Is Back Pain An Indication Of Kidney Problems?

According to several studies, the prevalence of kidney stones in China is about 10%, which means that one out of every ten people may have kidney stones. However, many people only find out that they have kidney stones when they are sent to the emergency room for severe back pain, or they mistakenly think that back pain is caused by sedentary and poor posture and do not realize the threat of kidney stones.

In particular, we often see news stories about patients who have dozens of kidney stones, large and small, hidden in their bodies, which are finally removed through surgery. Why did they accumulate so many kidney stones before they were treated? Are there no precursors or symptoms that can be detected in advance?

Urologists point out that, in general, kidney stones are often asymptomatic, and there are several common cases.

No symptoms: Most of the tiny kidney stones do not cause any discomfort, or even the whole kidney may be filled with large stones, but they do not hurt at all. Other symptoms may occur when a stone becomes blocked in the kidney or falls into the ureter and blocks the flow of urine.

Low back pain: If a stone blocks the urinary flow in the calyces or pelvis, it may cause recurrent low back pain, boredom, back pain (usually unilateral), and pain that may be transmitted to the upper abdomen on the same side. If a stone obstructs the urinary stream in the ureter, it may cause sudden, severe back pain and may even cause you to roll on the floor in pain, unable to stand up. The pain may extend from the back and flank to the lower abdomen, groin, or even to the genitals.

Hematuria: The urine appears bloody or dark in color.

Gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. May occur when ureteral stones are present.

Fever: Fever and chills may occur if a urinary tract infection is present.

Change in urinary pattern: Frequent or urgent urination, burning sensation, or painful urination.

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What should I refer to for sudden back pain? Could it be kidney stones? How to tell the difference

Sometimes when we have back pain, it is difficult to identify the cause, but we are worried that it may be caused by stones. Dr. Yu-Hsin Chen of the Department of Urology said that there are many factors that can cause low back pain, including kidney stones, muscle soreness, herpes, abdominal aortic aneurysm, renal vascular embolism, muscle strain and sprain, disc protrusion, and so on. Most of the low back pain, lower back pain is due to muscle, tendon, ligament strain, or due to improper, excessive use caused by pain, usually as long as appropriate rest, coupled with drug therapy, rehabilitation can be relieved.

Usually, during the consultation, the cause of low back pain will be determined by the following points.

Pain location: Is the pain only in the lower back, or is it spreading to the lower back and groin? Does it affect the thighs and lower extremities?

Pain range: Is the pain flaky, spotty, or does it only hurt when it touches the kidney area?

Pain level: Is the pain intermittent or constant? Does it affect daily life?

Other symptoms: Is it accompanied by hematuria, fever, frequent urination, or a feeling of unclean urine?

Past/hereditary history: Is there any family history of chronic disease or cancer? Or have you suffered from any other diseases in the past?

Common urological diseases that cause back pain include urinary tract stones, pyelonephritis, or kidney tumors.

Pyelonephritis: Inflammation caused by bacterial infection of the kidney. When the kidney is touched lightly, there will be pain in the form of dots and fever.

Kidney tumor: Since the kidney does not have painful nerves, it does not cause significant discomfort initially. However, as the tumor grows larger, it will send pain signals to the body when it opens up the pain-sensitive nerves on the outside of the kidney. The pain of a kidney tumor is a slowly developing, dull pain that is felt from the inside out. In contrast to a strain, which can be relieved by postural improvement, the pain of a kidney tumor does not improve with postural changes.

Kidney stones: In general, small kidney stones do not cause any discomfort, but it has been found clinically that some patients do not feel any discomfort until their entire kidney is filled with large stones. Most people discover kidney stones accidentally through health checkups and other tests, such as abdominal ultrasound in gastroenterology, while some people discover them due to symptoms such as hematuria or fever.

Once a stone becomes blocked in the kidney or gets stuck in the ureter and blocks the flow of urine, the urine produced by the kidney continues to accumulate, causing the kidney to become edematous and swell to the point where the external pain-sensitive nerves are located, resulting in back pain. This pain is usually located in the ribs on the side of the back and is often transient and does not decrease with postural changes. If a kidney stone falls into the ureter due to bad luck, the pain caused by the stone rolling in the ureter often extends to the lower abdomen, groin, testicles or vulva because of the small size of the ureter.

The doctor reminded that if back pain occurs suddenly, you can first evaluate your medical history. Usually, patients who have had kidney stone problems will report directly to the urology department when they experience similar conditions again; or if the back pain is accompanied by hematuria and change in urination pattern, you can also go to the urology department for examination. As for people who have recently engaged in strenuous exercise, poor sitting posture, or heavy lifting, low back pain may be a muscular or skeletal problem and can be prioritized for consultation with orthopedics or rehabilitation.

Kidney Stones = Too little water? What other factors may cause kidney stones?

There are many different explanations for the causes of kidney stones. According to doctors, one group of scholars believes that when urine flows through the urinary tract, due to kidney disease and structural stenosis, the urine becomes stagnant and the concentration of stone factors in the urine increases.

Other scholars believe that the high concentration of urine may cause the ions in the urine to oversaturate and precipitate, or that crystals or foreign bodies in the urine may cause ions to aggregate and form stones.

There are many different factors that can cause urinary tract stones, and they are usually not caused by a single factor.

Concentration of urine.

When you drink too little water, have a fever, work in a hot environment, vomit or have diarrhea, your body loses too much water, which can lead to a decrease in urine volume and concentration of urine, which can lead to the concentration of stone components in the urine, resulting in the precipitation of crystalline material.

