Abdominal Pain

Most patients have had pain in their abdomen at one point in their life. Usually the cause is treatable and not serious, but abdominal pain may be the sign of something more serious and ensuing complications.

It is crucial to get an adequate diagnosis and subsequent treatment to sidestep complications if the abdominal pain is chronic and doesn’t go away.

The Most Common Causes

A variety of causes may result in pain of the abdomen including:

Stones: Gall or kidney
a stomach virus
hernias
an ulcer
menses
constipation
UTIs
endometrial growths
scar tissue after surgery
pancreatitits
Pancreatic or stomach cancer

Symptoms of This Pain Region

Primary symptoms include pain and cramping, but they may be associated by a set of secondary complaints including:

Persistent Nausea
Frequently urinating
difficulty eliminating
bloody stool
tenderness in the groin
swelling abdomen
yellow skin

More serious symptoms requiring immediate medical intervention may include: radiating pain in the chest, vomiting, black or tarry stool, radiating pain from the torso. If you cannot sit still or go into the fetal position to obtain relief, immediate care is needed.

How is this Diagnosed?

Suspected causes of the pain may be diagnosed with imagery: X-ray, CT scan, or MRI. Blood work may be needed for inflammation or infection. For more severe cases a celiac plexus block may be used as a diagnostic tool of chronic pain. In more severe conditions, a block can be used, such as with: Pancreatitis, chronic pain, symptomatic pain, cancers, IBS, internal adhesions, or HIV.

Conservative Treatment Options for Abdominal Pain

Cognitive therapy – this type of therapy is most useful with patients suffering from (IBS) irritable bowel syndrome, which is 25% of the overall population.
Behavioral modification- if specific diet characteristics caused the patients to experience abdominal pain, modification of behavior may be needed to help alleviate pain.
Celiac Plexus Block
Over-the-counter medicine- for acute pain, NSAIDS and OTC medications they be effective.
Prescription pain medicine.
Celiac plexus block- this type of injection can be diagnostic or therapeutic by blocking pain signals to the brain thereby providing pain relief.
Thoracic epidural analgesia injection
Intervention to remove tissue with surgery – usually with patients that have adhesions post-surgery or endometrial growth, surgical removal of tissue (including cysts) may help eliminate problematic masses or scar tissue causing problems.