What Does It Mean When The Left Side Of Your Abdomen Hurts?
Oleg Elkov/Shutterstock By Sophie McEvoy/Sept. 10, 2021 11:54 am EST
Any pain in your abdomen can be extremely uncomfortable, and most of the time it can be attributed to strained muscles or trapped gas (via WebMD). For some, it can also be a symptom of irritable bowl syndrome (IBS), which can cause symptoms like cramps and bloating (via the U.K.‘s National Health Service – NHS).
But sometimes, pain in your abdomen can be a sign of something more serious. As Healthline notes, many major organs lie within this area, like the kidneys and gallbladder, which are susceptible to problems like gallstones, kidney stones, and infection. However, there’s one organ that’s regularly linked to severe pain in the abdomen, and that’s your appendix. Attached to the large intestine, your appendix is a small pouch located on the lower right side of your abdomen. If a blockage occurs around the organ, it may get infected and cause the appendix to get inflamed, which is then classified as appendicitis. However, pain attributed to this condition typically occurs from the mid to right side of your abdomen (via Mayo Clinic). So if you’re getting severe pain from the left side, it’s more likely to be attributed to something other than appendicitis. And there is a condition that is specific to the lower left part of your tummy, and that’s diverticulitis.
What Does It Mean When The Left Side Of Your Abdomen Hurts?
Oleg Elkov/Shutterstock
By Sophie McEvoy/Sept. 10, 2021 11:54 am EST
Any pain in your abdomen can be extremely uncomfortable, and most of the time it can be attributed to strained muscles or trapped gas (via WebMD). For some, it can also be a symptom of irritable bowl syndrome (IBS), which can cause symptoms like cramps and bloating (via the U.K.‘s National Health Service – NHS).
But sometimes, pain in your abdomen can be a sign of something more serious. As Healthline notes, many major organs lie within this area, like the kidneys and gallbladder, which are susceptible to problems like gallstones, kidney stones, and infection. However, there’s one organ that’s regularly linked to severe pain in the abdomen, and that’s your appendix. Attached to the large intestine, your appendix is a small pouch located on the lower right side of your abdomen. If a blockage occurs around the organ, it may get infected and cause the appendix to get inflamed, which is then classified as appendicitis. However, pain attributed to this condition typically occurs from the mid to right side of your abdomen (via Mayo Clinic). So if you’re getting severe pain from the left side, it’s more likely to be attributed to something other than appendicitis. And there is a condition that is specific to the lower left part of your tummy, and that’s diverticulitis.
But sometimes, pain in your abdomen can be a sign of something more serious. As Healthline notes, many major organs lie within this area, like the kidneys and gallbladder, which are susceptible to problems like gallstones, kidney stones, and infection. However, there’s one organ that’s regularly linked to severe pain in the abdomen, and that’s your appendix.
Attached to the large intestine, your appendix is a small pouch located on the lower right side of your abdomen. If a blockage occurs around the organ, it may get infected and cause the appendix to get inflamed, which is then classified as appendicitis.
However, pain attributed to this condition typically occurs from the mid to right side of your abdomen (via Mayo Clinic). So if you’re getting severe pain from the left side, it’s more likely to be attributed to something other than appendicitis. And there is a condition that is specific to the lower left part of your tummy, and that’s diverticulitis.
The most common condition attributed to pain on the left side of your abdomen is diverticulitis
Doro Guzenda/Shutterstock
Diverticulitis may be the most common cause of pain on the left side of your abdomen, but the pain also could be a result of something else. For women, it can also be a symptom of endometriosis, ovarian cysts, ovarian torsion, pelvic inflammatory disease, and, if you’re pregnant, an ectopic pregnancy. Whatever the case, if the pain is consistent and you’re worried about what it may be, get it checked out.
