What are the main causes of abdominal pain. How does the digestive system contribute to various types of pain. What are the most effective treatments for gastrointestinal pain disorders. How can you differentiate between acute and chronic abdominal pain. What role does the brain play in pain perception.

The Complexity of Abdominal Pain in Digestive Disorders

Abdominal pain is a common symptom experienced by many individuals, often related to various digestive system disorders. Understanding the intricate mechanisms behind this discomfort is crucial for effective diagnosis and treatment. The digestive system, with its complex network of organs and nerves, plays a significant role in pain perception and processing.

How does the digestive system contribute to pain sensation? The gastrointestinal tract is lined with numerous nerve endings that detect changes in the internal environment. These nerves communicate with the brain, signaling potential threats or damage to tissues. This intricate system allows for the perception of different types of pain, ranging from mild discomfort to severe, debilitating sensations.

Types of Abdominal Pain

• Visceral pain: Originating from organs, often difficult to localize
• Somatic pain: Arising from the abdominal wall, easier to pinpoint
• Referred pain: Felt in areas distant from the actual source

Why do some individuals experience chronic abdominal pain? Chronic pain in the digestive system can result from ongoing inflammation, nerve sensitization, or altered brain-gut communication. Conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and functional dyspepsia often involve complex pain mechanisms that persist over time.

The Role of Nociceptors in Gastrointestinal Pain

Nociceptors, specialized sensory neurons, play a crucial role in detecting potentially harmful stimuli in the digestive system. These neurons are sensitive to mechanical, thermal, and chemical changes, triggering pain signals when activated. In the context of gastrointestinal disorders, nociceptors can become hypersensitive, leading to increased pain perception.

How do nociceptors contribute to visceral hypersensitivity? In conditions like IBS, nociceptors in the gut may become overly responsive to normal digestive processes. This heightened sensitivity can result in pain even during routine digestive activities, contributing to the chronic nature of these disorders.

Factors Influencing Nociceptor Activation

1. Inflammatory mediators
2. Mechanical distension of organs
3. Changes in pH levels
4. Neurotransmitter imbalances

Can targeting nociceptors provide relief for gastrointestinal pain? Recent research has focused on developing therapies that modulate nociceptor activity. By targeting specific receptors or signaling pathways, these approaches aim to reduce pain sensitivity without affecting normal digestive function.

The Brain-Gut Axis: A Key Player in Abdominal Pain Perception

The brain-gut axis represents a bidirectional communication system between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system. This intricate network plays a crucial role in modulating pain perception, influencing both the intensity and duration of abdominal discomfort.

How does stress impact abdominal pain through the brain-gut axis? Psychological stress can significantly affect gut function and pain sensitivity. The brain can amplify or dampen pain signals from the digestive system based on emotional state, past experiences, and environmental factors. This explains why stress management techniques can be effective in managing certain gastrointestinal pain disorders.

Components of the Brain-Gut Axis

• Autonomic nervous system
• Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
• Enteric nervous system
• Immune system

Can modulating the brain-gut axis provide new treatment avenues for chronic abdominal pain? Emerging therapies targeting the brain-gut axis, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices, and neuromodulation techniques, show promise in managing chronic gastrointestinal pain conditions.

Inflammatory Processes and Their Impact on Digestive System Pain

Inflammation plays a significant role in many gastrointestinal disorders associated with abdominal pain. Conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, involve chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, leading to persistent pain and discomfort.

How does inflammation contribute to pain sensitization in the digestive system? Inflammatory mediators released during active disease can sensitize nociceptors, lowering their activation threshold. This process, known as peripheral sensitization, can lead to increased pain perception even with mild stimuli.

Key Inflammatory Mediators in Gastrointestinal Pain

• Prostaglandins
• Cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1β)
• Histamine
• Bradykinin

Can targeting specific inflammatory pathways alleviate abdominal pain in IBD? Anti-inflammatory therapies, including biologic agents that target specific inflammatory pathways, have shown efficacy in reducing both inflammation and associated pain in IBD patients. However, the relationship between inflammation reduction and pain relief is not always straightforward, highlighting the complex nature of pain mechanisms in these conditions.

Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and Pain Management

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia, represent a significant challenge in pain management. These conditions are characterized by chronic or recurrent digestive symptoms without identifiable structural or biochemical abnormalities.

