6 Causes of Right Kidney Pain

 

If your right kidney area is painful, it may be caused by a relatively common kidney problem, such as a urinary tract infection or kidney stones.

Your kidneys are located at the back of the epigastric region below the chest cavity. You have one on each side of your spine. Due to the size and location of your liver, your right kidney tends to be slightly lower than your left kidney.

Most situations that cause kidney (kidney) pain will only affect one of your kidneys. Pain in the right kidney area may indicate a kidney problem or may be caused by nearby organs, muscles, or other body tissues.

Here are 6 potential causes of right kidney pain:

 

Common causes	Uncommon causes urinary
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)	Kidney trauma kidney
kidney stone	Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)
	Renal vein thrombosis (RVT)
	Kidney cancer

Read on to learn about these possible causes of kidney pain and how these problems are usually diagnosed and treated.

1.               Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

Usually caused by bacteria, but sometimes by fungi or viruses, urinary tract infections are common infections.

While they usually involve the lower urinary tract (urethra and bladder), they may also involve the upper urethra (ureter and kidneys).

If your kidneys are affected, signs and symptoms may include:

• High fever
• Side and upper back pain
• Chills and shivers
• Frequent urination
• Persistent urge to urinate
• Blood or pus in the urine
• Nausea and vomiting

Treatment

As a first-line treatment for UTIs, doctors may prescribe antibiotics.

If your kidneys are infected (pyelonephritis), they may prescribe a fluoroquinolone. If you have a severe UTI, your doctor may recommend that you be hospitalized and given intravenous antibiotics.

2.               Kidney stone.

Formed in your kidneys — usually, from concentrated urine — kidney stones are hardened deposits of salts and minerals.

Symptoms of kidney stones may include:

• Side and back pain
• Persistent need to urinate
• Pain when urinating
• Urinating
• Bloody or cloudy urine
• Nausea and vomiting

Treatment

If the kidney stone is small enough, it may pass out on its own.

Your doctor may recommend taking painkillers and drinking up to 2 to 3 quarts of water per day. They may also give you α blocker that relaxes your ureter and helps stones pass through easier and less painfully.                        

If the stones are large or cause damage, your doctor may recommend more invasive surgeries, such as:

• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). This process uses sound waves to break kidney stones into smaller, easier-to-pass pieces.
• Percutaneous nephrolithotomy. During this process, doctors use small telescopes and instruments to surgically remove the stones.
• Scope. During this process, the doctor will use special tools to get them through your urethra and bladder to trap or break the stones.

3.               Kidney trauma

Renal trauma is exogenous kidney injury.

Blunt trauma is caused by an impact that does not penetrate the skin while penetrating trauma is an injury caused by an object entering the body.

Symptoms of blunt trauma are hematuria and bruising in the renal region. The symptom of penetrating trauma is a wound.

Kidney trauma is measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with grade 1 being minor and grade 5 being a kidney that has broken and cut off the blood supply.

Treatment

Most kidney trauma can be treated without surgery, treating the possible side effects of trauma, such as malaise and high blood pressure.

Your doctor may also recommend physical therapy and, in rare cases, surgery.

4.               Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)

PKD is a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of clusters of fluid-filled cysts on your kidneys. PKD is a chronic kidney disease that reduces kidney function and may lead to kidney failure.

Signs and symptoms of PKD may include:

• Back and side pain
• Hematuria (blood in the urine)
• Kidney stones
• Heart valve abnormalities
• Hypertension

Treatment

Since PKD cannot be cured, your doctor will help you manage your condition by treating the symptoms.

For example, if one of the symptoms is high blood pressure, they may prescribe dietary changes, as well as angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

For kidney infections, they may prescribe antibiotics.

In 2018, the FDA approved tolvaptan, a drug used to treat autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a form of PKD that accounts for about 90  percent of PKD cases(1).

5.               Renal vein thrombosis (RVT)

Your two kidney veins carry hypoxic blood from your kidneys to your heart. If a blood clot forms in one or both of them, it is called renal vein thrombosis (RVT).

This is very rare. Symptoms include:

• Low back pain
• Hematuria
• Decreased urine output

Treatment

According to a 2018 study (2), RVT is often considered a symptom of an underlying disorder, most commonly nephrotic syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome is a kidney disease characterized by your body excreting too much protein. If your RVT is the result of treatment for nephrotic syndrome, your doctor may recommend:

• Antihypertensive drugs
• Water pills, cholesterol-lowering drugs
• Blood thinner
• Immune system suppressing drugs

6.               Kidney cancer

Kidney cancer usually does not develop symptoms until late in life. Later symptoms include:

• Persistent side and back pain
• Hematuria
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Unexplained weight loss
• Intermittent fever

Treatment

Surgery is the main treatment for most kidney cancers:

• Nephrectomy: Removal of the entire kidney
• Partial nephrectomy: removal of the tumor from the kidneys

Your surgeon may choose between open surgery (a single incision) or laparoscopic surgery (a series of small incisions).

Other treatments for kidney cancer include:

• Immunotherapy with drugs such as interleukin and nalvuliumab
• Targeted therapy is performed using drugs such as cabozantinib, sorafenib, everolimus, and tisirololimus
• Radiation therapy is performed using high-powered energy beams such as X-rays

When to see a doctor

If you have persistent pain in your upper middle back or both sides, see a doctor. This can be a kidney problem that, if left unnoticed, can permanently damage your kidneys.

In some cases, such as kidney infections, life-threatening complications can be caused.

Conclusion

If your right kidney area is painful, it may be caused by a relatively common kidney problem, such as a urinary tract infection or kidney stones.

Pain in the right kidney area may also be caused by more rare conditions, such as renal vein thrombosis (RVT) or polycystic nephropathy (PKD).

If your kidney area is in constant pain, or the pain is getting worse or interferes with your daily activities, see a doctor for a diagnosis and treatment plan.