While you may have pain in the area of your kidney, there's a good chance it is not coming from your kidney.

Pain due to kidney disease is not common. Many people who think they have kidney pain actually have muscle spasm or another cause of back discomfort.

The kidneys are located higher than most people realize. They are well-protected by the ribs on the right and lefts sides of the mid-back. So, low back pain, one of the most common symptoms that sends people to their doctors, is rarely due to kidney trouble. Among the most common causes of kidney pain are:

• Kidney stones, especially as a stone moves out of the kidney and into the tube (the ureter) that connects the kidney to the bladder
• Kidney infection (called pyelonephritis)
• Kidney cysts, due to stretching of the lining of the kidney or to bleeding into a cyst

When the kidney is the source of pain, tests (such as blood and urine tests and an ultrasound of the kidney) can usually find the cause.

Talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Your doctor may suggest these tests. Or, the likelihood of a kidney problem may seem so small that other possibilities are evaluated and treated first.