Due to the hot weather, the body sweats a lot when outside, making it easy to lose water. Therefore, in the summer, it is necessary to add more water to reduce the risk of kidney stones.

Dietary habits.

Eating too much food with high protein, high oxalic acid or high sodium can easily cause stones.

According to an overseas study that interviewed 190,000 people, the risk of kidney stones increases by nearly a quarter when more than one sugary drink is consumed daily.

Dr. Yu Xin Chen further explained that since the drinks are mostly fructose syrup or sucrose, recent studies have shown that the metabolism of fructose makes the urine acidic and increases the excretion of calcium, oxalate and uric acid, and reduces citrate in the urine, all of these mechanisms may increase the risk of kidney stone formation.

Do kidney stones pass naturally? What can be done to prevent them?

From time to time, there are various discussions on the internet about the "stone removal method". According to statistics, up to 90% of stones below 4 mm in diameter can be expelled naturally; for stones between 4 and 6 mm in diameter, there is a 50% to 60% chance that they can be removed spontaneously; as for stones larger than 6 mm, they are too large to pass through the ureter and have a much lower chance of being expelled naturally.

All urinary stones require treatment, and the doctor will determine how to treat them based on their size, location, whether they are infected, the severity of their symptoms, and the structure of the patient's urinary system. For stones that have a chance of spontaneous elimination, conservative treatment with pain medication, appropriate relief of symptoms and discomfort, drinking plenty of fluids, and close follow-up may be indicated.

"Experts believe that up to 50% of patients who have had urinary tract stones are likely to have them again within the next 5 years! However, we can still protect our kidneys from the high recurrence rate of kidney stones by following the "3 Less, 2 More, 1 Moderate" dietary principle!

3 less, 2 more, 1 moderate! Diet 6 steps to stay away from the kidney stone body

1. Less salt

According to experts' recommendation, the total daily sodium intake should not exceed 2,400 mg (i.e. 6 g of salt); and for those who have kidney stones or urinary tract stones, it is recommended to reduce the daily intake to 1,500 mg.

The doctor explained that sodium inhibits calcium reabsorption from the renal tubules and increases urinary calcium excretion, which in turn increases the chance of stone formation.

He also reminded that sodium can be found everywhere in daily life, including canned food, fast food, instant food, meat, and seasonings, so you should pay more attention to the sodium content on food nutrition labels. You should pay more attention to the sodium content on food nutrition labels. Some things are not necessarily salty but have a high sodium content, which requires special attention.

2. Reduce the intake of high oxalic acid diet

The doctor explained that calcium intake does not cause stones, because 80-85% of urinary tract stones are calcium oxalate, if there is too much oxalic acid in the diet, it may increase the risk of oxalic acid stones.

Therefore, he recommends that people who have suffered from urinary tract stones or have a family history of stones should avoid consuming foods with high oxalic acid content, such as beer, tea, cocoa, chocolate, carbonated beverages, spinach, grapes, apples, strawberries, nuts, etc. are all high oxalic acid foods and should be consumed in moderation.

3. less large fish and meat

Doctors also warned not to eat too much high-protein food! Since human urine is generally weakly acidic, excessive intake of animal protein will increase the excretion of calcium, urate and oxalic acid in the urine and reduce the release of citrate, which may increase the risk of kidney stones. So like red meat, poultry, seafood need to be taken in moderation, not every day big fish and meat.

4.Drink more water

"No matter what clinic you go to, you will always be told to drink more water and eat more vegetables and fruits! Dr. Yu-Hsin Chen explained that drinking more water can dilute crystalline material and reduce stone formation. He also recommends that if you do not sweat a lot and your kidneys are functioning well, you should drink 2,000 to 3,000 c.c. of water a day and maintain a daily urine output of about 2,000 to 2,500 c.c. But if you sweat a lot outdoors that day, you need to add more back.

He also mentioned that the citric acid in lemons can alkalize urine and combine with calcium ions to form water-soluble calcium citrate, which reduces the saturation of calcium oxalate in urine and prevents the formation of crystals. Therefore, people who eat lemons will not cause stomach discomfort can take lemon water in appropriate amounts.

5. Eat more fruits and vegetables

Vegetables and fruits are rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium ions, which are alkaline foods. Therefore, eating more vegetables and fruits can make the urine alkaline, reduce the production of salt precipitates in the urine and prevent the occurrence of stones.

6. Moderation: Moderate intake of calcium and total phenylethyl alcohol.

There is a rumor that "eating calcium will grow stones", and many older patients facing osteoporosis, doctors will recommend more calcium supplements, eating tofu, drinking milk, so that some people with a history of stones or worry - so much calcium, will not increase the production of urinary tract stones?

Doctors clarify that, according to research, a daily intake of 1,000 mg of calcium can actually reduce the occurrence of stones! If the calcium intake is insufficient, in order to achieve electrolyte balance, through the body's automatic regulation, calcium may be released from the bones into the blood, but the blood calcium concentration will rise, the calcium in the urine will also increase, contributing to the chance of stones. So the point is that the right amount is good, not too little and not too much.

The recommended daily dose of phenylethyl alcohol for adolescents and adults is about 100 mg of total glycosides. Generally speaking, there is no need to worry about excessive intake of total phenylethanol glycoside from the diet; however, if there is a long-term supplementation of total phenylethanol glycoside and Cistanche health food, be careful not to take too much.

Lastly, it is important to follow the "3 less, 2 more, 1 moderate" dietary principle, regular exercise to maintain normal body weight, and regular follow-ups are the best ways to prevent stones.