lower abdomen before and during menstruation is a common complaint of girls and women. Usually it is located above the pubis, radiating to the groin and navel area. Gynecologists associate them with hormonal disorders.

If you are bothered by abdominal pain on the right, then right-sided adnexitis (inflammation of the appendages) is suspected. Severe pain occurs during ectopic pregnancy, with torsion and rupture of the cyst, and radiates to the lower back. The nature of the pain can be confused with an attack of appendicitis.

Aching in the stomach on the right

Aching pain in the abdomen on the right indicates an inflammatory process of moderate intensity. Often accompanies peptic ulcer disease. It begins 1.5–2 hours after eating and lasts throughout the night.

Dull abdominal pain is characteristic of the hypotonic form of dyskinesia of the gallbladder and intestines. Caused by overfilling, stretching of the muscle layer and impaired emptying. People with neurasthenia, emotionally unstable, and school-age children are most susceptible. Accordingly, they are localized in the right hypochondrium and near the navel.

Cramping pain

Acute sudden pain in the abdomen on the right is characterized by patients as “sharp”, intermittent, in the form of contractions. Such complaints accompany intestinal obstruction and are caused by peristaltic movements of intestinal loops. They may appear when the intestinal wall is ruptured (perforation due to an ulcer, Crohn's disease), capsules of internal organs, thromboembolism of mesenteric vessels.

They are not typical for the inflammatory process, in which pain in the right side of the abdomen increases gradually. Here, a significant area of ​​the peritoneum is immediately irritated and organ tissue is destroyed. “Cutting” sensations are typical for intestinal diseases caused by infection or food poisoning.

Something is pulsating and twitching

Throbbing pain accompanies vascular damage. In elderly people, with a common atherosclerotic process, an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta occurs. The vessel becomes thinner and expands, since the pressure it receives is quite high, the pulsation spreads evenly in all directions. It can be felt by palpating the area just above the navel and compared with the pulse.

The “jerking” type of pain is characterized by the development of purulent inflammation. In the lower part of the abdomen on the right, phlegmonous and gangrenous appendicitis manifests itself in a similar way. Pain indicates an ongoing process. The appendage may rupture and cause inflammation of the peritoneum (peritonitis).

For experienced doctors, determining the nature of pain is included in the signs of the disease, but is not considered in isolation. The diagnosis is made only after analyzing the entire complex of symptoms and examination results.

Organs located on the right

Without resorting to the help of an anatomy manual and eliminating the need to read the specified medical textbook, you just need to remember the list of organs located on the right half of the body:

  1. The largest gland in the human body, located in the abdominal cavity and performing a huge number of physiological functions, is the liver.
  2. The human organ that receives bile from the liver for release into the small intestine, called the gallbladder.
  3. The organ of the digestive system is a large gland with exocrine and endocrine functions. The exocrine function of the organ is realized through the secretion of pancreatic juice, which contains digestive enzymes. By producing hormones, the organ takes an important part in the regulation of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. This organ is called the pancreas.
  4. Right section of the diaphragm.
  5. The organ of digestion and excretion called the intestines.
  6. Right kidney.
  7. Paired endocrine glands located above the top of the kidneys, called adrenal glands.

It may happen that each of the organs presented fails. And one of the symptoms of malfunction will be pain, which can be described as sharp, dull, incessant, associated with food consumption, stabbing or girdling.

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Causes of pulsation in the liver

Pulsating pain in the liver is a constant companion to pathological changes in the organ.
It manifests itself as a result of the degeneration of healthy liver tissue into fibrous tissue, which has greater density and volume. As a result of this, the affected organ begins to increase in size and put pressure on the liver capsule, causing painful pulsation in the right hypochondrium. A similar situation is observed with liver inflammation of infectious and non-infectious etymology. With this painful condition, the organ swells and increases in volume, due to which the inflamed tissues begin to put pressure on the liver capsule, provoking the appearance of throbbing pain in the right side under the ribs.

