Abdominal pain can have many causes. The most common causes usually aren't serious, such as gas pains, indigestion or a pulled muscle. Other conditions may need medical attention right away.

The location and pattern of abdominal pain can provide important clues, but how long it lasts is especially useful when figuring out its cause.

Acute abdominal pain develops and often goes away over a few hours to a few days. Chronic abdominal pain may come and go. This type of pain may be present for weeks to months, or even years. Some chronic conditions cause progressive pain, which steadily gets worse over time.

Acute

Conditions that cause acute abdominal pain usually happen at the same time as other symptoms that develop over hours to days. Causes can range from minor conditions that go away without any treatment to serious medical emergencies, including:

1. Abdominal aortic aneurysm
2. Appendicitis — when the appendix becomes inflamed.
3. Cholangitis, which is inflammation of the bile duct.
4. Cholecystitis
5. Cystitis (irritation of the bladder)
6. Diabetic ketoacidosis (in which the body has high levels of blood acids called ketones)
7. Diverticulitis — or inflamed or infected pouches in the tissue lining the digestive tract.
8. Duodenitis, which is inflammation of the top part of the small intestine.
9. Ectopic pregnancy The fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus, such as in a fallopian tube.
10. Fecal impaction, which is hardened stool that can't be passed.
11. Heart attack
12. Injury
13. Intestinal obstruction — when something blocks food or liquid from moving through the small or large intestine.
14. Intussusception (in children)
15. Kidney infection (also called pyelonephritis)
16. Kidney stones (Hard buildups of minerals and salt that form inside the kidneys.)
17. Liver abscess, a pus-filled pocket in the liver.
18. Mesenteric ischemia (decreased blood flow to the intestines)
19. Mesenteric lymphadenitis (swollen lymph nodes in the folds of membrane that hold the abdominal organs in place)
20. Mesenteric thrombosis, a blood clot in a vein carrying blood away from your intestines.
21. Pancreatitis
22. Pericarditis (inflammation of the tissue around the heart)
23. Peritonitis (infection of the abdominal lining)
24. Pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs)
25. Pneumonia
26. Pulmonary infarction, which is loss of blood flow to the lungs.
27. Ruptured spleen
28. Salpingitis, which is inflammation of the fallopian tubes.
29. Sclerosing mesenteritis
30. Shingles
31. Spleen infection
32. Splenic abscess, which is a pus-filled pocket in the spleen.
33. Torn colon.
34. Urinary tract infection (UTI)
35. Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu)

Chronic (intermittent, or episodic)

The specific cause of chronic abdominal pain is often difficult to determine. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, coming and going but not necessarily getting worse over time. Conditions that may cause chronic abdominal pain include:

1. Angina (reduced blood flow to the heart)
2. Celiac disease
3. Endometriosis — when tissue that's similar to the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
4. Functional dyspepsia
5. Gallstones
6. Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining)
7. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
8. Hiatal hernia
9. Inguinal hernia (A condition in which tissue bulges through a weak spot in the muscles of the abdomen and can descend into the scrotum.)
10. Irritable bowel syndrome — a group of symptoms that affect the stomach and intestines.
11. Mittelschmerz (ovulation pain)
12. Ovarian cysts — fluid-filled sacs that form in or on the ovaries and aren't cancer.
13. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) — an infection of the female reproductive organs.
14. Peptic ulcer
15. Sickle cell anemia
16. Strained or pulled abdominal muscle.
17. Ulcerative colitis — a disease that causes ulcers and swelling called inflammation in the lining of the large intestine.

Progressive

Abdominal pain that steadily worsens over time is usually serious. This pain often leads to the development of other symptoms. Causes of progressive abdominal pain include:

1. Cancer
2. Crohn's disease — which causes tissues in the digestive tract to become inflamed.
3. Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)
4. Gallbladder cancer
5. Hepatitis
6. Kidney cancer — cancer that starts in the kidneys.
7. Lead poisoning
8. Liver cancer — cancer that starts in the liver.
9. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
10. Pancreatic cancer
11. Stomach cancer
12. Tubo-ovarian abscess, which is a pus-filled pocket involving a fallopian tube and an ovary.
13. Uremia (buildup of waste products in your blood)