Why is pain management in FGIDs particularly challenging? The multifactorial nature of these disorders, involving altered gut motility, visceral hypersensitivity, and psychosocial factors, necessitates a comprehensive approach to pain management. Traditional pain medications often provide limited relief, highlighting the need for targeted therapies.

Multidisciplinary Approaches to FGID Pain Management

1. Dietary modifications
2. Pharmacological interventions
3. Psychological therapies (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy)
4. Gut-directed hypnotherapy
5. Complementary and alternative medicine approaches

How effective are gut-directed psychological interventions in managing FGID pain? Emerging evidence suggests that gut-directed psychological therapies, such as hypnotherapy and mindfulness-based interventions, can significantly reduce pain and improve quality of life in FGID patients. These approaches aim to modulate the brain-gut axis and alter pain perception at the central nervous system level.

Emerging Therapies for Chronic Abdominal Pain

The field of gastroenterology is witnessing rapid advancements in the development of novel therapies for chronic abdominal pain. These innovative approaches target various aspects of pain signaling and processing, offering hope for patients with refractory pain conditions.

Can neuromodulation techniques provide relief for intractable abdominal pain? Neuromodulation therapies, such as vagus nerve stimulation and spinal cord stimulation, have shown promise in managing chronic visceral pain. These techniques aim to interrupt pain signaling pathways or enhance endogenous pain inhibition mechanisms.

Promising Emerging Therapies

• Targeted nociceptor modulators
• Gut microbiome-based interventions
• Gene therapy approaches
• Regenerative medicine techniques

How might personalized medicine approaches revolutionize abdominal pain management? The integration of genetic, molecular, and microbiome profiling may enable tailored treatment strategies for individual patients. This personalized approach could significantly improve treatment outcomes by addressing the specific pain mechanisms at play in each case.

The Impact of Diet and Nutrition on Digestive System Pain

Diet plays a crucial role in the management of many gastrointestinal disorders associated with abdominal pain. Certain foods and dietary patterns can exacerbate symptoms, while others may provide relief. Understanding the relationship between diet and digestive system pain is essential for effective management strategies.

How do specific dietary components influence abdominal pain in digestive disorders? Various dietary factors, including fiber content, fat composition, and fermentable carbohydrates, can impact gut motility, inflammation, and visceral sensitivity. For example, in IBS, certain fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs) may trigger symptoms in susceptible individuals.

Dietary Approaches for Pain Management

1. Low FODMAP diet for IBS
2. Anti-inflammatory diets for IBD
3. Elimination diets to identify trigger foods
4. Probiotics and prebiotics for gut health

Can dietary interventions alone provide significant pain relief in gastrointestinal disorders? While dietary modifications can significantly reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for many patients, they are often most effective when combined with other treatment modalities. The efficacy of dietary interventions varies among individuals, highlighting the need for personalized approaches.

Understanding the complex interplay between diet, gut microbiome, and pain perception opens up new avenues for nutritional therapies. Recent research suggests that specific dietary components may modulate pain signaling pathways and influence the gut-brain axis, offering potential for targeted nutritional interventions in pain management.

Psychosocial Factors and Their Influence on Abdominal Pain Experience

The experience of abdominal pain is not solely determined by physiological factors. Psychosocial elements, including stress, anxiety, depression, and past experiences, play a significant role in pain perception and management. Recognizing the impact of these factors is crucial for developing comprehensive treatment strategies.

How do psychological factors influence pain perception in digestive disorders? Psychological stress can amplify pain signals, lower pain thresholds, and alter gut motility. Additionally, the presence of anxiety or depression can exacerbate symptoms and reduce the effectiveness of pain management strategies.

Key Psychosocial Factors in Abdominal Pain

• Stress and anxiety
• Depression
• Pain catastrophizing
• Social support
• Coping mechanisms

Can addressing psychosocial factors improve outcomes in chronic abdominal pain? Integrating psychological interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction, into treatment plans has shown significant benefits. These approaches can help patients develop effective coping strategies, reduce stress-related symptom exacerbation, and improve overall quality of life.

The bidirectional relationship between psychosocial factors and abdominal pain highlights the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to treatment. By addressing both the physiological and psychological aspects of pain, healthcare providers can offer more comprehensive and effective care for patients with chronic digestive system disorders.

Diagnostic Challenges in Abdominal Pain Disorders

Accurately diagnosing the underlying cause of abdominal pain presents significant challenges due to the complex nature of the digestive system and the overlap of symptoms among various disorders. Effective diagnosis requires a comprehensive approach, combining clinical assessment, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory tests.

