Stomach And Back Pain, Sensitive Skin On Stomach And Back, Urine And Stool Normal. Any Ideas On What It Could Be?

Posted on Sun, 7 Oct 2012

Question: Over the last couple days, I have developed mild pain on my left side of my stomach which has sometimes led to pain in my back. The pain doesn't stop me from doing normal physical activity and has never become severe pain. It is more annoying than anything. Also the skin on my left side of my stomach and now my lower back is very sensitive and rubbing it makes it feel like a sunburn. I went to urgent care and the doctor on duty said that my urine sample looked good and my bowel movements have been normal also. Any ideas on what it could be? I was thinking a muscle strain of some sort but I am not sure if that would cause my skin to be so sensitive and irritated without any lesions or rash.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (22 minutes later)

Hi XXXXXXX,

Thanks for writing in.

There are some answers, which I would like to know first before we go ahead:

1.     Did you strain your back recently? Did you lift any weight or had a strenuous work out in the gym?
2.     Are there lesions or redness of the skin in that area
3.     Is the pain continuous or is it intermittent? Does it increase / decrease after certain specific things? For example, does it increase after meals or after movement?
4. Do you have alcohol, if yes what was the last time you had a drink?

From what you have written in, the pain looks very much like a muscle spasm. You must do the following:

1. Take some over the counter painkillers, which would help relieve the pain
2. Avoid exercise or any work that would strain your back for couple of days
3. If you have a desk job pay, attention to the posture you sit in, try having a more straight back when you sit
4. Get a good physical examination done by your a GP.
5. I would suggest a few tests which you can go for if the pain is not relieved despite the above measures:

a) A Serum lipase level
b) An ultrasound of abdomen
c) X XXXXXXX of abdomen with KUB (kidney, ureter, bladder)

Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be happy to help.

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E

Follow up: Dr. Om Lakhani (7 hours later)

I did not strain my back recently to the best of my knowledge. I also do drink alcohol somewhat consistently. There are no lesions or redness on my skin. Just sensitivity. And the pain is intermittent.

Answered by Dr. Om Lakhani (11 minutes later)

Hi,

Thanks for the follow up.

You can start with some over the counter pain killers. Since your pain is not very severe and it doesn't affect your day to day working there is no need for any further investigations at present. Simple pain killers would work. If the pain gets worse or affects your sleep you can report back to your nearest healthcare facility and discuss with them the investigations I advised above.

Hope this helps

Regards
Dr. Om Lakhani

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli