Why Does My Stomach Hurt? 17 Possible Causes of Stomach Pain

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on May 10, 2023

• What Is Abdominal Pain?
• Types of Abdominal Pain
• Abdominal Pain Causes
• Recurrent Abdominal Pain
• When to Call the Doctor About Abdominal Pain
• Abdominal Pain Diagnosis
• Abdominal Pain Treatment and Home Remedies
• More

Abdominal pain is discomfort or other uncomfortable sensations that you feel in your belly area. Just about everybody at one time or another will get a bellyache.

Most causes of abdominal pain aren’t reasons to worry, and your doctor can easily diagnose and treat the problem. Sometimes, though, it can be a sign of a serious illness that needs medical attention.

Photo credit: Wacharaphorn Phetpradub / EyeEm / Getty Images

There are several types of abdominal pain, based on how quickly your pain starts and how long it lasts: 

• Acute pain starts over a few hours or days and may come with other symptoms.
• Chronic pain lasts longer – from weeks to months or more – and may come and go.
• Progressive pain gets worse over time and often comes with other symptoms.

The abdomen contains digestive organs including the stomach, intestines, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Problems affecting these organs and others can cause abdominal pain. Image: WebMD

Whether you’ve got a mild ache or serious cramps, abdominal pain can have many causes. For instance, you might have indigestion, constipation, a stomach virus, or menstrual cramps.

Other causes include:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Food allergies
• Appendicitis
• Kidney stones
• A urinary tract infection
• Diverticulitis
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (swelling in the belly’s main artery)
• Bowel blockage or obstruction
• Cancer of the stomach, pancreas, liver, bile duct, gallbladder, or immune cells
• Ovarian cancer or cysts 
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder)
• Low blood flow to your intestines caused by a blocked blood vessel
• Ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized eggs grows outside the uterus, for example, in a fallopian tube)   

If you have at least three stomachaches over 3 months, and they’re severe enough to keep you from doing everyday activities, you have what doctors call “recurrent abdominal pain. ”

Recurrent abdominal pain symptoms

Recurrent abdominal pain feels different from person to person. The pain may start and stop without warning, or it could be ongoing. Some people describe it as a dull ache in their belly. Others have sharp cramps. Besides pain, there may be symptoms like diarrhea or throwing up.

If your abdominal pain is serious, doesn’t go away, or keeps coming back, talk to your doctor. Call 911 right away if your belly hurts because you had a recent injury there or if you have chest pain.

You should also contact your doctor as soon as you can if you have symptoms along with the pain, such as:

• Can’t keep food down for more than 2 days
• Signs you’re getting dehydrated, including not urinating frequently, dark-colored urine, and being very thirsty
• Can’t have a bowel movement, especially if you’re also vomiting
• Pain when you urinate or you need to urinate often

Also call your doctor if:

• Your belly is tender to the touch
• Pain lasts more than a few hours

You may have other symptoms that could be a sign of a problem inside your body that needs treatment as soon as possible. Get medical care right away if you have abdominal pain and you also:

• Vomit blood
• Notice bloody or black, tarry bowel movements
• Have trouble breathing
• Vomit constantly
• Have swelling in your belly
• Have yellow skin
• Are pregnant
• Have unexplained weight loss

Since there are so many possible causes, your doctor will do a thorough physical exam. They’ll also ask you some questions about your symptoms and want to know what type of pain you have. For instance, is it a severe stabbing pain or a dull ache?

Some other questions your doctor may ask you:

• Does it hurt throughout your abdomen, or is it just in one particular area?
• When does it hurt? Always? More often in the morning or at night?
• If the pain comes and goes, how long does it last each time?
• Does it hurt after you eat certain foods or drink alcohol?
• Are you in pain during menstruation?
• How long have you been hurting?
• Does the pain sometimes move into your lower back, shoulder, groin, or buttocks?
• Do you take any medications or herbal supplements?
• Are you pregnant?
• Does any activity ease the pain, such as eating or lying on one side?
• Does an activity or position make the pain worse?
• Were you injured recently?

