How long does it take to pass a kidney stone? Does walking help pass kidney stones? | UC Irvine Health (2024)

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How long does it take to pass a kidney stone? Does walking help pass kidney stones? | UC Irvine Health? ›

Small kidney stones are considered 1-5 millimeters (mm) taking on average 8 to 12 days to pass. Smaller stones are most likely the fastest to pass and exit through the urine. Large kidney stones are considered greater than 5 mm, taking on average 22 days or longer to pass.

Patients are encouraged to be up and about walking which may help the stone pass. You may be given a pill that may help pass the stone. Evidence suggests that Flomax, a pill to dilate an obstructing prostate in men, may dilate the ureter and promote stone passage.

A stone that's smaller than 4 mm (millimeters) may pass within one to two weeks. A larger stone could take about two to three weeks to completely pass. Once the stone reaches your bladder, it usually passes in a few days.

Doing low-intensity workouts like walking, jogging, and cycling can help to pass the stone easily from your urinary tract. Aquatic exercises and aerobics are also the best exercise for kidney stones where you can prevent further enlargement of the stone inside your body.

It is important to understand that while some patients may benefit from walking or exercising to pass their kidney stone, some patients will not. It is important to note that while it may not help all patients pass stones, walking or exercising can still be beneficial for patients with kidney stones.

Signs that indicate a kidney stone is about to pass include a decrease in pain intensity and changes in urine color. However, definitive confirmation should be done through medical methods such as imaging techniques and urine tests.

You may not notice if you have small kidney stones. You'll usually pee them out without any discomfort.

Some kidney stones can stay in the body for years or even decades without issue, though most stones usually pass on their own or cause pain that is significant enough that treatment is undertaken before this time.

Stones smaller than 4 millimeters (mm) pass on their own 80 percent of the time. They take an average of 31 days to pass. Stones that are 4–6 mm are more likely to require some sort of treatment, but around 60 percent pass naturally. This takes an average of 45 days.

What position helps kidney stones pass faster? ›

Lie on the side of your body where you experience the pain. In other words, if the stone is in your left ureter, lie on your left side; if it's in the right ureter, lie on the right. Doctors have found that lying on the side with the affected kidney can increase blood flow, which helps push the stone out of the ureter.

The GI-related symptoms caused by kidney stones may increase your risk of developing digestive issues as well. Common problems associated with kidney stones include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and bowel obstruction. You may also experience diarrhea or constipation.

Flomax works rapidly and significantly reduces the time it takes to pass stones from the urinary tract within 48 hours of taking the medication. For some people, however, symptoms may take 2-4 weeks to improve.

Urologists may also recommend movement like bicycling and jumping jacks to help dislodge the stones naturally. If passing naturally is not an option, then medication may be the next step. Urologists will use some of the same medications that are used to treat an enlarged prostate.

This dynamic muscular activity, coupled with the forceful expulsion of ejacul*te, is hypothesised to create a propulsive action that may assist in moving kidney stones along the urinary tract, potentially speeding up their expulsion.