Back pain due to muscle problems is usually in your lower back. Pain due to kidney problems is usually deeper and higher in your back, under your ribs. Signs that it is a kidney problem can also include fever, vomiting, pain in your sides or painful urination.
Back problems usually affect your lower back. Kidney pain is felt higher and deeper in your body than back pain. You may feel it in the upper half of your back, not the lower part. Unlike back discomfort, it's felt on one or both sides, usually under your rib cage.
Where do I feel kidney pain? You feel kidney pain in the area where your kidneys are located: Near the middle of your back, just under your ribcage, on each side of your spine.
Signs and symptoms of Stage 1 CKD include: High blood pressure. Swelling in your hands or feet. Urinary tract infections.
Urine and blood tests are used to detect and monitor kidney disease. Currently, the key markers used include abnormal urine albumin levels and a persistent reduction in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
Most of the time, kidney pain symptoms occur under your ribs, to the right or left of your spine. Kidney pain may also radiate to other areas, such as your abdomen or groin. Sometimes, hip pain is confused with kidney pain, but hip pain is lower down in your back than kidney pain.
When your kidneys are failing, a high concentration and accumulation of substances lead to brown, red, or purple urine. Studies suggest the urine color is due to abnormal protein or sugar as well as high numbers of cellular casts and red and white blood cells.
Generally, earlier stages are known as 1 to 3. And as kidney disease progresses, you may notice the following symptoms. Nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, swelling via feet and ankles, dry, itchy skin, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, urinating either too much or too little.
The timeline is another way to distinguish back pain from kidney pain. Back pain can come and go and can be triggered by certain movements like bending over or sitting up. Pain associated with the kidneys on the other hand generally remains dull and stable and is usually not changed with movement.
If the pain lasts four weeks or longer. If the pain keeps getting worse as time goes by. If you are experiencing other symptoms, such as fever, major weight loss or weight gain, loss of function or weakness in extremities, bladder problems, etc.
The pain can be sharp or a dull ache, and it may come and go. It's usually worse on one side, but it can occur on both flanks. Problems in the kidney (such as an infection or a kidney stone) are common causes of flank pain.
Musculoskeletal back pain is usually felt around the lumbar region, it may pain while muscles are touched. However musculoskeletal back pain can be felt all through the back as well. Radiation of pain – Kidney pain may radiate to the inner thigh or lower abdomen.
The pain goes away when you rest. The most common cause of kidney pain is from kidney stones, and this will not improve when you lie down and rest. Similarly, any symptoms of kidney inflammation or kidney failure will not let up with rest.
Severe pain
Backache pain can range from mild to severe, while kidney stone pain is almost always severe. Kidney stones are rumored to be as painful as childbirth. “Kidney stone pain is typically severe and can be sharp or dull,” Nguyen says. “It usually occurs suddenly, without any provoking events.”
The kidneys are located in your lower back on either side of your spine under your rib cage. Kidney pain will be felt where the kidneys sit. The pain can feel like a dull ache that gets worse when pressed against. Sometimes the pain radiates into the lower abdomen and groin area.
If your kidneys are not working well, toxins (waste products) build up in your blood and this can make you feel tired and weak. You may feel more tired as your CKD progresses. Kidney damage can also lead to a shortage of red blood cells, causing you to be anaemic.
What tests do doctors use to diagnose and monitor kidney disease? a blood test that checks how well your kidneys are filtering your blood, called GFR. GFR stands for glomerular filtration rate. a urine test to check for albumin.
Reduced GFR is a red flag for six major complications in patients with CKD: acute kidney injury risk, resistant hypertension, metabolic abnormalities, adverse drug reactions, accelerated cardiovascular disease and progression to end-stage kidney disease.