Lower back pain can occur for reasons as varied as walking in high heels or stretching incorrectly. Lower back pain is also a major symptom of most kidney infections. It is important to see your doctor if you experience any ongoing, uncomfortable pain in your mid back to lower back because this could be a sign that you have a kidney infection or that your back has experienced some other kind of trauma. This article will explain how to differentiate back pain brought on by a kidney infection from back pain brought on by other forms of trauma.

If lower back pain occurs in conjunction with a fever, blood in the urine (though not always visible to the naked eye), nausea, and a burning feeling during urination you can be sure that you have a kidney infection. The kidneys are located on each side of the spine just above the hips. Your doctor will press on this area to assess its sensitivity. Pain will be localized in this area and may radiate up to the waist area if brought on by a kidney infection. Your doctor may perform urinalysis to check for white blood cells in the urine which is a sign that your body is fighting an infection.

If lower back pain occurs after a specific event such as pulling a muscle, herniating a spinal disk, or straining the back, the pain has a specific cause and is most likely not related to a kidney infection.

Treating a Kidney Infection

Kidney infections occur when bacteria enters the bladder and travels to the kidneys. This infection causes lower back pain among other symptoms. Kidney infections can be acute (strong but short-term) or chronic (slow buildup but long in duration). It is important to receive treatment immediately or damage to the kidneys can occur. Treatment of kidney infections begins with antibiotics. Foe severe infections, you may receive a shot of antibiotics while at your doctor's office. Pain medicines and anti-nausea medications may also be prescribed to deal with the symptoms of the infection. The good thing about most kidney infections is that the tenderness in the lower back area of the kidneys goes away when the kidney infection goes away.

Treating Lower Back Pain

Pain from trauma to the back does not go away as quickly as pain from a kidney infection. Pain brought on by stretching or bending the wrong way, back spasms or strains, and herniated disks requires rest and extensive treatment to resolve. Pain management techniques such as heating pads, physical therapy, and topical and oral medications can be helpful in resolving lower back pain brought on by back trauma.