Why does pulsation in the liver periodically occur:

  1. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a short time. This leads to the fact that the liver is unable to process such a volume of ethyl alcohol and its toxins begin to accumulate in the tissues of the organ, causing inflammation and throbbing pain;
  2. Overeating heavy fatty foods. The liver is directly involved in fat metabolism, which occurs with the release of toxic substances into the cells of the organ. At the same time, the greatest danger to the liver is saturated animal fats, rich in bad cholesterol;
  3. Taking medications. Some medications have a hepatotoxic effect, that is, the ability to destroy liver cells. The most dangerous thing is to take such medications without medical supervision;
  4. Heavy physical activity. During physical activity, the human body experiences an increase in heart rate and increased blood flow. As a result, the liver becomes filled with a large amount of blood and begins to put pressure on the outer capsule, causing acute throbbing pain.

But as gastroenterologists note, if the liver is pulsating, then the reason for this may lie not only in the functioning of the organ, but also in other body systems. So this unpleasant symptom is often observed in cases of dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract or nervous system.

Particularly often, attacks of pulsation occur during inflammation of the appendix, severe flatulence, intercostal neuralgia or chronic constipation. In this case, any discomfort in the area of ​​the right hypochondrium completely disappears after the underlying disease is eliminated.

What to do if your back hurts?

You can see that the discomfort in the right hypochondrium is serious.
If it occurs, a person should make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible. The specialist will refer the patient for tests and examination and only after that will give him an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment. Waiting for the pain to subside on its own or self-medicating in this case is strictly contraindicated, because such actions can lead to a deterioration in health. So how do you know which doctor to see? To do this, you need to listen to yourself. Pain on the right under the ribs in the back is distinguished by location, degree of intensity and frequency. They can be permanent or occur from time to time, be sharp, dull or aching, concentrated in one point or spread over a large area. Depending on the type and location of pain, preliminary conclusions can be drawn about which organ can provoke it.

Major diseases

The causes of throbbing pain in the right side of the lower abdomen differ in both sexes. Common reasons, regardless of the gender of the patient, include:

  • Diverticulitis,
  • Crohn's disease,
  • Intestinal obstruction;
  • Renal colic;
  • Lymphadenitis;
  • Postoperative pathologies of the peritoneum.

Throbbing pain in the lower right side often indicates inflammation of the appendix. It requires immediate surgical intervention, as it can lead to peritonitis. Discomfort with appendicitis is usually intense. Initially, unpleasant sensations arise in the stomach area, gradually moving to the right and down. The pain subsides if you bend the right leg at the knee, but intensifies with sharp pressure on the stomach.

The main diseases in women include inflammation of the appendages, uterus, ovaries, as well as the appearance of cysts. An ectopic pregnancy can cause a similar symptom. In men, throbbing pain in the lower abdomen is rarely associated with pathologies of the reproductive system. Most often it occurs due to the development of bladder diseases.

Diagnostics

If the throbbing pain in the right side of the abdomen is of very high intensity, interferes with leading a normal lifestyle, or the temperature has risen, call an ambulance. Such symptoms almost always indicate inflammation of the appendix. In other cases, you should make an appointment with a therapist or surgeon. An examination aimed at finding the cause of throbbing pain in the right side of the lower abdomen begins with interviewing the patient, carefully collecting anamnesis, and analyzing complaints. Next, the doctor conducts a physical examination, which includes measuring blood pressure, body temperature, examining the skin, and palpating the abdomen. Next, the patient is prescribed treatment or referred for additional procedures.

Basic methods for diagnosing throbbing pain in the right side

Diagnostic techniqueTimeAccuracy
Abdominal ultrasound30 minutes40-60%
X-ray of the abdominal cavity10 minutes50-60%
Colonoscopy30 minutes70-90%
Abdominal MRI20 minutes85%-97%

To make an accurate diagnosis, laboratory tests may also be indicated for the patient. So, a general blood test, urine test, and cervical mucus culture are prescribed.

The total cost of diagnosis will depend on many factors. Including the class of medical institution, its location, and the equipment used. The final price will be affected by the qualifications of the doctor who conducts the examination.

When does a person need hospitalization?

  • When there is a sharp pain in the right side that continues for forty minutes.
  • When pain occurs in the abdomen on the right, which over time spreads throughout the abdomen and radiates to other organs. Vomiting of blood occurs, dryness and bitterness appear in the mouth, and the temperature rises.

  • If there is pain in the lower right side, which intensifies when walking and does not subside within half a day.
  • When there is pain in the right hypochondrium.
  • The person feels weak, loses consciousness, and becomes dizzy.
  • There is a sharp pain on the right side of the back.
  • Severe stomach pain on the left and right, radiating to the lower back. Urine mixed with blood.
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