Back pain from kidney stones is a unique type of pain caused by tiny stones blocking the flow of urine between the kidney and the bladder. You can recognize the difference by the type of pain felt. Back pain due to another condition tends to cause muscle aches and soreness in the spine or muscle tissue. Back pain from kidney stones, however, comes in cycles and is described as very intense pain that begins on the right or left side. Kidney stone pain often moves from the original location to the lower abdomen and may even be felt, at times, in the groin area as a stone moves about inside the ureter.

Besides back pain from kidney stones, a person with this condition may also experience nausea, vomiting, fever and urine tinged with blood. For some, symptoms of kidney stones also produce back and abdominal spasms. It is not uncommon for individuals with kidney stone pain to simultaneously be affected by symptoms of a urinary tract infection.

In order to clearly differentiate back pain from kidney stones, a doctor will perform a urinalysis and an x-ray to determine if a stone is present and to determine whether or not it is likely that the stone may naturally pass upon urination. If it is too large to pass, a stone may need to be removed via surgery or dissolved using medications. Once stones have passed, dissolved or been removed, back pain from kidney stones subsides.

Pain that subsides by topical pain medications, heating treatments or massage is not back pain from kidney stones. The unique type of kidney pain caused by stones cannot be relieved as easily. In fact, a person experiencing back pain from kidney stones will often find it difficult to be still and will be compelled toward constant movement incited by pain. Back pain due to muscle injury or spinal injury, on the other hand, causes a person to react differently, as physical movement tends to cause pain to intensify.

Back pain from kidney stones also does not produce an aching pain, which is common to other types of back pain. Instead, a person will feel a sharp, very sudden pain that also causes severe cramping. Many people describe this pain as a pain attack, due to its sudden onset, and characterize it as the worst pain they have ever felt. While back pain can be debilitating, for many, it pales in comparison to kidney stone pain.