Why is differential diagnosis crucial in abdominal pain management? Many gastrointestinal conditions share similar symptoms, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of pain. Accurate diagnosis is essential for implementing appropriate treatment strategies and avoiding unnecessary interventions.

Advanced Diagnostic Techniques

1. High-resolution manometry
2. Wireless motility capsule
3. Functional MRI for brain-gut interaction assessment
4. Molecular and genetic testing

How can biomarkers improve the diagnosis of gastrointestinal pain disorders? The identification of specific biomarkers for conditions like IBD, celiac disease, and certain functional disorders can enhance diagnostic accuracy. These biomarkers may include genetic markers, inflammatory mediators, or microbiome profiles, providing valuable insights into disease pathophysiology and potential treatment targets.

The integration of advanced diagnostic techniques with traditional clinical assessment methods is revolutionizing the approach to abdominal pain diagnosis. By combining multiple modalities, healthcare providers can develop a more comprehensive understanding of each patient’s condition, leading to more targeted and effective treatment strategies.

As our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying abdominal pain in digestive system disorders continues to evolve, so too do the approaches to diagnosis and treatment. The integration of advanced diagnostic techniques, personalized medicine approaches, and a holistic view of patient care holds great promise for improving outcomes in this challenging field. By addressing the multifaceted nature of abdominal pain, encompassing physiological, psychological, and social factors, healthcare providers can offer more comprehensive and effective care to patients suffering from chronic digestive system disorders.

The Science of Pain – Gastrointestinal Society

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The Science of PainGIS2021-07-06T15:53:16-07:00

Pain serves a vital purpose for living creatures with a nervous system, including humans. The unpleasant feelings of pain convince us to move away from situations that are causing damage to our bodies. Without this built-in alarm system, we would have to try hard to avoid biting our own tongues, we might not notice our hand is on a burning stove, and we wouldn’t go to the doctor to mend broken bones. As unpleasant as pain is, it is extremely important to our survival.

Pain is a defining factor in inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, GERD, and diverticular disease, and is common in many other GI diseases and disorders.

What is Pain?

According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, it is “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. ”

When something injures – or otherwise threatens – your body, the nerve fibres send a message to the brain letting it know that something isn’t right. Most pain experience takes place in the brain, which processes the information from these signals. However, pain isn’t just a simple message from nerve-to-brain. The brain often mediates this message based on your experiences, other stimuli, various environmental factors, and more.¹

For example, people tend to feel more pain when they believe that the injury is major and less pain when they think the injury is minor, regardless of the actual degree of injury. The brain can even send a message back to the nerves to silence them if it finds the situation to be safe. Conversely, the brain can instruct the nerves to continue to fire when it is uncalled for, causing pain that is needlessly strong or pain that lasts much longer than necessary. Your emotional state of mind can also affect the types of messages exchanged between the brain and nerves. Anxiety causes the brain to ask for more signals from the nerves, which increases pain length and severity, whereas feeling safe makes it ask for fewer signals, thereby reducing the amount of pain you feel.

The impact of the brain on pain is clear when you consider that placebo pain relief pills often work remarkably well, and that sometimes people don’t feel pain until they have other stimuli that cause them to acknowledge the injury, such as seeing a wound.

Before we understood that pain is simply neurons signalling something is wrong, many people believed that pain was a punishment from God. The word pain is actually derived from the Latin word poena, meaning ‘punishment, penalty’ and the Greek word ποινή (poine), which translates to ‘price paid, penalty, punishment’. These same root words show up in the English words penalty, pain, punish, etc.¹¹

What are the Different Types of Pain?

Although we typically refer to anything that hurts as pain, there are actually several types of pain, with unique stimuli and treatments, which our bodies process and acknowledge differently.

Nociceptive Pain

Most of the pain you experience is nociceptive pain, which results from stimulation of a type of peripheral nerve fibre, called nociceptors. This is what you feel when you stub your toe, pull a hot dish from the oven with your bare hands, scrape your knee, break your arm, and most other things that cause tissue damage. We can break down nociceptive pain even further by looking at either the type of stimulus causing the pain, or where in the body someone is feeling this pain.

There are three main types of stimuli that cause nociceptive pain:

1. mechanical stimuli, which causes injuries such as cuts, bruises, sprains, and breaks;
2. thermal stimuli, typically from extreme temperatures, which results in injuries such as burns from heat and frostbite; and
3. chemical stimuli, when a substance harms the body, such as with chemical burns and getting soap in your eye.

