Painful sensations that appear on the left side in the area of the ribs and under them are not considered specific. Aching pain under the ribs on the left can be a sign of various diseases of the internal systems and organs, including also the nervous system. During diagnostic measures, an accurate determination of the location and nature of the soreness can help the specialist establish the main cause of the symptom. Below you can find out why aching pain appears under the ribs on the left, as well as with the treatment methods for this symptom.
What hurts in the left side
In situations where the hypochondrium aches and hurts on the left side, this does not mean problems specifically with the ribs, but about the pathological condition of the internal organs. In this area of the body are listed below internal organs that can cause aching pain under the ribs on the left front:
- bowel loops;
- part of the stomach;
- spleen;
- ureter;
- bud;
- pancreas;
- left side of the diaphragm;
- lungs.
After eating
If you immediately after eating food from a meal you have a stomach ache in the area on the left under the ribs, then this indicates the presence of gastritis. The intensity of such aching pain under the ribs on the left varies depending on the acidity of the stomach at the moment. Any fluctuation in the concentration of the corresponding substance only increases the irritating effect on the mucous membrane, which leads to painful sensations in the left area. It also causes nausea, heartburn, and vomiting. In more advanced situations, a stomach ulcer develops, in which aching pain on the left under the ribs in front appears immediately after eating.
When coughing
When the left side starts to hurt during a sigh, in most cases a disease such as a subphrenic abscess is diagnosed. The character of aching pain on the left under the ribs on the side is intense, but it decreases in a prone or half-sitting position, and also intensifies with deep breathing, coughing, sudden movements or a sneeze. Pain under the ribs can sometimes shift to the supraclavicular area, under the shoulder blade on the same side. In most cases, aching pain on the left under the ribs in the back and front is accompanied by symptoms and signs of intoxication of the human body, as well as severe fever.
As a rule, a subphrenic abscess immediately occurs after surgery (abdominal surgery), which greatly simplifies the process of diagnosing pathology. Less commonly, the cause of dull aching pain on the left under the ribs is trauma to the internal organs located in the abdominal cavity, and in some cases an abscess appears as a result of complications of purulent processes in the liver due to peritonitis (acute cholecystitis, appendicitis, etc.).
When inhaling
When a nagging pain is felt under the ribs on the left during inspiration, the reasons, first of all, may be the presence of a subphrenic abscess. In this case, the nature of the symptom is intense, acute. The pain decreases in a sitting or lying position and intensifies with sudden movements, coughing and sneezing. With the existing severe intoxication of the human body, the patient begins to complain of fever, sore throat, weakness. In rare cases, the cause of aching pain under the ribs on the left during inspiration is an injury.
During pregnancy
A completely normal cause of some discomfort and pain during pregnancy is fetal growth. As a rule, in the last trimester, the baby in the womb actively increases in size, shoves, turns over, causing an unpleasant symptom. Aching pain under the ribs on the left, associated with the movements of the baby, as a rule, sharp, short, sometimes worse when exhaling or inhaling. It is possible to alleviate this condition by doing a special breathing exercises, as well as lying in a warm bath, taking the most comfortable position.
Too long the pain that a woman feels in the left hypochondrium can also be a sign of exacerbation of gastritis, stomach ulcers or other ailments of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the symptom is sometimes caused by such ailments: left-sided pneumonia, diaphragmatic hernia and various pathologies of the spleen. In the hypochondrium, it can hurt due to renal colic, spasms of arteries in the abdominal cavity, flatulence, and intestinal infarction.
It hurts on the left side under the ribs when pressed
The inflammatory process causes intestinal obstruction, due to which it hurts in the left hypochondrium. Unpleasant sensations begin to intensify when pressed. Pain is accompanied by bloating, constipation or diarrhea. Nausea, symptoms of intoxication, vomiting are characteristic. An increase in pain below the ribs in the left side when pressed indicates in most cases a rupture of the spleen. Together with such manifestations, the following symptoms of intra-abdominal bleeding are also observed:
- muscle tension on the wall of the peritoneum;
- increased heart rate;
- dizziness;
- pressure drop.