After your exam is over and your doctor is done asking you questions, you may need tests to help find the cause of your pain. These tests may include:

• Stool or urine tests
• Blood tests
• Barium swallows or enemas
• Colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy
• CT scan
• Ultrasound
• Upper endoscopy
• X-rays

The treatment for abdominal pain depends on its cause and may include:

• Medications to lower inflammation, prevent acid reflux, or treat ulcers or infection
• Surgery to treat a problem with an organ

Over-the-counter pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen can irritate your stomach and worsen your pain. Don’t take them unless a doctor has diagnosed the cause of your belly pain and recommends their use.

Some diet and lifestyle changes may help ease belly pain caused by gas and indigestion. Here are some things you can try:

• Eat smaller portions at more frequent meals.
• Eat slowly.
• Chew your food well.
• Drink beverages at room temperature.
• Avoid foods that give you gas or indigestion.
• Manage your stress.
• Limit alcohol and caffeine.
• Sit up straight after you eat.
• Get regular physical activity and take a short walk after you eat.

Top Picks

Why Does My Stomach Hurt? 17 Possible Causes of Stomach Pain

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on May 10, 2023

• What Is Abdominal Pain?
• Types of Abdominal Pain
• Abdominal Pain Causes
• Recurrent Abdominal Pain
• When to Call the Doctor About Abdominal Pain
• Abdominal Pain Diagnosis
• Abdominal Pain Treatment and Home Remedies
• More

Abdominal pain is discomfort or other uncomfortable sensations that you feel in your belly area. Just about everybody at one time or another will get a bellyache.

Most causes of abdominal pain aren’t reasons to worry, and your doctor can easily diagnose and treat the problem. Sometimes, though, it can be a sign of a serious illness that needs medical attention.

Photo credit: Wacharaphorn Phetpradub / EyeEm / Getty Images

There are several types of abdominal pain, based on how quickly your pain starts and how long it lasts: 

• Acute pain starts over a few hours or days and may come with other symptoms.
• Chronic pain lasts longer – from weeks to months or more – and may come and go.
• Progressive pain gets worse over time and often comes with other symptoms.

The abdomen contains digestive organs including the stomach, intestines, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Problems affecting these organs and others can cause abdominal pain. Image: WebMD

Whether you’ve got a mild ache or serious cramps, abdominal pain can have many causes. For instance, you might have indigestion, constipation, a stomach virus, or menstrual cramps.

Other causes include:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Food allergies
• Appendicitis
• Kidney stones
• A urinary tract infection
• Diverticulitis
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (swelling in the belly’s main artery)
• Bowel blockage or obstruction
• Cancer of the stomach, pancreas, liver, bile duct, gallbladder, or immune cells
• Ovarian cancer or cysts 
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
• Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder)
• Low blood flow to your intestines caused by a blocked blood vessel
• Ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized eggs grows outside the uterus, for example, in a fallopian tube)   

If you have at least three stomachaches over 3 months, and they’re severe enough to keep you from doing everyday activities, you have what doctors call “recurrent abdominal pain. ”

Recurrent abdominal pain symptoms

Recurrent abdominal pain feels different from person to person. The pain may start and stop without warning, or it could be ongoing. Some people describe it as a dull ache in their belly. Others have sharp cramps. Besides pain, there may be symptoms like diarrhea or throwing up.

If your abdominal pain is serious, doesn’t go away, or keeps coming back, talk to your doctor. Call 911 right away if your belly hurts because you had a recent injury there or if you have chest pain.

You should also contact your doctor as soon as you can if you have symptoms along with the pain, such as:

• Can’t keep food down for more than 2 days
• Signs you’re getting dehydrated, including not urinating frequently, dark-colored urine, and being very thirsty
• Can’t have a bowel movement, especially if you’re also vomiting
• Pain when you urinate or you need to urinate often

Also call your doctor if:

• Your belly is tender to the touch
• Pain lasts more than a few hours

You may have other symptoms that could be a sign of a problem inside your body that needs treatment as soon as possible. Get medical care right away if you have abdominal pain and you also:

• Vomit blood
• Notice bloody or black, tarry bowel movements
• Have trouble breathing
• Vomit constantly
• Have swelling in your belly
• Have yellow skin
• Are pregnant
• Have unexplained weight loss

Since there are so many possible causes, your doctor will do a thorough physical exam. They’ll also ask you some questions about your symptoms and want to know what type of pain you have. For instance, is it a severe stabbing pain or a dull ache?

