How Kidney Stones Can Cause Rib Pain

Kidney stones are painful conditions where small deposits form in your kidneys. When the stones move around or try to exit your kidney, you often have flank or low back pain.

However, in some cases, the pain can spread to your ribs, making you second-guess what's causing your discomfort.

If you have unexplained rib pain, Dr. Jason Ablett and the team at Pinnacle Health Chiropractic can help. Dr. Ablett is an experienced chiropractor who gets to the bottom of your rib pain so you finally get some relief.

Common causes of rib pain

Many types of pain affect your body, including pain in your ribs. Rib pain can come on suddenly from an injury or develop over time from an infection or other cause.

Rib pain is scary for some people because it's so close to their chest and heart, but it's not often a sign of heart trouble. Some of the common causes of rib pain include the following:

• Broken ribs
• Costochondritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Pulled muscles
• Inflammation
• Dislocated ribs

Rib pain is often due to a problem with the structures in or around your chest, such as your muscles or ribs. However, in some cases, rib pain is caused by issues with other areas of your body.

You can experience rib pain for various reasons, including kidney stones, pancreatitis, or problems with your spleen. You must seek treatment for rib pain that doesn't go away on its own, as it could be a more significant issue with your health.

Could your pain be a kidney stone?

Kidney stones are one of the unusual culprits behind rib pain. Your body forms kidney stones out of minerals like calcium and uric acid. You can have kidney stones and not even know it, as they only cause pain when they move or begin to exit your kidney through your ureters.

Your ureters are the tubes that connect your kidneys to your bladder. Typically, you'll have pain from a kidney stone when it moves through your ureter to exit your body through urination.

You often feel pain from a kidney stone in the affected flank and low back. However, pain is funny, and you can also feel discomfort in your chest around your ribs.

Your kidneys sit around the back of your body underneath part of your rib cage, one on either side. When you have a kidney stone, the pain you feel can be generalized to that area, which includes your ribs and surrounding tissues.

However, if you have a kidney stone, you'll likely have other symptoms, including painful urination, nausea, and blood in your urine.

When to seek help for rib pain

Mild rib pain usually goes away independently, primarily due to a mild injury or inflammation. Home care measures like rest, ice or heat, and anti-inflammatory medications often do the trick for mild to moderate rib pain.

However, if your pain seems to linger and you can't effectively eliminate it, see Dr. Ablett as soon as possible. Dr. Ablett is an expert in rib pain and helps you get to the bottom of the problem.

After a thorough physical examination and medical history, Dr. Ablett diagnoses your rib pain. He then forms a customized treatment plan based on the cause of your discomfort.

What are your treatment options?

Dr. Ablett bases your treatment on the root cause of your rib pain. If kidney stones cause pain, he refers you to a specialist to treat the underlying problem. Kidney stones often pass independently, but you may require more aggressive treatment for larger stones.

Dr. Ablett can help with your rib pain during your treatment through chiropractic manual manipulation and adjustments. Even when actual problems in your ribs don't cause your rib pain, Dr. Ablett can help.

His treatments involve manual manipulation of your fascia and tissues and increasing blood flow to the inflamed area. He does these techniques through ultrasound therapy, electrical stimulation, and heat or ice.

Regular chiropractic adjustments are suitable for various types of pain, including rib pain. When you're ready to find out what's causing your rib pain, call our office today to consult Dr. Ablett or schedule an appointment online using the booking tool.