The way we feel nociceptive pain also depends on where in the body the pain originates:

1. superficial somatic pain is from injuries to the skin. It is typically very easy to locate the source of the pain, which is very specific and often a sharp feeling. This type of pain is what you feel from cuts, bruises, and burns;
2. somatic pain occurs when the wound is deeper, such as injuries to the tendons and ligaments, broken bones, sprains, and pulled muscles; and
3. visceral pain originates in organs, and is often general and hard to pinpoint. Individuals with digestive diseases and disorders are typically most familiar with visceral pain.

Neuropathic Pain

That odd feeling of hitting your ‘funny bone’ is a common example of neuropathic pain, which occurs when the injury affects the nervous system itself. This pain is different from nociceptive pain in that it doesn’t feel aching, throbbing, or stabbing. Neuropathic pain typically presents as the sensation of pins and needles, numbness, itching, burning, coldness, or electric shock feelings. This type of pain is common in people with damage to the central nervous system, such as those with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries, and in those with ailments that affect the peripheral nervous system such as nutritional deficiencies, some types of cancer, HIV, herpes, diabetes, and those exposed to certain toxins. In addition, individuals with celiac disease are more likely to experience this type of pain.

Phantom pain is another type of neuropathic pain, which occurs in amputees when they perceive pain in a missing limb.

Psychogenic Pain

This type of pain occurs when emotional or mental issues cause, increase, or prolong pain. Some examples include stomach aches, headaches, muscle pain, and back pain that are caused by strong emotions such as grief, anxiety, and depression. Psychogenic pain can also occur when mental or emotional distress increases the severity of other pains. As mentioned earlier, most pain occurs in the brain, thus mental illness and emotions can have a huge impact on how we interpret pain signals. This is common in those who have irritable bowel syndrome, for instance, who typically experience more pain and discomfort in their bowels when under stress or experiencing mental health symptoms.

Treating Pain

The first line of defense against pain is to treat the cause. Since pain is typically a reaction to something harming your body, the simplest way to reduce pain is to fix or eliminate the injurious stimulus. However, this isn’t always possible. There are many ailments that can chronically affect your body, which are persistent, incurable, or even untreatable. In some individuals, there is not even an identifiable trigger for the pain, which makes it very difficult to treat. Because of these problems, many people experience chronic pain – pain in one location that has lasted for at least three months.

Right now, one in five Canadians are experiencing chronic pain, which more commonly affects females and seniors. ² This chronic pain can have a huge influence on an individual’s quality of life. Studies show that pain can affect quality of life more than any other diseases or disorders where pain is not present. Those who are in chronic pain have an increased chance of experiencing depression, anxiety, and anger,³ and are twice as likely to commit suicide as those without chronic pain.⁴ Many individuals develop impairments in attention, memory, problem solving, and mental flexibility, often losing the ability to work.⁵ Children who experience chronic pain miss the opportunity to live a normal life, as they often find it hard to participate in most childhood activities, such as social events and school.⁶ Many elderly people experience chronic pain; it affects 25-65% of seniors living in communities and up to 80% of seniors in long-term care facilities, which has a huge impact on their quality of life and, unfortunately, medical professionals often ignore this suffering. ⁷

For individuals in chronic pain, and those in the process of healing from ailments that cause short-term (acute) pain, medications that treat pain (analgesics) can help reduce the discomfort and make the pain more manageable or, ideally, eliminate as much pain as possible.

Chronic pain affects 9% of males and 12% of females aged 12-44 in Canada.¹²

Pain Medications

^8,9,10

Analgesics

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prevent you from producing compounds called prostaglandins, which are responsible for causing inflammation. In addition, NSAIDs interfere with your body’s ability to send pain signals because prostaglandins are necessary to send signals of pain to the brain. This reduction in prostaglandins means that you experience less pain both from the reduction in inflammation in the injured area as well as from the fact that fewer pain messages are reaching your brain.

Examples include ibuprofen, Aspirin® (acetylsalicylic acid), and naproxen, which are primarily available over-the-counter (OTC), but some higher-dose formulations are only accessible by prescription.

Acetaminophen is widely used to relieve many types of pain because it increases the body’s pain threshold and modifies how your brain perceives pain to reduce pain severity.

It is sold under the brand name Tylenol® as well as in many generic formulations. Acetaminophen is often an active pain relief drug in many OTC medications, including medicines for treating cold, flu, arthritis, menstrual cramps, back pain, and more. If you have a liver disease, be sure to ask your physician whether it’s safe for you to take acetaminophen because it’s processed in the liver and relatively small amounts can worsen liver damage.

Opioids are narcotic agents, which are either natural alkaloids from the opium poppy plant (opiates) or synthetic drugs made to work by mimicking opiates. These medications bind to opioid receptors in the brain and modify pain messages. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation, drowsiness, itching, and respiratory distress. Opioids are also highly addictive and it is easy to develop a tolerance to these medicines, so increasing dosages are often required during long-term use. These drugs eliminate pain by preventing pain messages from getting to the brain, and by working in the brain to alter the sensation of pain. Typically, when we feel pain, our bodies produce chemicals known as endorphins to counteract the pain messages. Endorphins interact with opioid receptors in the brain, reducing pain and making us feel more relaxed. Opioid medicines mimic this natural pain relief by using this same pathway, but they are much more potent than endorphins.

Opioids are primarily available through prescription, and include morphine, codeine, oxycodone, and fentanyl.

Adjuvant Analgesics

The following medicines aren’t typical analgesics; they have a primary indication for specific ailments and pain relief is a secondary effect. They often only work in very specific situations, but they are an important part of the pain-killing arsenal. These are the most commonly used:

• muscle-relaxants cause a sedative action in the central nervous system, reducing pain from tense muscles;
• corticosteroids are very powerful anti-inflammatory drugs;
• anti-anxiety medicines relax muscles, reduce anxiety, and help people cope with pain;
• antidepressants reduce pain transmission in the spinal cord; and
• anticonvulsive medications stabilize nerve cells.

Alternative Therapies

There are a variety of non-medication techniques you can use to help reduce chronic pain. Adequate sleep, stress management, relaxation, and hypnotherapy offer varying degrees of relief.

Marijuana and Pain

While not a common analgesic, there is research showing medical marijuana to have pain-relieving properties. A recent meta-analysis¹³ compared studies conducted from 1948 to 2015 on the effects of marijuana and found “high-quality evidence” that marijuana can help reduce chronic pain. It isn’t clear exactly how marijuana relieves pain, but one study shows that it might modify the way we perceive pain.¹⁴

Summary

Since pain serves a vital purpose for us, we must give it the respect it deserves and respond appropriately. If you have any type of pain, but particularly gastrointestinal pain, be sure to discuss this with your physician. It is important that the treatments and medications you are using are appropriate for your condition, considering that certain medications might adversely affect your existing GI condition.

First published in the

Inside Tract® newsletter issue 194 – 2015

Image Credit: © bigstockphoto.com/evgeny atamanenko

1. Pain is Weird. Pain Science. Available at: https://www.painscience.com/articles/pain-is-weird.

php. Accessed 08-07-2015.
2. Schopflocher D et al. The prevalence of chronic pain in Canada. Pain Research Management. 2011;16(6):445-50.
3. Bruehl S et al. Pain-related effects of trait anger expression: neural substrates and the role of endogenous opioid mechanisms. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2009;33(3):475-91.
4. Tang NK et al. Suicidality in chronic pain: a review of the prevalence, risk factors and psychological links. Psychological Medicine. 2006;36(5):575-86.
5. Hart RP et al. Cognitive impairment in patients with chronic pain: the significance of stress. Current Pain and Headache Reports. 2003;7(2):116-26.
6. King S et al. The epidemiology of chronic pain in children and adolescents revisited: A systematic review. Pain. 2011;152(12):2729-38.
7. Hadjistavropoulos T et al. Transforming Long-Term Care Pain Management in North America: The Policy–Clinical Interface. Pain Medicine. 2009;10(3):506-20.
8. Pain Management Medication Types. RxList. Available at: http://www.rxlist.com/pain_medications/drugs-condition.htm. Accessed 08-07-2015.
9. Pain Medications. WebMD. Available at: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/pain-relievers. Accessed 08-07-2015.
10. Analgesic. Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analgesic. Accessed 08-07-2015.
11. Pain. Online Etymology Dictionary. Available at: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pain. Accessed 20-02-2015.
12. Ramage-Morin PL et al. Chronic pain at ages 12 to 44. Statistics Canada Health Reports. 2010;21(4)
13. Hill KP. Medical Marijuana for Treatment of Chronic Pain and Other Medical and Psychiatric Problems: A Clinical Review. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2015;313(24):2474-83.
14. Lee MC et al. Amygdala activity contributes to the dissociative effect of cannabis on pain perception. Pain. 2013;154(1):124-34.

