Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain is a broad category and can be a symptom of other things. Patients might feel dull throbbing aches, persistent pelvic cramps or lower-belly twinges that start near the appendix. Discomfort and abdominal bloating can crop up anywhere between the ribs and the hips.

Abdominal pain and stomach aches may lead to a trip to urgent care. Doctors may perform a physical exam, take medical history and determine the cause and treatment of your discomfort.

What Causes Abdominal Pain?

Many conditions may cause stomach aches and pain in both the upper and lower belly areas. More serious causes may be:

• Infection
• Abnormal growth
• Inflammation
• Obstruction (blockage)
• Intestinal disorder
• Diseases of the stomach, appendix and abdominal organs

Symptoms can differ widely depending on which area of the abdomen hurts. Digestive pain, for example, may start in the upper-left region. Some conditions which cause pain in one part of the belly (like fibroids) may not affect other parts at all.

Abdominal pain can be heartburn — or a heart attack

In many cases, a quick trip to urgent care can help determine where the twinge is stemming from and what’s causing it. Indigestion, for example, is considered localized stomach pain associated with digesting food.

Heart attack symptoms can be eerily similar to feelings of indigestion, including pressure and heaviness in the lower chest or upper stomach. Interestingly, nearly half of women (unlike others) who’ve experienced heart attack report feeling symptoms similar to heartburn shortly before their episode.

While heart attacks are medical emergencies, thankfully, occasional heartburn is not.

Upper abdominal pain

Could be symptoms of:

• appendicitis
• constipation
• indigestion and gas
• acid reflux
• gallstones
• heart attack

Lower abdominal pain

Could be symptoms of:

• colitis
• stomach flu
• fibroids
• food poisoning
• kidney infection
• pelvic inflammatory disease

Complications of abdominal and stomach pain

More serious infections in the blood and intestines may cause bacteria to enter the digestive tract, resulting in nausea and vomiting. If stomach pain is sudden and severe, or accompanied by fever, seek medical advice.