Sharp pain below rib cage left side

Rib pain can be extremely painful and dangerous because your ribcage protects several important organs, such as your heart and lungs. Pinpointing where your rib pain originates can help determine what is causing it, and seeking the advice of a medical professional can help treat it quickly.

Table of Contents Show

What’s This Pain Under My Left Ribcage?!
Sign up for email offers
When to see a doctor
From Mayo Clinic to your inbox
How the spleen works
Risk factors
Complications
Associated Procedures
Products & Services

FastMed Urgent Care is open every day of the year, requires no appointment, and offers on-site labs and x-rays. There was a time when you had only two choices for medical care: planning a doctor’s appointment or biding your time in a crowded hospital waiting room. With FastMed, you will always have the care you need, when you need it.

What’s This Pain Under My Left Ribcage?!

When it comes to rib pain, there are all sorts of causes. But paying attention to where the pain is coming from can help narrow down the origin. For instance, pain under your left ribcage is often associated with an enlarged spleen because your spleen sits directly under the left side of your ribcage.

What causes an enlarged spleen?

Infections such as Mononucleosis, syphilis, and malaria
Cancers such as Leukemia or lymphoma
Infiltrative diseases such as amyloidosis

Besides pain under my left ribcage, what are some other symptoms of an enlarged spleen?

Feeling full without eating
Anemia
Fatigue
Easy bleeding

Is there anything else that could be causing my rib pain?

Yes. Although common, spleen conditions are not the only causes of pain under your left ribcage. Here are some other conditions associated with rib pain:

Gas in the colon
Heartburn and acid reflux
Broken rib
Stomach ulcers
Irritable bowel syndrome

Without seeing a medical professional, it can be extremely difficult to understand your rib pain and what is causing it. In addition to providing high-quality, cost-effective medical care, FastMed believes that every patient should be treated with courteous attention and concern. The best part? We are right in your neighborhood! Find a FastMed clinic near you!

Our Brands

Overview

Your spleen is an organ that sits just below your left rib cage. Many conditions — including infections, liver disease and some cancers — can cause an enlarged spleen. An enlarged spleen is also known as splenomegaly (spleh-no-MEG-uh-lee).

An enlarged spleen usually doesn't cause symptoms. It's often discovered during a routine physical exam. A doctor usually can't feel the spleen in an adult unless it's enlarged. Imaging and blood tests can help identify the cause of an enlarged spleen.

Treatment for an enlarged spleen depends on what's causing it. Surgery to remove an enlarged spleen usually isn't needed, but sometimes it's recommended.

Symptoms

An enlarged spleen typically causes no signs or symptoms, but sometimes it causes:

Pain or fullness in the left upper belly that can spread to the left shoulder
A feeling of fullness without eating or after eating a small amount because the spleen is pressing on your stomach
Low red blood cells (anemia)
Frequent infections
Bleeding easily

When to see a doctor

See your doctor promptly if you have pain in your left upper belly, especially if it's severe or the pain gets worse when you take a deep breath.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Causes

A number of infections and diseases can cause an enlarged spleen. The enlargement might be temporary, depending on treatment. Contributing factors include:

Viral infections, such as mononucleosis
Bacterial infections, such as syphilis or an infection of your heart's inner lining (endocarditis)
Parasitic infections, such as malaria
Cirrhosis and other diseases affecting the liver
Various types of hemolytic anemia — a condition characterized by early destruction of red blood cells
Blood cancers, such as leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms, and lymphomas, such as Hodgkin's disease
Metabolic disorders, such as Gaucher disease and Niemann-Pick disease
Pressure on the veins in the spleen or liver or a blood clot in these veins
Autoimmune conditions, such as lupus or sarcoidosis

How the spleen works

Your spleen is tucked below your rib cage next to your stomach on the left side of your belly. Its size generally relates to your height, weight and sex.

This soft, spongy organ performs several critical jobs, such as:

Filtering out and destroying old, damaged blood cells
Preventing infection by producing white blood cells (lymphocytes) and acting as a first line of defense against disease-causing organisms
Storing red blood cells and platelets, which help your blood clot

An enlarged spleen affects each of these jobs. When it's enlarged, your spleen may not function as usual.

Risk factors

Anyone can develop an enlarged spleen at any age, but certain groups are at higher risk, including:

Children and young adults with infections, such as mononucleosis
People who have Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick disease, and several other inherited metabolic disorders affecting the liver and spleen
People who live in or travel to areas where malaria is common

Complications

Potential complications of an enlarged spleen are:

Infection. An enlarged spleen can reduce the number of healthy red blood cells, platelets and white cells in your bloodstream, leading to more frequent infections. Anemia and increased bleeding also are possible.
Ruptured spleen. Even healthy spleens are soft and easily damaged, especially in car crashes. The possibility of rupture is much greater when your spleen is enlarged. A ruptured spleen can cause life-threatening bleeding in your belly.

Sept. 04, 2021

Bona R. Evaluation of splenomegaly and other splenic disorders. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed April 22, 2021.
Splenomegaly. Merck Manual Professional Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/hematology-and-oncology/spleen-disorders/splenomegaly#. Accessed April 22, 2021.
AskMayoExpert. Spleen disorders. Mayo Clinic; 2021.
Jameson JL, et al, eds. Enlargement of lymph nodes and spleen. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. McGraw-Hill; 2018. https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed April 22, 2021.
Recommended adult immunization schedule for ages 19 years or older. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2021. https://search.cdc.gov/search/index.html?query=Recommended+Adult+Immunization+Schedule&sitelimit=&utf8=%E2%9C%93&affiliate=cdc-main. Accessed April 22, 2021.
Lab Tests Online. Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. https://labtestsonline.org/tests/bone-marrow-aspiration-and-biopsy. Accessed April 22, 2021.