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Why Does My Stomach Hurt

Why Does My Stomach Hurt | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Tummy troubles are a common cause for a visit to the doctor’s office. When patients complain of “stomach pain,” they are sometimes describing pain that is throughout the abdomen area and may not actually be directly related to the organ known as the stomach.

Doctors first try to determine if a patient’s abdominal pain is caused by a structural or functional problem.

Sometimes the digestive tract does not function properly due to an abnormality with the structure of an organ. Medical imaging will show that the organ does not look normal and is not working properly.

The gastrointestinal system has its own nervous system to control the muscle contractions that digest the food you eat. Functional problems, also called motility disorders, result from poor nerve and muscle function in the digestive tract. Gastrointestinal (GI) organs with motility problems will usually look normal on medical imaging tests, such as CT scans or MRI scans, but the organs do not work like they should. Because functional disorders are hard to see in imaging, they can be challenging to diagnose.

1. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

   IBS related abdominal pain may become worse after you eat a meal or if you are stressed. If you have IBS, you will have symptoms such as diarrhea or constipation and bloating, but they will not cause bleeding or weight loss.

2. Constipation

   You may experience sharp gas pains that occur throughout the abdomen area if constipation is the reason for your abdominal pain. People who are constipated often have a feeling of being bloated and full, and their abdomen may even become visibly distended.

3. Ulcers

   An ulcer is a sore on the lining of your stomach or first part of the small intestine. Ulcers may cause a burning sensation similar to hunger pangs. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting or heartburn.

4. Pancreatitis

   Abdominal pain caused by pancreatitis, which is inflammation in the pancreas, is a severe and sharp pain occurring in the upper middle of the abdomen that can sometimes radiate to your back or chest. You may also experience other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and fever. Pancreatitis may occur as either a sudden acute attack or a chronic condition.

5. Diverticulitis

   Abdominal discomfort and tenderness in the lower left abdomen area may be caused by diverticulitis. This is when the small pouches inside the large intestine become infected or inflamed. Other symptoms may include a low-grade fever, nausea, vomiting or constipation.

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Related Topics

Treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

Signs, symptoms and treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

If the gastrointestinal tract is functioning properly, it properly processes food to provide the body with the energy it needs. But sometimes in his work there is a failure, which causes many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the whole organism.

When seeking medical help, patients most often complain about abdominal pain, nausea, flatulence which are the main symptoms of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

In diseases of the stomach pains often occur. Most often discomfort is felt in the upper abdomen (under the pit of the stomach). The nature of the pain can vary, they can be weak or intense. Mild pain, or rather even a feeling of discomfort and heaviness under the sternum, is experienced by patients with reduced production of gastric juice. It is difficult for them to determine the specific place of pain, and indicate exactly where it hurts. These pains occur at any time of the day, regardless of the time of eating. In addition to pain, signs of diseases of this part of the gastrointestinal tract are decrease or loss of appetite, belching “rotten” , may appear tendency to diarrhea .

If the production of gastric juice is too active (gastritis with increased secretory activity or gastric ulcer), then the nature of the pain is completely different. Moreover, if the patient has a stomach ulcer, then, unlike a patient with gastritis, he can accurately indicate the place where he has pain. Also, the patient can clearly associate the time of meals with the appearance of pain. As a rule, the stomach begins to hurt either during a meal, or a few minutes after the end of the meal. Sometimes at night, when a person’s stomach is empty, he may experience hungry pains .

Abdominal pain is a symptom of diseases of the small intestine . Most often it is localized in the middle sections of the abdomen and in the umbilical region. With these diseases, the pain is dull and bursting, it is associated with the accumulation of gases in the intestines.

Inflammatory processes in the colon , such as chronic colitis, can also cause abdominal pain. They are localized in the lower abdomen and in its lateral sections (most often, on the left side). If the inflammation begins in the transverse colon, then the pain can spread to the upper intestines.

In chronic colitis the pain is cramping, which is why it is often called intestinal colic. A person feels a tight knot in the abdomen, which can twist sharply (an attack of pain) and then relax. Such attacks are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Often, colic can provoke the intake of food that causes increased gas formation.