Some other questions your doctor may ask you:

• Does it hurt throughout your abdomen, or is it just in one particular area?
• When does it hurt? Always? More often in the morning or at night?
• If the pain comes and goes, how long does it last each time?
• Does it hurt after you eat certain foods or drink alcohol?
• Are you in pain during menstruation?
• How long have you been hurting?
• Does the pain sometimes move into your lower back, shoulder, groin, or buttocks?
• Do you take any medications or herbal supplements?
• Are you pregnant?
• Does any activity ease the pain, such as eating or lying on one side?
• Does an activity or position make the pain worse?
• Were you injured recently?

After your exam is over and your doctor is done asking you questions, you may need tests to help find the cause of your pain. These tests may include:

• Stool or urine tests
• Blood tests
• Barium swallows or enemas
• Colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy
• CT scan
• Ultrasound
• Upper endoscopy
• X-rays

The treatment for abdominal pain depends on its cause and may include:

• Medications to lower inflammation, prevent acid reflux, or treat ulcers or infection
• Surgery to treat a problem with an organ

Over-the-counter pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen can irritate your stomach and worsen your pain. Don’t take them unless a doctor has diagnosed the cause of your belly pain and recommends their use.

Some diet and lifestyle changes may help ease belly pain caused by gas and indigestion. Here are some things you can try:

• Eat smaller portions at more frequent meals.
• Eat slowly.
• Chew your food well.
• Drink beverages at room temperature.
• Avoid foods that give you gas or indigestion.
• Manage your stress.
• Limit alcohol and caffeine.
• Sit up straight after you eat.
• Get regular physical activity and take a short walk after you eat.

Top Picks

What to do if the lower abdomen hurts? / Blog / Clinic EXPERT

What to do if the lower abdomen hurts?

Any pain in the lower abdomen is unpleasant, whether it arose acutely or has been haunting for more than one day. But is pain in the lower abdomen always caused by a disease? Of course, pain cannot be called the norm, but sometimes they are caused by rather harmless reasons. Among them, a feeling of heaviness after overeating, tension in the muscles of the lower press after hard work or sports, in women – premenstrual syndrome or ovulation. These pains go away on their own and do not require treatment. However, if the pain in women is intense and recurs from month to month, this is a reason to visit a gynecologist.

In most cases, pain in the lower abdomen is a symptom of the disease and indicates a malfunction of the internal organs and requires a doctor’s consultation. The fact is that many vital organs are located in this area, and discomfort can indicate a variety of diseases and conditions – including potentially life-threatening ones that require immediate hospitalization.

First, let’s define what “lower abdomen” is. That part of the body, which is simply called the lower abdomen, includes the hypogastrium and the pelvic area. Since these two areas are anatomically poorly delineated from each other, with the development of pathological processes, pain in any case is localized in the lower abdomen.

The only organ in the abdominal cavity that can cause pain in the lower abdomen is the intestines. Pain can occur for various reasons – from banal flatulence and functional diseases – irritable bowel syndrome, to much more serious conditions and diseases, such as acute appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, tumor compression.

The most common cause of pain in the lower abdomen are pathological processes in the pelvis, especially in young women. In most cases, the pain is due to the pathology of the genitourinary system. In women, pain in the lower abdomen can be associated with the following situations: menstrual irregularities, ovulation, endometriosis, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cyst rupture.

In men, the lower abdomen may hurt due to acute or chronic pathology of the prostate gland (prostatitis). The fact is that the prostate is permeated with a large number of nerve fibers, which makes it extremely sensitive to any external influences.

Acute urinary retention is another cause of pain in the lower abdomen, which also occurs predominantly in men. With this pathology, the patient cannot empty the bladder on his own and it is overstretched due to the accumulated urine in it.

