What causes pain in right flanks and low back pain?

Answer 1

Depending on the age of the person and type of pain involved (sharp, burning, dull, aching, etc.) the usual causes are either muscular, disk related, or Arthritis related, or a combination. Another cause is Kidney Stones, but those are usually pretty obvious, as the patient is usually in so much pain they need to be treated at an ER or hospitalized, depending on the severity.

Dull, aching pain is usually muscular in nature; sharp, stabbing, needle like pain that you can feel radiating down a leg or across the waist is an indication of a disk pressing on a nerve - the path of the pain is the nerve pathway, and specific nerve paths will tell you which disk is involved.

Burning pain can be both nerve or muscle/ligament related.

Disk pain can also trigger muscle spasms in the surrounding tissue area - the disk presses on a nerve, which becomes inflamed, along with the tissue around it causing the spasms. This is why a muscle relaxant like Flexeril is generally prescribed for disk problems as well as anti-inflammatories and/or a painkiller.

You can research more at the American Pain Foundation website as well - http://www.painfoundation.org