What causes pain in the lower left abdomen?
Jun 29, 2024
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Shen Yonghua
Introduction
Possible causes of pain in the lower left abdomen include improper diet, excessive exercise, female physiological changes, intestinal spasms, and pancolitis. It is important to adjust eating habits, avoid spicy, greasy, raw, cold, or unhygienic foods, perform proper warm-up exercises before physical activity, gradually increase exercise intensity to prevent overexertion, maintain good dietary hygiene, and avoid intestinal infections.
In general, "stomach" refers to the abdomen. Pain in the lower left abdomen may be caused by improper diet, excessive exercise, female physiological changes, intestinal spasms, or pancolitis. If discomfort occurs, it is recommended to seek medical attention promptly. Specific analyses are as follows:
1. Improper Diet
Consuming excessive spicy, greasy, raw, cold, or unhygienic food can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and resulting in pain in the lower left abdomen. It is important to adjust dietary habits in daily life and avoid intake of spicy, greasy, raw, cold, and unhygienic foods.
2. Excessive Exercise
Prolonged, high-intensity exercise can cause fatigue of the smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to spasmodic contractions and pain. Before exercising, proper warm-up exercises should be performed to avoid sudden strenuous activity. Exercise intensity should be gradually increased to prevent overexertion in a single session. After exercise, adequate rest and sufficient hydration and nutrition replenishment are necessary.
3. Female Physiological Changes
During pregnancy, the uterus gradually enlarges, which may stimulate surrounding tissues and cause pain. Uterine contractions and hormonal changes during menstruation may also lead to the aforementioned symptoms. Women should maintain good lifestyle habits during special physiological periods and avoid staying up late and excessive fatigue.
4. Intestinal Spasms
Intestinal spasms are caused by intense contractions of the intestinal smooth muscle, possibly related to improper diet, intestinal inflammation, and other factors. When the intestinal smooth muscle is stimulated, strong contractions occur, causing local ischemia and hypoxia in the intestine, resulting in pain in the lower left abdomen. This may also be accompanied by symptoms such as abdominal bloating, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Treatment should follow medical advice and may include medications such as atropine sulfate tablets, racemic hyoscine hydrobromide injection, and belladonna mixture.
5. Pancolitis
Pancolitis may be caused by various factors including infection, immune abnormalities, and medication. Inflammation leads to congestion, edema, erosion, and even ulcers in the colonic mucosa, thus producing the above symptoms. It is usually accompanied by fever and weight loss. Treatment should follow medical advice and may include medications such as mesalazine enteric-coated tablets, sulfasalazine enteric-coated tablets, and enteritis relief tablets.
To prevent pain in the lower left abdomen, one should pay attention to adjusting dietary habits, avoiding spicy, greasy, raw, cold, and unhygienic foods; perform proper warm-up exercises before physical activity and gradually increase exercise intensity to avoid excessive exertion in a single session; women should maintain good lifestyle habits during special physiological periods, pay attention to food hygiene, and prevent intestinal infections.