Treatment of people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (suggesting organ dysfunction) is a rather difficult task. To prevent the development of more severe forms of diseases, it is necessary to treat chronic inflammatory processes of the digestive system in the early stages.

Diseases of the digestive system – diagnostics at Narva Clinic.

Therapy

Dozens of eating disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and digestive tract are known to physicians. Some ailments are classified as chronic, others as acute conditions, which, with proper treatment, quickly disappear.

Diseases of the digestive tract are among the most common in the world. According to statistics, up to 40% of all patients who seek medical help daily complain of discomfort and the area in the stomach, intestines, liver, and gallbladder. Primary diagnosis is carried out by a general practitioner.

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Symptoms of diseases of the digestive system

The main symptoms of diseases of the digestive tract are:

• pain during swallowing,
• burning sensation in larynx and esophagus,
• belching,
• sharp stitching, cutting, pulling, aching and other pains in the stomach;
• increased gas formation;
• frequent vomiting – eg after every meal;
• stool disorder – regular diarrhea or constipation;
• blood in stool;
• anal fissures accompanied by bleeding, pain and other unpleasant symptoms;
• bloating;
• weakness, constant headaches.

Major diseases of the digestive system

Diseases of the digestive system can be found in different organs. If there is discomfort in the esophagus, this may indicate a hiatal hernia, esophagitis. Pathological conditions of the stomach are gastritis, peptic ulcer, pneumatosis. A change in the nature of the stool, pain in the lower abdomen, increased bloating and gas formation may indicate duodenitis, hemorrhoids, colitis, appendicitis, duodenal ulcer, dysbacteriosis, irritable bowel syndrome and other pathological conditions.

Common diseases of the digestive tract also include lesions of the liver (hepatitis, cirrhosis), gallbladder (stone formation, cholecystitis, dyskinesia), pancreas (pancreatitis).

Diseases also include various neoplasms – for example, colorectal cancer, cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, stomach.

How are diseases of the digestive system diagnosed?

In medicine, various research methods are used to accurately determine the disease and prescribe effective treatment. All diagnostic tests can be divided into several categories:

• Laboratory tests. This can be a fecal occult blood test, a general urinalysis, throat swabs that allow you to determine the content of bacteria in saliva that cause pathology.
• Visual tests. For example, a study of colorectal transit, which allows you to understand how well food moves along the tract and through the colon. CT scan, which uses x-rays. After computer processing, doctors receive detailed images of organs, bones, muscles, and fat. Ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract, MRI scans are other studies that provide detailed images of structures, blood vessels and organs. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography is used to examine the bile ducts in detail.
• Endoscopic procedures. Colonoscopy allows you to examine the condition of the colon in order to detect neoplasms, inflamed tissues, and ulcerative lesions. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is used for suspected diseases of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (FGS) is used to diagnose the inside of the esophagus, duodenum, stomach.
• Other procedures. These are rarer diagnostic tests that are needed to clarify diagnoses. This may be monitoring the pH of the contents of the esophagus, manometry of the esophagus or stomach, capsule endoscopy, and others.

Methods of treatment

Therapy of diseases of the digestive system requires an accurate diagnosis and an individual approach. Treatment is prescribed only when the doctor has studied the patient’s history and is confident in the correctness of the diagnosis. The appointment of certain drugs and procedures depends on the type of disease, the severity of its course, the patient’s condition and many other data.

• Medicines. These can be antacids, enzymes, painkillers, anti-inflammatory and other drugs. They are available in the form of tablets and capsules, creams and gels, powders that must be diluted in water.
• Surgical techniques. They are used if the treatment does not bring relief, and the disease progresses. In some cases, urgent surgical care is required – for example, with a perforated ulcer or appendicitis. Therefore, any discomfort, pain and other unpleasant symptoms are a reason to consult a doctor to identify and treat diseases of the digestive tract.

Preventive measures

Any inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract is the result of dietary errors and an unhealthy lifestyle. Diseases of the digestive system can and should be prevented. The main recommendations are:

• Eat more fiber. We are talking about the inclusion in the daily diet of fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs.
• No stress. The mental state affects the digestive system and, in particular, the gut microbiota. If you can’t handle stress on your own, see a psychologist.
• Adequate fluid intake. We are talking about clean drinking water. The norm per day is from 1.5 liters.
• Active lifestyle.