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Health

Lower abdominal and lower back pain

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Lower abdominal and lower back pain is a phenomenon that worries dozens of people. However, unfortunately, many prefer to pretend that they do not exist, or think that they will pass and will not recur. The most that many patients do is to dull the pain in the lower abdomen and lower back with painkillers. This certainly has an effect for a while, but it does not eliminate the cause of the pain in the lower abdomen and lower back. Therefore, if the pain in the lower abdomen and lower back recur again and again, you must definitely see a doctor.

A combination of nagging pains in the lower abdomen and lower back pain is very common. This phenomenon is more common in women, but lower abdominal and lower back pain is also common in males.

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Cause of pain in the lower abdomen and lower back

A frequent and most common cause of pain in the lower abdomen and lower back is acute cystitis. In this case, the pain in the lower abdomen and lower back is accompanied by blood during urination, painful sensations when finishing urination, and frequent urges to "go to the toilet." Such symptoms indicate cystitis; to establish an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to undergo a number of additional examinations by a urologist.

If the above symptoms of cystitis are not observed, then the patient may be dealing with intestinal problems. Lower abdominal and lower back pain in women may also indicate an ovarian cyst in the early stages, adnexitis or some other fairly serious diseases associated with the female genitourinary system. A gynecologist can most accurately determine the cause of lower abdominal and lower back pain in women.

As for lower abdominal and lower back pain in men, this is a rather rare phenomenon. But these symptoms may indicate that the digestive or genitourinary system is not working as it should. Lower abdominal and lower back pain may also accompany prostatitis. If pain of this nature is detected, a man should consult a gastroenterologist and urologist.

If pain in the lower abdomen and lower back is accompanied by a rise in temperature, then diseases such as mycoplasmosis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and ureaplasmosis are possible.

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Symptoms of pain in the lower abdomen and lower back

Pain in the lower abdomen and lower back can be sharp or aching, cramping. Also, along with them, one can often observe an increase or decrease in temperature, vomiting, bleeding, nausea, chills, blood when urinating, frequent urge to urinate.

My lower abdomen hurts and my lower back is pulling

If the lower abdomen hurts and the lower back pulls, this phenomenon in medical practice is called chronic pelvic pain. If the patient has the above symptoms for six months, doctors make this diagnosis. In most cases, chronic pain in the lower abdomen and lower back is caused by gynecological diseases, and relatively rarely - extrogenital ones.

Less common causes of pain in the lower abdomen and lower back may include:

  • osteochondrosis of the spine;
  • intervertebral disc herniation;
  • arthrosis of intervertebral joints;
  • rheumatoid arthritis;
  • intervertebral canal stenosis;
  • infectious lesions of the vertebrae;
  • scoliosis;
  • stroke;
  • osteoporosis.

Abdominal and lower back pain in young girls

Abdominal and lower back pain most often appears before menstruation or during the "period". Menstrual pain is cramping, often felt during the first three days. More than half of women on Earth suffer from menstrual cramps, although most note that their nature is moderate, the intensity is low, so they can be easily tolerated.

Experts say that menstrual pain is influenced by special hormones called prostaglandins. But the pain can be very strong and excruciating. It can also be caused by other complicating factors, such as endometriosis or fibroids.

Lower abdominal and back pain in pregnant women

Lower abdominal and lower back pain is quite common in pregnant women. During pregnancy, the spine experiences increased stress. If the nagging pain begins to manifest itself immediately before labor, it may be false contractions (Braxton-Hicks). The presence of such symptoms in the early stages is dangerous, they can threaten a miscarriage. Then you need to report the situation to doctors as soon as possible.

Lower abdominal and lower back pain in girls can also be a sign of hypothermia. The bare lower back, which girls often leave open for the sake of beauty, can become overcooled and, what is most terrible, lead to infertility.

What to do if you have pain in your lower abdomen and lower back?

When a doctor diagnoses a patient to determine the cause of lower abdominal and lumbar pain, he first needs to understand the intensity of the pain and its nature. In women, it is important to determine whether there is a connection with pregnancy or menstruation.

For diagnostics, it is important to establish the nature of the pain and the frequency of its occurrence, since different characteristics may indicate different diseases. If the nature of the disease is acute, then the patient may experience cramping pains that gradually increase, complications bring chills, nausea, and elevated body temperature. Such pains indicate that the inflammatory process is developing rapidly. When pain of this nature is observed for a long time, some chronic disease may well develop, so it is important to definitely and as soon as possible go to see a doctor.

To diagnose pain in the lower abdomen and lower back, clinical laboratory and instrumental research methods are used:

  • laboratory tests for herpes infection, which affects the development of pelvic ganglionitis;
  • ultrasound examination of the pelvic organs (ultrasound) – to exclude organic diseases of the genitourinary system;
  • X-ray of the spine and pelvic bones;
  • absorption densitometry to rule out osteoporosis;
  • X-ray (irrigoscopy), endoscopic (rectoscopy, colonoscopy, cystoscopy) examinations of the gastrointestinal tract and bladder;
  • laparoscopy.

Treatment of lower abdominal and lumbar pain

To eliminate pain in the lower abdomen and lower back, doctors do not recommend taking painkillers on your own. This can only worsen the patient's condition. First, you need to understand what exactly caused the pulling, stabbing, aching or sharp pain in the lower abdomen and lower back, because independent initiatives are undesirable here. Pain is, first of all, a signal from the body that some disease has arisen and is developing, which requires treatment only after establishing a specific cause, and only a doctor can do this. As we have already found out, the range of causes is very wide, and dulling pain in the lower abdomen and lower back with painkillers is not a solution, since the symptoms will only be eliminated temporarily, and the disease will progress.

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