The child has
The cause of aching pain in front under the left rib in babies aged 4-9 years may be diverticulitis, which is an inversion of the intestines. This disease is diagnosed in overweight children. Pathology is the penetration of one intestinal tube into the lumen of another intestine. The course of the disease has the following chronology:
- The baby begins to show great concern.
- The child tightens its legs, cries, writhes.
- Suddenly the pain on the left stops, and the child continues to play normally, calms down, frolics.
- After some time, the attack is repeated again.
- After another cessation of the symptom, severe vomiting begins.
- The stool of the child is normal for only the first time, but later blood impurities appear in the feces.
Causes of pain
It is impossible to ignore a condition in which it hurts under the ribs on the left or in the center in front, even if the sensations have disappeared for a while. This symptom indicates a serious disease that requires timely diagnosis and, if necessary, treatment. Clinical practice may indicate the following most common causes of pain:
- diverticulitis;
- stomach ulcer;
- pancreatitis, acute, chronic inflammation of the pancreas;
- glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis;
- chronic myelogenous leukemia;
- cholecystitis;
- diaphragmatic hernia;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- flatulence;
- splenomegaly, splenitis, rupture of the spleen;
- ischemic colitis;
- myocarditis, myocardial infarction, pericarditis, angina pectoris;
- vegetative crises;
- in women during pregnancy, the volume of the broncho-pulmonary system can expand.
Tinea pain under ribs and in the back
With the appearance of pain in the left front under the rib, which in the future begin to give to the back, they indicate the development of the inflammatory process of the pancreas, which is called pancreatitis. The main symptom of this disease when it occurs is a very burning, strong, girdle pain, which is muffled if the patient tilts his body forward or assumes a sitting position.
Dumb
Such pain under the ribs on the left side, spreading in front, provokes, as a rule, sluggish inflammatory, chronic gastrointestinal diseases. In parallel with this, unpleasant painful sensations periodically occur, but regularly and for a long time they do not leave a person. In most cases, this indicates the development of pancreatitis, cholecystitis, ulcers or gastritis. To exclude or confirm these diseases, you need to visit a gastroenterologist who will prescribe the necessary laboratory procedures, tests, ultrasound.
Stitching
Stitching pains on the side under the left ribs during training, power load indicate that the person had an insufficient warm-up. The human body has not yet had time to prepare for increased blood circulation, which is why such sensations during training should not cause much concern. They pass, as a rule, quickly, without any consequences. If the stitching pain passes into an acute dagger for no particular reason, then this may indicate the development of any serious disease:
- lung cancer;
- left-sided pneumonia;
- pleurisy;
- tuberculosis
- inflammation of the left diaphragm.
Aching
A sign of sluggish duodenitis, which is an inflammation of the duodenum, as well as colitis, is a pulling constant, aching soreness from the left front below the ribs. When these symptoms are accompanied by vomiting and nausea, this indicates the development of a stomach ulcer. If there are no other signs of gastrointestinal diseases, then in this case, the diagnosis of angina pectoris, coronary heart disease, pre-infarction state without painful manifestations in the chest area can be made.
Who to go to?
Even if the front pain subsides quickly under the ribs, on the left, below, in the navel area or in the center, which is also accompanied by vomiting, burning, fever, it is necessary to call an ambulance. As a first emergency, you can help a person lie down on the bed, open the window and door, thereby increasing access to the room for fresh air. It is forbidden to categorically carry out the independent use of drugs that can only complicate the determination of the main cause of this ailment. The following doctors can make a diagnosis and prescribe therapy:
- gastroenterologist;
- traumatologist;
- neuropathologist;
- surgeon;
- cardiologist;
- infectious disease specialist.
Treatment
But how is the treatment of aching pain under the ribs on the left? To eliminate this symptom, it is necessary to take a horizontal position, try to relax, open the window and remove all squeezing clothes. Some drugs will help stop the attack, for example:
- anti-inflammatory drugs ("Nurofen", "Ibuprofen");
- antispasmodics (No-Shpa, Drotaverinum);
- analgesics ("Analgin").
Remember that with sudden and sharp pain, which is also accompanied by vomiting, dizziness, nausea, fever, pallor, you need to seek help at the hospital. In some situations, emergency surgery is prescribed to eliminate the root cause that caused the severe pain syndrome.