I've been griping in my last few posts about lower abdomen pain. I really kind of figured that it was upset stomach from gel, my shoes, dehydration, poor stretching, a one time thing, or something of a temporary, solvable nature if I could just identify it, although it sometimes bothered me even when I was not running.
Today while I was at the doctor for something else (not a sports medicine or hernia specialist), I asked about the pains and after some prodding, poking, and coughing, he said that he thought my inguinal ligament had become stretched out, probably because of a small hole that was a natural defect. He said he was pretty sure it wasn't a hernia, but he wouldn't be surprised if I got one in the future. From the very first post in this thread, "dehiscence between conjoined tendon and inguinal ligament" sounds like what he described to me. I could feel how it bulged out more than the other side when I coughed. The doctor didn't think I would need surgery now, but said I should wear some kind of support when exercising. He said there wasn't anything to prevent or reverse it, as my muscular tone was already strong.
I haven't had time to read this whole thread, as it's very long, but even from the first few pages, I could see people were starting to talk about surgeries and specialists. I am not in some of the intense, constant pain that others have described, but a few times now when running, I have decided to stop because the pain was so sharp.
I will continue reading the thread, and I have another doctor's appointment scheduled (with a general care physician, as I made the appointment before knowing the exact problem, I will see a specialist if necessary) but would appreciate any additional advice on what to do now.
How can I make sure that it really is a hernia or sports hernia related problem rather than a temporary muscular problem? Should I stop running until I get some answers? Since I've already stopped so many runs, I'm behind on my training and will have to give up on my fall race plans if I miss much more time, but I would rather do that and heal than aggravate what sounds like a potentially very bad problem.