When pain occurs in the lower abdomen, patients do not always know which doctor to contact. Start with a therapist. He will conduct an initial examination and, if necessary, refer you to a specialist.

In men, pain in the lower abdomen can be provoked by an inguinal hernia, which is dangerous by its infringement.

In some cases, pain in the lower abdomen may be due to pathology of the lumbosacral spine, mimicking the conditions described above.

Pain in the lower abdomen is a vague concept, it is quite difficult for a doctor to make a diagnosis based on this complaint alone, so additional diagnostics are required. If necessary, laboratory blood and urine tests, instrumental diagnostics are prescribed. Ultrasound examination is necessary to determine the size of organs, the presence of inflammatory exudate, neoplasms, in order to diagnose pregnancy. X-ray, computed tomography, endoscopy, laparoscopy and other research methods can also be used for diagnosis.

Treatment of pain in the lower abdomen can only be prescribed after an accurate diagnosis has been made. It will be aimed not only at eliminating pain symptoms, but also at eliminating the cause that caused it and, with the right approach, will give the desired result. An important role is played by the timely visit to the doctor. Early treatment is the key to achieving the desired results.

Gastroenterologists, internists, urologists and gynecologists, surgeons, neurologists work in our clinic; all those specialists who can clearly differentiate this, sometimes difficult, and sometimes dangerous symptom.

Pain in the lower abdomen after defecation: causes, diagnosis, treatment

Contents

1. Introduction
2. The nature and causes of pain

Many patients experience discomfort in the lower abdomen after going to the toilet. Pain in this area cannot be called a specific symptom, which will become the basis for an immediate diagnosis. The fact is that discomfort after defecation can appear under different conditions. In addition, often the pain radiates, that is, it spreads from the zone of occurrence to neighboring areas, which does not make it possible to determine exactly what exactly hurts.

Normally, the process of bowel movement is easy and fast, neither before, nor during or after a person should feel discomfort. If everything is in order with the gastrointestinal tract, then defecation occurs daily, and sometimes several times a day. But when something is wrong with the body, it is reflected in the frequency of the stool, its consistency and the very process of excretion of feces.

Pain after a bowel movement is different. Patients may describe their sensations as sharp, aching, throbbing. For pain, such characteristics as dull, sharp, pulling are also used. There can be many reasons for the occurrence of such an unpleasant symptom, but most often it turns out to be proctological problems: hemorrhoids and anal fissures.

Hemorrhoids can rightly be called a disease of modern man. A sedentary lifestyle, stagnant processes in the pelvis, inadequate physical activity, pregnancy and childbirth – these and other factors inhibit the normal blood circulation in the venous plexuses near the anus and in the rectum. Enlarged hemorrhoids are often injured during the passage of feces, for example, if they are very constipated. Prolapse of the internal node and its infringement by the sphincter may also occur – this condition is accompanied by acute pain. Both constipation and mechanical trauma to the rectum can cause a fissure to form in the anus. Due to the violation of the integrity of the tissues during defecation, a patient with such a problem will experience pain. The crack sometimes becomes a “gateway” for the penetration of infection, then there are serious complications.

Both hemorrhoids and anal fissures require treatment. That is why with pain in the lower abdomen after defecation and other alarming symptoms of proctological diseases, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. In our multidisciplinary medical center, you can get advice from a qualified specialist in the field of coloproctology.

Questions and Answers

Provided that there are no complaints and your immediate family has not had rectal cancer, it is recommended to visit a proctologist every 5 years.

If you feel discomfort, you should immediately contact a specialist!

A proctologist always cares about your convenience, which means that all diagnostic manipulations will be carried out as accurately and comfortably as possible!

The procedure is necessary for most patients when diagnosing pathologies of the rectum. Many diseases can proceed secretly, for a long time without manifesting themselves. Thanks to rectoscopy, it became possible to diagnose them at an early stage.

Rectoscopy is painless. Severe pain during the procedure speaks of inflammatory processes, which is the basis for transferring the procedure.

Yes, there are a number of drugs that can affect the muscle contractions of the intestinal wall.