Abdominal Pain in Adults

• Abdominal Pain in Adults Overview
• Abdominal Pain in Adults Causes
• Abdominal Pain in Adults Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Abdominal Pain in Adults Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Surgery
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Related abdominal pain articles:
  Abdominal pain - on WebMD
  Abdominal pain - on MedicineNet

Abdominal Pain in Adults Overview

Abdominal pain can range in intensity from a mild stomach ache to severe acute pain. The pain is often nonspecific and can be caused by a variety of conditions. Many organs are found within the abdominal cavity. Sometimes the pain is directly related to a specific organ such as the bladder or ovary. Usually, the pain originates in the digestive system. For example, the pain can be caused by appendicitis, diarrheal cramping, or food poisoning.

The type and location of pain may help the physician find the cause. The intensity and duration of pain must also be considered when making a diagnosis. A few general characteristics of abdominal pain are as follows:

• Abdominal pain can be sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, knifelike, twisting, or piercing. Many other types of pain are possible.
  
  
• Abdominal pain can be brief, lasting for a few minutes, or it may persist for several hours and longer. Sometimes abdominal pain comes on strongly for a while and then lessens in intensity for a while.
  
  
• Sometimes abdominal pain can hurt so much that the patient may throw up, with no respite in the pain. Other times, vomiting eases the pain.
  
  
• Abdominal pain can make the patient want to stay in one place and not move a muscle. Or the pain can make them so restless they want to pace around trying to find "just the right position."

The physician will try to elicit the area of the abdomen where the pain originates when determining the cause of abdominal pain. This is done by combining questions such as - "When you first had the pain, where did you feel it?" - with examination of the abdomen. Softly pressing on certain areas to elicit the pain and perhaps palpating other areas to examine the size and exact location of an organ are other parts of the physical examination.

When this is combined with general questions about the pain - "Is the pain dull or sharp?,"  "How long have you had the pain?" - and questions about your state of health - "Did you have to vomit?" - the physician can narrow down the possible causes of the pain.

Once the questions and physical exam are completed, the healthcare provider will either give the patient a diagnosis and advise on follow-up recommendations or order blood tests and possibly x-rays and imaging studies to further help identify why the patient is in pain.