Lower right back pain could mean organ involvement
After the common cold, problems caused by the lower back including lower back pain are the most frequent cause of lost work days in adults under the age of 45.(1) However, exclusively lower right back pain is a more unusual pattern of pan that should be explored carefully.
Lower back pain is pain that occurs in the lower back, the area of the back that contains the five lumbar vertebrae and six lumbar vertebral disks, also commonly called the "small of the back". The lumbar vertebrae are located between the thoracic vertebrae (those behind the chest) and the coccyx or tailbone. Lower right back pain concentrates the pain on one side of the back.
Please read our article "Causes of Back Pain" and "Lower back pain is common and treatable" to get good information on the general problem of pain in the lower back. In general, your lower right back pain will likely be caused by one of the triggers identified and will be treatable as described in the article on general lower back pain.
However, since it is somewhat less usual to have lower right back pain than lower back pain in general, it is important to eliminate other possible causes of pain as well. There are several organ systems that can cause pain concentrated on one side of the back or the other. For example, a kidney infection or kidney stone can cause lower right back pain or, in fact, lower left back pain. A kidney infection often includes symptoms such as fever, cloudy or bloody urine and pain in the pelvic region as well.
Ovarian cysts or ovarian cancer can also cause lower right back pain. Ovarian cysts have the following symptoms:
* pressure, fullness, or pain in the abdomen
* dull ache in the lower back and thighs
* problems passing urine completely
* pain during sexual intercourse
* weight gain
* painful menstrual periods and abnormal bleeding
* nausea or vomiting
* breast tenderness
Ovarian cancer can cause similar symptoms including lower right back pain in the more advanced stage. Since lower right back pain can also be associated with various organ disorders, you should always have this symptom evaluated by a physician.
(1) http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/brochure/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=10&topcategory=Spine
