Those who suffer from chronic abdominal pain describe it as a recurrent or persistent pain on any part of the abdomen which covers the region from the inferior border of the rib cage up to the pelvis.
The digestive structures including the liver, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, small intestines and the colon occupy the abdominal cavity. Inflammation, infection, tumors or other irregularities of these abdominal organs can trigger chronic abdominal pain.
Can celiac disease cause chronic abdominal pain?
Celiac disease is a condition affecting the small intestines in which an aggressive immune reaction is triggered after ingesting foods that contain gluten. The structures of the small intestine responsible for absorption are damaged which leads to evidently diminished capability to absorb the essential nutrients.
Bloating, abdominal pain, gas and weight loss can occur. Foods that contain gluten should be eliminated from the diet to allow healing of the previously damaged structures and restoring normal absorption of nutrients.
Inflammatory bowel diseases
Inflammatory bowel diseases are considered as relapsing, chronic issues that affect the small intestine and colon. There are two forms of inflammatory bowel disease that you should be familiar with –Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both conditions can trigger episodic chronic abdominal pain.
The pattern of the pain strikingly mimics level of activity of the condition and the areas of intestinal movement. For ulcerative colitis, it affects the rectum and colon while Crohn’s disease can affect any region of the digestive system with the small intestines as the commonly affected region.
Chronic case of cholecystitis
The repeated gallbladder episodes among individuals with gallstones can result to unrelenting inflammation of the gallbladder or chronic cholecystitis. The inflammation can cause scarring of the gallbladder wall and shrinking of the organ.
The attacks of gallbladder pain usually on the right upper quadrant of the abdomen indicates the condition. Tenderness of the stomach and nausea can occur but fever is absent. Removal of the gallbladder surgically is the suitable treatment for chronic cholecystitis.
Chronic pancreatitis
The consistent inflammation of the pancreas along with the associated destruction of the organ tissues indicates chronic pancreatitis. Severe, chronic abdominal pain is the characteristic symptom of the condition
Alcohol abuse is the main cause for most cases of chronic pancreatitis. Other causes include cystic fibrosis, autoimmune disease, hyperparathyroidism, chronic renal failure, tumors in or close to the pancreas and primary biliary cirrhosis. The treatment depends on the underlying cause of the condition.